Paper Names, Susie Luo
Paper Names, Susie Luo
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

Paper Names
A Novel

Author: Susie Luo

Narrator: Austin Ku

Unabridged: 8 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/02/2023


Synopsis

*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.

About Susie Luo

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.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Maren’s Reads on May 29, 2023

A beautiful story about the immigrant experience and what it means to be an American. This is a very sad novel in a lot of ways, but also incredibly unique. The story is told from three unique perspectives - a Chinese-born engineer, working far beneath his education, his daughter who struggles with......more

Goodreads review by Creya on June 02, 2023

I literally cannot get over how much I loved this book. Wow. Debut author Susie Luo gives readers a non-linear timeline and multiple points of view. We follow Tony and his daughter, who came to the United States with dreams of a better life, and Oliver, a privileged white attorney who lives in the b......more

Goodreads review by Tara King on May 18, 2023

I really wanted to like this book. Before I go any further, I want to highlight that the romantic adventure of a 9 year old and a 26 year old occurs. One can argue that it begins once she’s eighteen and legal, but the subtext is all over the book that they connected on that level from the day they m......more

Goodreads review by Bkwmlee on April 03, 2023

Going into Susie Luo’s debut novel Paper Names, I knew to expect an immigrant story, as I gathered as much from reading the summary and a couple reviews beforehand. However, what I wasn’t expecting was an immigrant story that would be so different from what I’ve read in the past. To start off, t......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on May 20, 2023

2.5 / 5 rounding down This is what I call a “kitchen sink book” - rather than focusing on one topic and writing on it well, this book jumbles on every possible topic and does it poorly. The characters were very under developed and the time jumps didn’t always make a lot of sense. *spoiler* I also fou......more