Joan Is Okay cover art

Joan Is Okay

A Novel

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Joan Is Okay

Written by: Weike Wang
Narrated by: Catherine Ho
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About this listen

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A witty, moving, piercingly insightful new novel about a marvelously complicated woman who can’t be anyone but herself, from the award-winning author of Chemistry

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • “A deeply felt portrait . . . With gimlet-eyed observation laced with darkly biting wit, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America.”—Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR:
The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, NPR, The Washington Post, Vox

Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work, happily solitary, successful. She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white coat makes her feel needed, or with her family, who try to shape her life by their own cultural and social expectations.

Once Joan and her brother, Fang, were established in their careers, her parents moved back to China, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland. But when Joan’s father suddenly dies and her mother returns to America to reconnect with her children, a series of events sends Joan spiraling out of her comfort zone just as her hospital, her city, and the world are forced to reckon with a health crisis more devastating than anyone could have imagined.

Deceptively spare yet quietly powerful, laced with sharp humor, Joan Is Okay touches on matters that feel deeply resonant: being Chinese-American right now; working in medicine at a high-stakes time; finding one’s voice within a dominant culture; being a woman in a male-dominated workplace; and staying independent within a tight-knit family. But above all, it’s a portrait of one remarkable woman so surprising that you can’t get her out of your head.

©2022 Weike Wang (P)2022 Random House Audio
Fiction Genre Fiction United States Women's Fiction World Literature Witty Hospital New York
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What the critics say

“Downright hilarious, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes as a coping mechanism. Wang masterfully balances the many terrors of [the] provocative questions about motherhood, daughterhood, belonging and the many definitions of ‘home.’”The New York Times Book Review

“This is the first book I loved this year. . . . It’s smart, heartfelt and insightful, and—I almost hate to say it—I literally laughed and cried.”—Erin Sells, NPR

“Incisive yet tender, written with elegant style and delicious verve. Joan isn’t just okay, she’s wonderful. I could listen to her smart, witty voice forever.”—Sigrid Nunez

What listeners say about Joan Is Okay

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Couldn’t wait to hear what came next

A moving story that thoughtfully challenges notions of femininity, work, family, and hope in the time leading up to, and during the beginning months of, the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus and it’s effects on the world play a small role, amplifying and refracting a storyline that’s already rich.

Wang renders scenes and dialogue so naturally it feels like cinema. With such a smooth flow, it’s easy to become completely absorbed in Joan’s perspective, her interiority and the dilemmas she faces.

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Wonderful narration

I really enjoyed this sparse but beautifully written book. Joan is wonderful and I would love another book about her. The narration was perfect.

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