In this fiendishly funny and charming novel, a young woman revisits her childhood and realizes all was not as it seemed.
Tan’s attempt to write her first novel is not going well. She tries to write a memoir instead, but this involves checking her own memories against her parents and old classmates, who are surprised to hear from her after all these years. “Are you dying?” asks one perplexed friend.
Tan is not dying, but she does want to figure out how many of her own highly curious memories from childhood are accurate: the guessing game played on the day her parents announced their divorce, a kissing ritual among boarding school roommates, the life-affirming meditation triggered by a piece of spinach flailing in a sink. Threading together Tan’s memories and conversations with mordant humor, Lee Chia-Ying dramatizes the hilarity and horrors of being a young person.
Masterful, witty, and bold, A Perfect Day to Put Your Head in the Oven is a brilliant account of innocence lost and the first encounters of disappointment, betrayal, death, and love. The novel is as courageous as its protagonist: dedicated to staying true and not afraid of losing one’s plot.
“Irresistibly tender, funny, and sexy. Written with an exuberant intelligence. A contemporary Taiwanese voice that feels genuinely incandescent.” –Xuan Juliana Wang, author of Home Remedies
“A feat of storytelling and language… Just read it.” –Weike Wang, award-winning author of Rental House
"A gorgeous, intelligent and deeply surprising book. I read it rapt and awestruck." –Claire Vaye Watkins, award-winning author of I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
Lee Chia-Ying is the author of three acclaimed short story collections. Her first novel, A Perfect Day to Put Your Head in the Oven, has been translated into more than twenty languages and won several literary prizes, including a Taiwan Literature Award. She splits her time between Taipei and Boston.
Lin King is a writer and translator from Taipei. Her translation of the novel Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi won a National Book Award and the International Booker Prize.
In this fiendishly funny and charming novel, a young woman revisits her childhood and realizes all was not as it seemed.
Tan’s attempt to write her first novel is not going well. She tries to write a memoir instead, but this involves checking her own memories against her parents and old classmates, who are surprised to hear from her after all these years. “Are you dying?” asks one perplexed friend.
Tan is not dying, but she does want to figure out how many of her own highly curious memories from childhood are accurate: the guessing game played on the day her parents announced their divorce, a kissing ritual among boarding school roommates, the life-affirming meditation triggered by a piece of spinach flailing in a sink. Threading together Tan’s memories and conversations with mordant humor, Lee Chia-Ying dramatizes the hilarity and horrors of being a young person.
Masterful, witty, and bold, A Perfect Day to Put Your Head in the Oven is a brilliant account of innocence lost and the first encounters of disappointment, betrayal, death, and love. The novel is as courageous as its protagonist: dedicated to staying true and not afraid of losing one’s plot.
Reviews
“Irresistibly tender, funny, and sexy. Written with an exuberant intelligence. A contemporary Taiwanese voice that feels genuinely incandescent.” –Xuan Juliana Wang, author of Home Remedies
“A feat of storytelling and language… Just read it.” –Weike Wang, award-winning author of Rental House
"A gorgeous, intelligent and deeply surprising book. I read it rapt and awestruck." –Claire Vaye Watkins, award-winning author of I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
Author
Lee Chia-Ying is the author of three acclaimed short story collections. Her first novel, A Perfect Day to Put Your Head in the Oven, has been translated into more than twenty languages and won several literary prizes, including a Taiwan Literature Award. She splits her time between Taipei and Boston.
Lin King is a writer and translator from Taipei. Her translation of the novel Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi won a National Book Award and the International Booker Prize.
