Janice Y. K. Lee was born and raised in Hong Kong. She received a BA in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard College. A former editor at Elle magazine, Lee lives in New York with her husband and four children.
“A female, funny Henry James in Asia, Janice Y. K. Lee is vividly
good on the subject of Americans abroad. . . . [The Expatriates is]
vibrant social satire: Inside these dark materials lies the
sharpness of a comic novelist, and Lee’s eye for the nuance and
clash of culture, class, race and sex is subtle and shrewd.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Devastating and heartwarming, and exquisite in every way, this is
a book you’ll fall deeply in love with and never want to put
down.”
—Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians
“Irresistible . . . Lee’s wizardry is her ability to whip drama,
pathos and humor into a scrumptious page-turning blend. Raise a
glass: The first great book-club novel of 2016 has arrived.”
—USA Today, 4/4 stars
“I raced through this enthralling story.”
—Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies
“Gorgeously wrought . . .a must-read.”
—Marie Claire
“Powerful [and] nuanced . . . poignant and compelling . . . The
Expatriates moves with urgency, but also takes time to slowly
reveal a complex story. Lee’s storytelling is intricate, precise
and rich enough to keep the reader seduced until the end.”
—Seattle Times
“We found ourselves racing through this exotic, sexy, heartbreaking
book. . . . We couldn’t wait to find out what happens to each of
the women.”
—Glamour
“At turns illuminating, entertaining, cringe-inducing, piercing . .
. With meticulous details and nuanced observations, Lee creates an
exquisite novel of everyday lives in extraordinary circumstances. .
. . How Lee’s triumvirate reacts, copes, and ventures forth (or
not) proves to be a stupendous feat of magnetic, transporting
storytelling. . . . Mark my words: The Expatriates will appear
repeatedly on year-end award nominations and all the 'best of'
compilations.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“An emotionally gripping page-turner.”
—Elle
"Captivating."
—US Weekly
“A nuanced reminder of how shockingly easy it can be to lose
everything in a moment and of how to reinvent one’s life after a
fall.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“One chief pleasure of The Expatriates is watching how the lives of
Hilary, Mercy and Margaret converge and are changed by that
convergence, and how they each metabolize grief. A more subtle yet
lingering benefit is getting to know Lee's acutely observed Hong
Kong, a city on the cusp of change that must eventually affect the
lives of expatriates and locals alike.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Janice Y.K. Lee’s absorbing, poignant novel . . . [is a] nuanced
story of the ordinary heroism needed to move past some of life’s
worst experiences. It’s a great read and a testament to the
strength and resilience we all have.”
—Redbook
“Combines a page-turning plot with intimate perceptions about
Americans in Hong Kong.”
—More
"We imagine we know these [expatriate] women, who are distanced
from their work, friends, and family, but we don’t. Janice Y. K.
Lee does. Set in Hong Kong, The Expatriates looks inside the lives
of three women . . . all in crisis, all needing one another in ways
they, and we, can’t imagine.”
—Vanity Fair
“A novel about displacement and belonging . . . A thoughtful
portrait of motherhood trade-offs, the book also offers sharp
insights into the tensions between moneyed expats and the
impoverished locals who serve them.”
—People, “The Best New Books”
“Janice Y. K. Lee nails family drama and gentrified Hong Kong.”
—New York Magazine
“[Lee] gently conveys her sad characters' loneliness, suffering and
anguish.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“One of the novel’s strengths is Lee’s exploration of the sometimes
subtle interplay between different layers and types of privilege;
another is her empathy for the loneliness that her characters must
endure. The result is a shrewd and moving study of how race, gender
and education constrain the options that life gives you.”
—The Financial Times
“Everyone’s buzzing about The Expatriates. . . . These women and
their stories will pull at every string in your heart.”
—Bustle
“Sex and the City meets Lost in Translation.”“
—TheSkimm
“Brilliantly plotted and written, utterly absorbing.”
—Daily Mail (London)
“Like Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah, Lee is a perceptive observer
of her compelling characters and brings them vividly to life in
this moving novel.”
—BookPage
“Captivating . . . Lee’s women are complex and often flawed, which
makes the stories of their strength all the more compelling in this
tale of family, motherhood, and attempts at moving on.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A richly detailed novel that rubs away at the luster of expat life
and examines how the bonds of motherhood or, really, womanhood, can
call back even those who are furthest adrift.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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