October 10, 2022
Ma (The Year She Left Us) returns with the vibrant story of a Chinese immigrant living in present-day San Francisco. Zheng Xue Li, known as Shelley, is 18 when his father sends him to study in the U.S.—as part of his deceased mother’s dream for him—and live with his rich uncle, Ted, whose family owns a store. Shelley hopes a new life in Ted’s household will provide the stability for him to pursue his dreams of becoming a poet and the status to help him win back his English ex-girlfriend, Lisbet, but his expectations are sunk upon arrival. Turns out Ted’s neither rich nor his uncle (he’s a second cousin), and Shelley can only stay for two weeks. Soon Shelley’s left to juggle school, a restaurant job, and life in a crowded rooming house—with a little help from the “Chinese groove,” or the unspoken connection among fellow Chinese immigrants. Though the episodic plot gets a bit unwieldy with its many side characters and hurdles—a cousin coming to collect a debt, an ever elusive Lisbet—Ma does a good job conveying the bonds of Shelley’s community and family. This immersive story is worth a look. Agent: Stacy Testa, Writers House.
June 10, 2024
Iowa Short Fiction Award winner Ma (The Year She Left Us) returns with an entertaining and compassionate view of fathers and sons, dreams and reality, immigration, community, and identity. In January 2015, protagonist Shelley (nicknamed for the poet) hopes to ride the Chinese groove--an unspoken sense of kinship, connection, and duty extended by Chinese immigrants to each other--as he acclimates to life in California after living his first 18 years in Yunnan Province. Unfortunately, Shelley's dream of the United States does not live up to the expectations he gleaned from his aunties. Poets don't make a living (much less a grand living), and his California family is not as rich and accommodating as first believed. James Chen narrates, mainly as Shelley, using a Chinese accent with British undertones that reveal how Shelley learned English in China. Chen skillfully transitions to voice a young boy, an older man, and even a Jewish woman. While there are some serious topics discussed, such as housing insecurity and political corruption, the story remains relatively light. VERDICT An enjoyable new-immigrant story that adds a fresh perspective to the genre. For fans of Jean Kwok, Lisa Ko, and Lyn Liao Butler.--Laura Stein
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