The Un-Inquired - by Renee Chen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Un-Inquired is the confession of refugees, families, and lovers who have no right to love. It chronicles the stories of those who are struggling to find their voice in society and discover themselves, recollecting their trauma and memories, from the loss of a foster brother in a shooting incident to the hallucinations of a Japanese American immigrant with schizophrenia. An antiheroic tale of finding a way to survive in a world, the collection is at times emotional and tender, at times melancholy, lonely, and wryly introspective.

Review Quotes

"With meditative lyricism, Chen walks us through hospital hallways and into childhood bedrooms, inside a comic book store in New York City, and the caves of Nagasaki in a series of skillful reflections about the stories that define us and what tethers us together, from paper planes and newspaper clippings to peacock feathers and fields of stars. A sensory delight."

-Julia Grawemeyer, translator of Where Dogs Bark with Their Tails

"Simultaneously fable-like and sober. Both whimsical and real. In this contemplative collection, Chen pivots between the forever daytime of Neverland and the gritty midnight of Manhattan, between the imperial palace of the moon and the air raid shelters of Nagasaki...all the while, her writing resonates with dialogue that is purposeful and riveting, driving each story to its heartbreaking, inexorable end."

-Julian Riccobon, Managing Director of Polyphony Lit