21 Dec / Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
Wall Street Journal correspondent Te-Ping Chen emerges as a fiction powerhouse, each of her 10 stories an immersive literary event. “Lulu,” which first appeared in the New Yorker, is a tale about the diverging life paths of twins, the overachieving daughter and the slacker son, at least in their youth. Granta initially published “Field Notes on a Marriage,” about the brief union between an American woman and an enigmatic Chinese mathematics professor.
Seemingly small yet affecting moments define “Hotline Girl,” in which a woman chooses independence over an abusive relationship. “On the Street Where You Live” is about a man confronted by a runaway friend’s ex-lover, “Shanghai Murmur” features a flower shop employee who finds a regular customer’s valuable pen, “Beautiful Country” is about a Chinese immigrant on vacation with her longtime white lover, and the collection’s titular tale portrays a young man who chooses wealth over wanting.
Chen plays with the slyly surreal in “New Fruit,” inventing a peculiar fruit that can uplift or depress its consumer. “Flying Machine” tells of an elderly but tenacious inventor, and “Gubeikou Spirit” focuses on train passengers inexplicably trapped in a station for months.
Traversing continents and cultures, moving effortlessly between China and the U.S., Chen deftly presents everyday lives that entertain, educate, and universally resonate.
Review: “Fiction,” Booklist, December 15, 2020
Readers: Adult
Published: 2020