The Original Daughter
By (author) Wei, Jemimah
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By (author) Wei, Jemimah
Short description/annotation:
A captivating debut novel set in working-class Singapore about the relationship between two sisters over two decades
Description:
Review quote:
Utterly engrossing . . . elegantly composed . . . I loved this almost claustrophobic novel about the ways unrealized ambition can turn everything someone holds dear to rot
Review quote:
Fiery, funny, and incisive, The Original Daughter is at its core a ghost story. Once, invisibility was the hallmark of the working class, but Jemimah Wei knows in today''s world, where an internet connection allows one to walk through walls, be seen, disappear, and haunt from beyond the analog grave, a soulless transparency is power. A societal privilege ironically afforded to most everyone. This novel adroitly, yet playfully, turns the ways we see cultural appropriation, nepotism, and identity upside down. What a wise and wonderful read
Review quote:
I laughed, I wept, I called my mom. This story of a family and its struggle for freedom, intimacy, and survival asks not just what it means to love, but to love well, especially in a world where our relationships can both bond and break us. Jemimah Wei chronicles the eviscerating experience of living under the fracture of modern society with devastating care. Seismic
Review quote:
Full of empathy and energy, The Original Daughter is a portrait of individuals striving to define themselves in a country, and era, of intense change - the debut of a true literary talent
Review quote:
A heartfelt and meticulously written paean to sisterhood, the complexities of family and growing up in Singapore. Jemimah Wei is a sparkling talent
Review quote:
From the very first page, The Original Daughter consumed me. I soared when Gen''s and Arin''s dreams came alive; I crashed when heartache wrenched them. With rare wisdom, Jemimah Wei examines our need to belong and be loved when we chase ambition above all else. Her writing is so incisive and visceral that I did not simply read The Original Daughter; I lived it. This astonishing debut is a tour de force that I''ll never forget
Review quote:
The Original Daughter is a beautifully crafted exploration of family, identity and the complexities of cultural expectations. Through rich, evocative prose, Wei delves into the heart of a traditional Chinese-Singaporean family, capturing the tensions and deep emotional bonds that define their lives. Genevieve''s journey is marke
Short description/annotation:
A captivating debut novel set in working-class Singapore about the relationship between two sisters over two decades
Description:
''An incredible debut'' ROXANE GAY
''Wise and wonderful'' PAUL BEATTY
''A true literary talent'' TASH AW
''Seismic'' JONATHAN ESCOFFERY
Who would you sacrifice on the altar of ambition?
Singapore, 1996. Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in Bedok, she is saddled with an unexpected sibling when Arin appears, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead.
At once collaborators and sisters, Gen and Arin grow up inseparable, navigating the intensity of life in working-class Singapore - where urgent insistence on achievement demands self-immolation in the realms of imagination, work, and play. But as the rapidly modernising, winner-take-all world threatens to leave one behind as the other''s star rises exponentially, the sisters must weigh their allegiances and bonds, the cost of success and ultimately reckon with who they''ve become. What results is a story that cracks open the fault lines of Singaporean society, our desperate need for acceptance and our yearning to be loved.
Vivid and visceral, The Original Daughter is a breathtaking act of empathy by a new literary star.
Review quote:
Utterly engrossing . . . elegantly composed . . . I loved this almost claustrophobic novel about the ways unrealized ambition can turn everything someone holds dear to rot
Review quote:
Fiery, funny, and incisive, The Original Daughter is at its core a ghost story. Once, invisibility was the hallmark of the working class, but Jemimah Wei knows in today''s world, where an internet connection allows one to walk through walls, be seen, disappear, and haunt from beyond the analog grave, a soulless transparency is power. A societal privilege ironically afforded to most everyone. This novel adroitly, yet playfully, turns the ways we see cultural appropriation, nepotism, and identity upside down. What a wise and wonderful read
Review quote:
I laughed, I wept, I called my mom. This story of a family and its struggle for freedom, intimacy, and survival asks not just what it means to love, but to love well, especially in a world where our relationships can both bond and break us. Jemimah Wei chronicles the eviscerating experience of living under the fracture of modern society with devastating care. Seismic
Review quote:
Full of empathy and energy, The Original Daughter is a portrait of individuals striving to define themselves in a country, and era, of intense change - the debut of a true literary talent
Review quote:
A heartfelt and meticulously written paean to sisterhood, the complexities of family and growing up in Singapore. Jemimah Wei is a sparkling talent
Review quote:
From the very first page, The Original Daughter consumed me. I soared when Gen''s and Arin''s dreams came alive; I crashed when heartache wrenched them. With rare wisdom, Jemimah Wei examines our need to belong and be loved when we chase ambition above all else. Her writing is so incisive and visceral that I did not simply read The Original Daughter; I lived it. This astonishing debut is a tour de force that I''ll never forget
Review quote:
The Original Daughter is a beautifully crafted exploration of family, identity and the complexities of cultural expectations. Through rich, evocative prose, Wei delves into the heart of a traditional Chinese-Singaporean family, capturing the tensions and deep emotional bonds that define their lives. Genevieve''s journey is marke
| Author | By (author) Wei, Jemimah |
|---|---|
| Date Of Publication | Jun 5, 2025 |
| EAN | 9781399625579 |
| Contributors | Wei, Jemimah |
| Publisher | Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
| Languages | English |
| Country of Publication | United Kingdom |
| Width | 156 mm |
| Height | 240 mm |
| Product Forms | Hardback |
| Weight | 0.600000 |
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