Joss and Gold - by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim (Paperback)

About the Book

Shirley Lim's award-winning novel tells a modern "Madame Butterfly" story with humor and grace.

Book Synopsis

A piercing tale of a Malaysian woman's quest for independence that combines "the nuance of a poet with the ear of a born storyteller" (Julia Watson, coeditor of Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader).

Li An, a young Malaysian woman of Chinese descent, seeks to understand herself as the country around her struggles to determine its own identity. And much like the politically charged atmosphere of 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Li An must confront the contradictions within. While she supports her nation's fight to break free from the influence of British colonial rule, she cannot deny her love for the English poetry that she teaches. While she aspires to be an independent woman, she still finds herself married to the dependable Henry-until she meets an American Peace Corps volunteer named Chester Brookfield.

Their encounter propels Li An on a quest of self-discovery, one that spans the divide between East and West, women and men, freedom and responsibility. Told with insight and wit, Lim's sweeping debut novel demonstrates that while the journey is never easy, all roads lead, ultimately, to our true selves.

Review Quotes

"How to deal with what the white man has left behind? For Shirley Geok-lin Lim, this is a question not only about geopolitics but also about gender politics. . . . This elegantly crafted tale places Lim among the most imaginative and dexterous storytellers writing in the English language today."
-Rey Chow, author of Primitive Passions

"This felicitous novel is several books in one-Madame Butterfly transplanted to Malaysia, a feminist manifesto, and a commentary on the new Southeast Asia that has been emerging in recent years. Lim has woven these strands together in a colorful batik that is dazzling."
-Hisaye Yamamoto, author of Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories

"A gripping novel centered around a strong, language-struck, culture-crossing Asian woman's quest for independence. . . . A daring, sensuous, and pungent first novel."
-Rob Wilson, author of Reimagining the American Pacific

"Lim's rich, earthy writing combines the nuance of a poet with the ear of a born storyteller. Joss and Gold is compelling, provocative, and fascinating."
-Julia Watson, coeditor of Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader

About the Author

Shirley Geok-lin Lim is the author of Among the White Moon Faces: An Asian American Memoir of Homelands, winner of an American Book Award, as well as Two Dreams: New and Selected Stories, Crossing the Peninsula and Other Poems, and several other books. She is a professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara.