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    Mona in the Promised Land

    A Novel

    Part of Vintage Contemporaries

    Author Gish Jen
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $21.00 US
    Knopf | Vintage
    On sale Apr 01, 1997 | 320 Pages | 9780679776505
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    In this ebullient and inventive novel, Gish Jen restores multiculturalism from high concept to a fact of life. At least that's what it becomes for teenaged Mona Chang, who in 1968 moves with her newly prosperous family to Scarshill, New York, where the Chinese have become "the new Jews." What could be more natural than for Mona to take this literally--even to the point of converting? As Mona attends temple "rap" sessions and falls in love (with a nice Jewish boy who lives in a tepee), Jen introduces us to one of the most charming and sweet-spirited heroines in recent fiction, a girl who can wisecrack with perfect aplomb even when she's organizing the help in her father's pancake house. On every page of Mona in the Promised Land, Gish Jen sets our received notions spinning with a wit as dry as a latter-day Jane Austen's.

    "A shining example of a multicultural message delivered with the wit and bite of art...Gish Jen creates a particular world where dim sum is as American as apple pie."--Los Angeles Times
    © Basso Cannarsa

    GISH JEN’s most recent novel is THE RESISTERS; she also has a new book coming out in January 2022 entitled THANK YOU, MR. NIXON. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute and the Guggenheim Foundation as well as of a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction and of a Mildred and Harold Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her short work has appeared in the New Yorker and other magazines, and have been chosen for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century. She delivered the William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University, where she is currently a visiting professor.

    gishjen.com

    View titles by Gish Jen
    A New York Times Notable Book

    “Both hilariously funny and seriously important.” —Amy Tan

    “A shining example of a multicultural message delivered with the wit and bite of art. . . . Gish Jen creates a particular world where dim sum is as American as apple pie.” —Los Angeles Times

    “Hopeful and smart, a rare combination.” —The New York Times Book Review

    “Hilarious and dazzling. . . . This firmly plotted novel has a raucous good time.” —The Boston Globe

    “Funny, headlong and completely delightful. . . . A light-hearted novel of radiant charm and human warmth.” —Cynthia Ozick

    About

    In this ebullient and inventive novel, Gish Jen restores multiculturalism from high concept to a fact of life. At least that's what it becomes for teenaged Mona Chang, who in 1968 moves with her newly prosperous family to Scarshill, New York, where the Chinese have become "the new Jews." What could be more natural than for Mona to take this literally--even to the point of converting? As Mona attends temple "rap" sessions and falls in love (with a nice Jewish boy who lives in a tepee), Jen introduces us to one of the most charming and sweet-spirited heroines in recent fiction, a girl who can wisecrack with perfect aplomb even when she's organizing the help in her father's pancake house. On every page of Mona in the Promised Land, Gish Jen sets our received notions spinning with a wit as dry as a latter-day Jane Austen's.

    "A shining example of a multicultural message delivered with the wit and bite of art...Gish Jen creates a particular world where dim sum is as American as apple pie."--Los Angeles Times

    Author

    © Basso Cannarsa

    GISH JEN’s most recent novel is THE RESISTERS; she also has a new book coming out in January 2022 entitled THANK YOU, MR. NIXON. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute and the Guggenheim Foundation as well as of a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction and of a Mildred and Harold Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her short work has appeared in the New Yorker and other magazines, and have been chosen for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century. She delivered the William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University, where she is currently a visiting professor.

    gishjen.com

    View titles by Gish Jen

    Praise

    A New York Times Notable Book

    “Both hilariously funny and seriously important.” —Amy Tan

    “A shining example of a multicultural message delivered with the wit and bite of art. . . . Gish Jen creates a particular world where dim sum is as American as apple pie.” —Los Angeles Times

    “Hopeful and smart, a rare combination.” —The New York Times Book Review

    “Hilarious and dazzling. . . . This firmly plotted novel has a raucous good time.” —The Boston Globe

    “Funny, headlong and completely delightful. . . . A light-hearted novel of radiant charm and human warmth.” —Cynthia Ozick

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