December 1, 2023

The editor in chief and fiction editor of the Shanghai Literary Review debuts with a buzzy novel, subject of a six-way auction and with foreign rights selling fast. It flows backwards in time, starting in 2040 as it traces the fate of a Shanghai family through marriage, choices, and change. Prepub Alert.

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Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2024
Follow an ultrarich Shanghai family backward in time from 2040 to 2014. Min opens her intriguing novel-in-stories with "A True Shanghai Man, January 2040": paterfamilias Leo Yang has just dropped his wife, Eko, and two older daughters, Yumi and Yoko, at the airport and is returning home on a high-speed train to teenage Kiko, the baby of the family. The older girls are returning to boarding school and college in Boston. The narrative will move forward from this moment only once, in the second story, "Rouge Allure, January 2040," which follows Eko and the girls to Boston and then on to Paris, where French Japanese Eko grew up, then down to Nice, where Eko's mother lives in a high-rise retirement community. From there, the stories visit earlier time periods. In "Moshi Moshi Marilyn Monroe, September 2039," we learn that Baby Kiko, as she is called in the family, is definitely no baby anymore. "In the Time of Period Trees, September 2038" fills in a lot of detail about the relationship between Yumi and Yoko and introduces a few plot points that are clarified in stories that go even further into the past. What does it mean that Kiko "blames" Yoko for Lucy? What is the in-joke with her father behind the ball of gold string on her desk at school? Answers to questions like these create a sense of unfolding that balances the disappointment one might feel about leaving the latest versions of the Yangs, and their interesting problems, behind. Some stories focus on characters tangential to the family--their driver participates in a 2030s phenomenon called night races, and a very strong story called "The Girl of My Heart, February 2020," touches on the pandemic and explores the life of the ayi (nanny) character we've heard about before she came to the Yangs. The prose and characterizations here and throughout are assured, particularly for a debut. An unusual and immersive reading experience.

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May 1, 2024
Min's debut offers an enthralling glimpse into the lives of the affluent Yang family in Shanghai. It begins in the year 2040, as wealthy real estate investor Leo Yang takes a train back home while his Japanese French wife, Eko, and two eldest daughters board a plane to Boston for school. Against the backdrop of Shanghai's elite circles, Min expertly takes readers on a journey backwards through time, unraveling the intricacies of the Yang family members' lives through their unique perspectives. From the sophisticated Eko to youngest daughter Kiko, Min peels back the layers of their intertwined lives and paints a vivid portrait of characters grappling with identity, ambition, and the complexities of love and family bonds. In her masterful storytelling, Min captures the essence of life in a rapidly changing city and world, reminding readers that even in times of uncertainty, love, longing, and resilience remain unwavering constants. With its richly drawn characters and thought-provoking themes, Min's debut is a captivating read that will linger in the minds of readers.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 6, 2024
Min’s assured debut, told in reverse chronology, follows a wealthy Shanghai family from 2040 to 2014. Real estate investor Leo Yang stays behind in Shanghai as his wife, Eko, travels with their two oldest daughters, Yumi and Yoko, to the U.S. When Yoko confesses her pregnancy to Eko, the two secretly reroute to Paris for an abortion, which is now illegal in America. One year earlier, their youngest daughter, Kiko, works as an escort, and in 2034, Leo, who has episodes of “manic paranoia” fueled by apocalyptic fears, forces the family to practice survival skills on a farm outside town. Other episodes depict a 2028 princess party for Kiko, and Leo’s tentative start at building his fortune in 2014, the year he and Eko marry. Though the main characters are somewhat underdeveloped, Min casts a sharper eye on the family’s employees, especially their nanny, who must come to terms with the fact that the bond she feels with the children is not mutual. Though the disparate threads don’t quite cohere, they credibly reflect the messiness of family. Min is a writer worth keeping tabs on. Agent: Stephanie Delman, Trellis Literary Management.

May 3, 2024

DEBUT Min offers an original perspective in storytelling by unravelling the lives of the Yang family, living in Shanghai in the year 2040. Once the characters of Leo, his wife Eko, and their three daughters Yoko, Yumi, and Kiko are established, each chapter gradually descends back in time until the year 2014. Readers see a well-to-do couple who are disenchanted with their marriage and come to learn secrets about each family member. Some of these revelations include unwanted pregnancies, physical abuse, a daughter dabbling with thoughts of being a sex worker at age 16, and an affair. Min also offers brief glimpses of the family members through the eyes of Eko's mother, the family's driver, and the nanny. Each chapter provides the audience with a limited snapshot of the family at a given point in time. VERDICT Min's debut will be appreciated by readers who relish the joy of discovery and piecing information together to shape the characters and events in their own minds. It is an intriguing portrait of a fragmented family where nothing is ever quite what it seems. A strong option for book groups.--Shirley Quan

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.