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Sign up todayPaper Names
A Novel
Narrator
Austin Ku
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Length
8 hours 6 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“An immigrant story, and a story about family, Paper Names tells the story of Tongheng, or Tony, as he is known in America. Told from the vantage points of three narrators, Luo's characters are all equally compelling in their own right, and in how their narratives weave together. Literary fiction fans should make this a top priority.”
— Kelli • The Novel Neighbor
Bookseller recommendation
“A powerful novel that juxtaposes struggle with privilege and immigrant life with the life of generational wealth. What begins with a young wealthy tenant generously giving piano lessons to the daughter of his Chinese immigrant doorman, leads over many years to life-altering events. Luo has crafted a taut, thoroughly engaging story of these intertwined lives and the many consequences of the characters’ choices. ”
— Nancy • Raven Book Store
*A Publishers Lunch Buzz Book*
An unexpected act of violence brings together a Chinese-American family and a wealthy white lawyer in this propulsive and sweeping story of family, identity and the American experience—for fans of Jean Kwok, Mary Beth Keane and Naima Coster.
Set in New York and China over three decades, Paper Names explores what it means to be American from three different perspectives. There’s Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life. His daughter, Tammy, who we meet at age nine and follow through adulthood, and who grapples with the expectations of a first generation American and her own personal desires. Finally, there’s Oliver, a handsome white lawyer with a dark family secret and who lives in the building where Tony works. A violent attack causes their lives to intertwine in ways that will change them forever.
Taut, panoramic and powerful, debut novelist Susie Luo's Paper Names is an unforgettable story about the long shadows of our parents, the ripple effect of our decisions and the ways in which our love transcends difference.
Susie Luo is a writer based in New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell Law School. She wrote her first book, Paper Names, at night while working as an investment banker. She is currently working on her second novel and teaches fiction at Columbia University.
