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106 ratings | 16 reviews | avg rating:4.56

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Xujun Eberlein

Goodreads Author

Born

Chongqing, China

Website

https://xujuneberlein.com/

Twitter

XujunEberlein

Genre

Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Literature & Fiction

Member Since

January 2008

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News: Xujun's memoir, The River Drowns the Able Swimmer https://books.catapult.co/books/the-r..., is now available for pre-order!
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Xujun Eberlein is the author of the award-winning story collection Apologies Forthcoming . An immigrant living in the Boston area, she is also a widely published essayist. One of her latest essays, "Ms. Daylily," has been selected for The Best American Essays 2023 by Vivian Gornick and Robert Atwan.

Xujun's writing has appeared in many magazines in the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Her literary awards include The Iowa Review Award in Nonfiction, artist fellowship in fiction/creative nonfiction from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the VCCA’s Goldfarb Non-fiction Fello ...more

5 posts
Xujun Eberlein's Blog

Publishers Weekly review of my memoir

I'm thrilled to share the Publishers Weekly review of my upcoming memoir The River Drowns the Able Swimmer!

"Spanning over 100 years of Chinese history, Eberlein’s sweeping yet intimate first work of nonfiction (after the story collection Apologies Forthcoming) weaves together the stories of three generations of convention-defying women. ...With a sharp wit and an eye toward the personal effects Read more of this blog post »

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Published on October 18, 2026 15:07 • Tags: my-memoir

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Xujun Eberlein’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 485 ratings · 114 reviews · 5 distinct works

	The Best American Essays 2023: Guest editor Vivian Gornick curates 21 daring personal essays―from Sigrid Nunez to David Treuer―on resilience and truth. by Vivian Gornick (Compiler), Robert Atwan, Ciara Alfaro 3.91 avg rating — 435 ratings — published 2023 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Apologies Forthcoming 4.40 avg rating — 68 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land by Angilee Shah (Editor), Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (Editor), Pankaj Mishra (Foreword) 4.17 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 2012 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The River Drowns the Able Swimmer 4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	China Stories (Los Angeles Review of Books - Digital Editions, Issue #10) by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (Editor), Helen Gao, Alec Ash (Goodreads Author) 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Xujun Eberlein wants to read The Last Emperor of China: Twilight of the Forbidden City by Paul French	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 16, 2026 06:29AM · like
Xujun Eberlein joined the group Memoir Authors
Oct 09, 2026 02:57PM · like
Xujun Eberlein wants to read The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself by Susan Bell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 09, 2026 02:36PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Artful Edit by Susan Bell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Artful Edit by Susan Bell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Xujun Eberlein wants to read Culture, Political Movement, and Revolution: the Formation of the Chinese Communist Movement in the Chongqing Region, 1890-1926 by Danke Li	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Xujun Eberlein wants to read Echoes of Chongqing: Women in Wartime China by Danke Li	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 09, 2026 09:14AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Echoes of Chongqing by Danke Li. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Echoes of Chongqing by Danke Li <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Xujun Eberlein liked Britta's review of The River Drowns the Able Swimmer: "The River Drowns The Able Swimmer is a poignant memoir and reflection on Xujun Eberlein’s childhood, as well as the childhoods of her mother and maternal grandmother (with some storylines of other key family members). I’ve never known much about the " Read more of this review »
Oct 01, 2026 03:59PM · see review
Xujun Eberlein wants to read The River Drowns the Able Swimmer by Xujun Eberlein (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 20, 2026 08:45AM · like
Xujun Eberlein wants to read Some Girls by Emily May (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 20, 2026 08:43AM · like
Xujun Eberlein wants to read War Boys: A Father and Son Memoir by Jason Prokowiew (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 20, 2026 08:42AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of War Boys by Jason Prokowiew. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — War Boys by Jason Prokowiew <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Xujun Eberlein wants to read Motherland by Jiayang Fan	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 30, 2026 03:51PM · like

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Writers and Readers : Q and A with author Xujun Eberlein	38	47	Jun 03, 2012 04:36PM
Around the World ...: China	77	1336	Feb 26, 2025 12:37PM

Xujun’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-3) post a comment »

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message 3: by Beth

Jul 24, 2008 08:00AM

Thanks for the friendship add, Xujun! I'll be blogging about the second book in my gift basket mystery series, TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET, next spring. We'll have to compare notes on book blogs!

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message 2: by Daniel

Feb 14, 2008 01:29PM

Xujun, I've put your book APOLOGIES FORTHCOMING on my to-read list.

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message 1: by John

Jan 29, 2008 07:58PM

Hi Xujun,

Congratulations on the forthcoming release of your story collection. The title is intriguing and I will be anxious to read your book!

--John

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Xujun’s Year In Books

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Xujun Eberlein

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5 posts
Xujun Eberlein's Blog

Publishers Weekly review of my memoir

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Xujun Eberlein’s books

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Xujun’s Recent Updates

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Xujun Eberlein’s Followers (32)

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Preview — The Artful Edit by Susan Bell

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Preview — War Boys by Jason Prokowiew

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