Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by Jean Kwok in exchange for my honest review - 5 stars!
Jasmine escaped her abusive husband and traveled to NY in hopes of finding her daughter, who was taken from her at birth. Now she is deep in debt to the snakeheads who helped her flee, and the only job she can find is working in a strip club. She does have a chance encounter with her best friend from China, Anthony, and begins to feel somewhat hopeful. Rebecca is living large - she works as an editor, has a successful husband, and a daughter that they adopted from China. But things start going very wrong for her when she tries to sign an important author.
In China, leftover women are ones that no one wanted; they are purposeless and of use to no one. Jasmine felt like this and felt that she was not in control of any part of her life. Rebecca questions her role in her family - she has put her career ahead of her child and left much to her nanny. The story is told from the viewpoints of both of these women, at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, and explores identify and belonging, as well as defining motherhood and family. It is beautifully written and I felt so engaged with both these women and their plights. It was very atmospheric, from a small Chinese village to a Chinatown strip club to the high-powered publishing world. Highly recommended!
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