Joan is a thirty-something ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. She is intensely devoted to her work and happily solitary, but she sometimes wonders where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white coat makes her feel needed, or with her family, who try to shape her life according to their cultural and social expectations.
After moving to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan’s parents have returned to China, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland now that Joan and her brother are well established in their careers. But when her father suddenly dies, a series of events sends Joan spiralling out of her comfort zone, forcing her to consider her life anew.
Deceptively spare, quietly powerful and shot through with sharp humour, Joan Is Okay is a portrait of a marvellously surprising woman you won’t forget.
Weike Wang was born in Nanjing, China, and grew up in Australia, Canada, and the United States. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her doctorate in public health. Her first novel, Chemistry, received the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award, and a Whiting Award. She is a ‘5 Under 35’ honouree of the National Book Foundation and her work has appeared in the New Yorker. She currently lives in New York City.
‘With gimlet-eyed observation and laced with darkly biting wit, Joan Is Okay is a deeply felt portrait of a woman who’s effaced herself to survive—and how, in the face of devastating loss, she’s forced to confront her grief and her place in the world. In her second novel, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America.’ Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere
‘Joan isn’t just okay, she’s wonderful. I could listen to her smart, witty voice forever. Incisive yet tender, written with elegant style and delicious comic verve, Wang’s story of the day-to-day life of a gifted young Chinese-American ICU doctor amply fulfils the outstanding promise of her debut novel.’ Sigrid Nunez, author of The Friend
Genre: Literary Fiction
After moving to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan’s parents have returned to China, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland now that Joan and her brother are well established in their careers. But when her father suddenly dies, a series of events sends Joan spiralling out of her comfort zone, forcing her to consider her life anew.
Deceptively spare, quietly powerful and shot through with sharp humour, Joan Is Okay is a portrait of a marvellously surprising woman you won’t forget.
Weike Wang was born in Nanjing, China, and grew up in Australia, Canada, and the United States. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her doctorate in public health. Her first novel, Chemistry, received the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction, the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award, and a Whiting Award. She is a ‘5 Under 35’ honouree of the National Book Foundation and her work has appeared in the New Yorker. She currently lives in New York City.
‘With gimlet-eyed observation and laced with darkly biting wit, Joan Is Okay is a deeply felt portrait of a woman who’s effaced herself to survive—and how, in the face of devastating loss, she’s forced to confront her grief and her place in the world. In her second novel, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America.’ Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere
‘Joan isn’t just okay, she’s wonderful. I could listen to her smart, witty voice forever. Incisive yet tender, written with elegant style and delicious comic verve, Wang’s story of the day-to-day life of a gifted young Chinese-American ICU doctor amply fulfils the outstanding promise of her debut novel.’ Sigrid Nunez, author of The Friend
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"Engrossing . . . Joan is fine; the problem is other people. I loved this book and didn't want it to end." - Marcy Dermansky
"Weike Wang takes us into the heart of the matter: death, dysfunction, xenophobia, misogyny, and the chronic misapprehension that passes between people of good intentions. The miracle that emerges, then, is just how funny this book is, how compassionate and visionary." - Joshua Ferris
"Unflinchingly, Joan Is Okay challenges some of our fundamental views on home, belonging, family. A smart, quietly engaging novel that is also warm and moving." - Ha Jin
"Brilliant, subtly powerful, and different - in the best way." - Rachel Khong
"Joan is a character I will be thinking about for a long time to come. I could not put this book down." - Angie Kim
"I am staggered by Weike Wang's humor, heart, and brilliance. I loved Joan and I am pressing this book into your hands." - Lily King
"Full of sly wit, off-kilter observations, and misanthropic poetry. Readers will find in Joan a kindred soul." - Lillian Li
"A deeply felt portrait . . . With gimlet-eyed observation laced with darkly biting wit, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America." - Celeste Ng
"Incisive yet tender, written with elegant style and delicious verve. Joan isn't just okay, she's wonderful. I could listen to her smart, witty voice forever." - Sigrid Nunez
"This is an Asian American novel like no other, set in the heart of the pandemic, in the city I call home. Joan is my hero." - Ed Park
"Joan is the perfect guide for our troubled times. I was left circling sentence after sentence." - Heidi Pitlor
"Scathingly witty . . . Wang is wonderful at understated sadness presented without a twinge of self-pity." - Jim Shepard
"Joan Is Okay charts the internal story of the mythic immigrant success narrative in a tragicomedy about the costs of generational betterment." - Mona Simpson
"Brilliant, precise, excruciatingly funny . . . Joan wins your deepest admiration at the same time as her vulnerability breaks your heart." - Lara Vapnyar
"This novel made me laugh, think, feel a bunch of things, laugh some more. And then, when I was least expecting, it snuck up and kicked me in the gut so hard I cried. Joan's voice and world view are hard to shake, and Weike Wang's writing is immensely rewarding and enjoyable. I really, really didn't want this book to end." - Charles Yu
"Weike Wang takes us into the heart of the matter: death, dysfunction, xenophobia, misogyny, and the chronic misapprehension that passes between people of good intentions. The miracle that emerges, then, is just how funny this book is, how compassionate and visionary." - Joshua Ferris
"Unflinchingly, Joan Is Okay challenges some of our fundamental views on home, belonging, family. A smart, quietly engaging novel that is also warm and moving." - Ha Jin
"Brilliant, subtly powerful, and different - in the best way." - Rachel Khong
"Joan is a character I will be thinking about for a long time to come. I could not put this book down." - Angie Kim
"I am staggered by Weike Wang's humor, heart, and brilliance. I loved Joan and I am pressing this book into your hands." - Lily King
"Full of sly wit, off-kilter observations, and misanthropic poetry. Readers will find in Joan a kindred soul." - Lillian Li
"A deeply felt portrait . . . With gimlet-eyed observation laced with darkly biting wit, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America." - Celeste Ng
"Incisive yet tender, written with elegant style and delicious verve. Joan isn't just okay, she's wonderful. I could listen to her smart, witty voice forever." - Sigrid Nunez
"This is an Asian American novel like no other, set in the heart of the pandemic, in the city I call home. Joan is my hero." - Ed Park
"Joan is the perfect guide for our troubled times. I was left circling sentence after sentence." - Heidi Pitlor
"Scathingly witty . . . Wang is wonderful at understated sadness presented without a twinge of self-pity." - Jim Shepard
"Joan Is Okay charts the internal story of the mythic immigrant success narrative in a tragicomedy about the costs of generational betterment." - Mona Simpson
"Brilliant, precise, excruciatingly funny . . . Joan wins your deepest admiration at the same time as her vulnerability breaks your heart." - Lara Vapnyar
"This novel made me laugh, think, feel a bunch of things, laugh some more. And then, when I was least expecting, it snuck up and kicked me in the gut so hard I cried. Joan's voice and world view are hard to shake, and Weike Wang's writing is immensely rewarding and enjoyable. I really, really didn't want this book to end." - Charles Yu
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