A dazzling debut novel by the prize-winning author of Yellow, set in the unique and exotic nightworld of Tokyo. In this "poignant story of prejudice, betrayal and the search for identity" (Newsweek International), the trials and tribulations of these three remarkable characters are "at turns trenchantly funny and heartbreakingly sad" (Publishers Weekly). "[An] elegant and haunting debut" (Entertainment Weekly), Country of Origin is a "swirl of action, a whirl of love and sex and race and politics, local and international" (Chicago Tribune)—a "quiet literary triumph" (Booklist) Lisa Countryman is a woman of complex origins. Half-Japanese, adopted by African American parents, she returns to Tokyo, ostensibly to research her thesis on Japan's "sad, brutal reign of conformity." When she vanishes, Tom Hurley, who is half-Korean and half-white, is assigned to her case at the American embassy, as is local cop Kenzo Ota, who is 100 percent Japanese but deemed an outsider.
Lee has outdone himself here. His prose moves and sparkles." —Washington Post Wrack and Ruin is a rollicking comedy that’s seriously smart. When Lyndon Song’s estranged brother, Woody, shows up in northern California with a kung fu diva on his arm and a scheme to convert Lyndon’s coastal farmland into a golf course resort, Lyndon knows that his bucolic life as an artist-turned–Brussels sprouts farmer will never be the same again. Category-busting, award-winning novelist Don Lee surfs the tricky waters of identity, art, fame, and family in this brilliant, fast-paced comedy.
Elegant and engrossing...[an] unusually complete portrait of contemporary Asian America."—Los Angeles Times..."A gem....Lee has captured this truth beautifully, wisely, and with winning economy."—Cleveland Plain Dealer As the Los Angeles Times noted in its profile of the author, "few writers have mined the [genre of ethnic literature] as shrewdly or transcended its limits quite so stunningly as Don Lee." Harking "back to the timeless concerns of Chekhov: fate, chance, the mystery of the human heart" (Stuart Dybek), these interconnected stories "are utterly contemporary,...but grounded in the depth of beautiful prose and intriguing storylines" (Asian Week). They paint a novelistic portrait of the fictional town of Rosarita Bay, California, and a diverse cast of complex and moving characters. "Nothing short of wonderful...surprising and wild with life" (Robert Boswell), Yellow "proves that wondering about whether you're a real American is as American as a big bowl of kimchi" (New York Times Book Review).
A thrilling new story collection from acclaimed writer Don Lee exploring Asian American identity, spanning decades and continents. “Don Lee is one of those masterful storytellers who is both classic and modern, who can transport you into any setting, with any character.” —The TODAY Show, recommended by author Weike Wang “The organizing conceit of all [Lee’s] fiction has remained consistent: Asian Americans are not monoliths . . . Lee narrates from a collective perspective, his stories offering a kaleidoscopic vision of all the ways it feels to be yellow.”—New York Times Book Review Twenty-one years after the publication of his landmark debut collection Yellow, Don Lee returns to the short story form for his sixth book, The Partition. The Partition is an updated exploration of Asian American identity, this time with characters who are presumptive model minorities in the arts, academia, and media. Spanning decades, these nine novelistic stories traverse an array of cities, from Tokyo to Boston, Honolulu to El Paso, touching upon transient encounters in local bars, restaurants, and hotels. Culminating in a three-story cycle about a Hollywood actor, The Partition incisively examines heartbreak, identity, family, and relationships—the characters searching for answers to universal questions: Where do I belong? How can I find love? What defines an authentic self?
A contemporary ballad of heartbreak, failure, and unquenchable longing, this novel presents Don Lee at his best. Yadin Park is a talented alt-country musician whose career has floundered—doomed first by his homely looks and lack of stage presence and then by a progressive hearing disorder. His girlfriend, Jeanette Matsuda, might have been a professional photographer but for a devastating heartbreak in her teens. Now Yadin works for Jeanette’s father’s carpet-laying company in California while Jeanette cleans rooms at a local resort. When Yadin’s former lover and musical partner, the celebrated Mallory Wicks, comes back into his life, all their most private hopes and desires are exposed, their secret fantasies about love and success put to the test. Drawn to the music of indie singer-songwriters like Will Johnson, who helped shape the lyrics in this book, Don Lee has written a novel that unforgettably captures America’s deepest yearnings. Beautifully sad and laced with dark humor, Lonesome Lies Before Us is a profound, heartfelt romance, a soulful and memorable song.
Tales From Prickly Path is a collection of original short stories. The stories are set between 455 AD and the year 4123. There are forty stories in all. The stories are short and will take the reader through a range of emotions. I hope you enjoy my book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please mail comments to me at tfpp.stories@gmail.com
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