The Leavers

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Immigrant struggle, mother's disappearance, quest for identity.

"The Leavers" takes you through the emotionally charged journey of young Daniel as he grapples with a life disrupted by his mother's sudden disappearance and his subsequent adoption. It touches deeply on themes of identity, belonging, and the migrant experience. If you're drawn to stories that blend personal upheaval with social commentary, Lisa Ko's novel might resonate with you profoundly.

  • National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (2017)
  • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction & for Debut Goodreads Author (2017)
  • Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Literature (2018)
  • PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2016)
  • Aspen Words Literary Prize Nominee for Longlist (2018)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The Leavers

Regular price
Unit price
per
Compare to estimated retail price: RM79.00 MYR  
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ISBN: 9781616208042
Authors: Lisa Ko
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Date of Publication: 2018-04-24
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Related Topics: Asian Literature, Race
Goodreads rating: 3.89
(rated by 49456 readers)

Description

Lisa Ko’s powerful debut, The Leavers, is the winner of the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver for a novel that addresses issues of social justice. One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon—and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents’ desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind. Told from the perspective of both Daniel—as he grows into a directionless young man—and Polly, Ko’s novel gives us one of fiction’s most singular mothers. Loving and selfish, determined and frightened, Polly is forced to make one heartwrenching choice after another. Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It’s a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.
 

Immigrant struggle, mother's disappearance, quest for identity.

"The Leavers" takes you through the emotionally charged journey of young Daniel as he grapples with a life disrupted by his mother's sudden disappearance and his subsequent adoption. It touches deeply on themes of identity, belonging, and the migrant experience. If you're drawn to stories that blend personal upheaval with social commentary, Lisa Ko's novel might resonate with you profoundly.

  • National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (2017)
  • Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction & for Debut Goodreads Author (2017)
  • Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Literature (2018)
  • PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2016)
  • Aspen Words Literary Prize Nominee for Longlist (2018)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.