Starred review from March 18, 2024
This resonant and textured debut traces the secret lives of gay men and their wives in 1980s China and their loneliness in contemporary New York City’s Chinatown. As a young man, Old Second leaves his village in shame after his family discovers his sexuality. In the city of Fuzhou, he falls in love with a man named Shun-Er, whom he meets at the Workers’ Cinema, which is known for showing war films to a gay clientele who meet for sex in the screening rooms. Out of convenience, Old Second marries Bao Mei, a woman who works at the cinema’s ticket counter, and they immigrate to New York City in the 1990s. A parallel narrative follows Yan Hua and her marriage to Shun-Er, who dies by suicide in 1989 and whose ghost continues to haunt her after she comes to the U.S. as a “puppet wife” to Frog, the “discount-bin husband” her family paid in exchange for her green card. Tang laces the narrative with Dickensian details of Chinatown’s underground economy (Frog and Yan Hua live in a cramped, six-dollar per night “motel” room shared by many others in bunk beds), and lyrically portrays Old Second’s longing for same-sex intimacy (“A barrier has been erected around his heart, and though he can look past it like clean glass, he finds there are certain thresholds he can no longer cross”). Tang announces himself as a writer to watch with this unshakable novel. Agent: Kent Wolf, Neon Literary.
September 13, 2024
Center for Fiction Emerging Writers Fellow Tang's poignant debut traces the lives of closeted Chinese men and their wives, once connected by a theater in rural China and now navigating lonely lives in New York City's Chinatown. The first part of the novel introduces listeners to the Worker's Cinema, a theater where men go to find comfort in the arms of other men. There, Old Second finds love with Shun-Er, only to be discovered by Shun-Er's wife, Yan Hua. Yan Hua's reaction has devastating consequences, propelling them to find new lives in the United States. Samantha Tan narrates, immersing listeners in Tang's keenly described world and lyrical writing. Though the book's middle section, which highlights the challenges that the women encounter, strays a bit, the final section soars. The depiction of COVID's effect on Asian immigrants in New York is especially moving. The book has many characters, but Tan skillfully modulates her voice so listeners can easily distinguish the different personalities. Tan's presentation is compelling without dramatics; Tang's writing is powerful enough that she can dispense with fireworks. VERDICT A standout debut that is both a queer love story and an immigrant tale. Tang is a writer to watch.--Laura Stein
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