A Quitter's Paradise

This book caught my eye by way of Sara Jessica Parker's new imprint. SJP has always had impeccable taste in literature and an interest in seeking out stories different from her own lived experience. There is no deviation from that reputation with her choice of this breakout novel. Here is a dark tale of an immigrant family's journey from Taiwan to America. Eleanor, the eldest daughter, is the book's central focus - she is married and has just quit her Ph.D. program, is newly pregnant, and is clearly not finding her way through the grief she feels (or is choosing not to) after her mother's death. I could feel the lack of opportunity and disappointment coming off the page, and the characters understandably seem to have to disassociate from themselves and one another to survive. A Quitters Paradise is a clear-eyed look at what it is to leave your homeland and start again from the beginning and what it means to be a family in that reality. Don't let the shells fool you; it's less of a beach book and more of a back-to-school read. Incredible nonetheless!

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