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Lucy Tan

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.lucyrtan.com

Twitter

citizenofspace

Genre

Fiction

Member Since

September 2017

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Lucy Tan is the author of What We Were Promised, which was long listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named a Best Book of 2018 by The Washington Post. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was awarded the 2016 August Derleth Prize and served as the James C. McCreight Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. Her stories have appeared in McSweeney’s, American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, and elsewhere.

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Popular Answered Questions

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Lucy Tan Though born and raised in America, I spent two years living with my parents in a serviced apartment in Shanghai. There, I got to know a cast of fascin…moreThough born and raised in America, I spent two years living with my parents in a serviced apartment in Shanghai. There, I got to know a cast of fascinating characters--drivers and housekeepers, fellow ex-pat residents, and my very own family members--better than I could have ever imagined. Living in a foreign country forced me to see the world from different and distinct angles. For me, that's where the best stories begin.(less)

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Do you have any favorite books about Asians in America? Or any favorite historical fiction about Asians?

Lucy Tan So many! I will just list a few here. My favorite work of Chinese historical fiction is To Live by Yu Hua (translated from Chinese by Michael Berry). …moreSo many! I will just list a few here. My favorite work of Chinese historical fiction is To Live by Yu Hua (translated from Chinese by Michael Berry). For a more modern view of China, take a look at Xiaolu Guo's Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth. I can also recommend Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, which explores the Korean experience in Japan in the 1900s.

My favorite novels about Asians in American include Hunger (a novella and stories) by Samantha Chang, Chemistry by Weike Wang, and Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer.

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Combine Editions
Lucy Tan’s books

Average rating: 3.54 · 5,915 ratings · 682 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	What We Were Promised 3.54 avg rating — 5,887 ratings — published 2018 — 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
	The Last Curiosity 3.61 avg rating — 28 ratings	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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Lucy’s Recent Updates

Lucy Tan is now friends with Stephkempf
Nov 20, 2024 11:52AM · like
Lucy Tan voted for All Fours as Readers' Favorite Fiction in the Opening Round of the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
Nov 20, 2024 11:49AM · like

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Quotes by Lucy Tan (?)

“The sun felt so loud, it stood in for conversation.”
― Lucy Tan, What We Were Promised

2 likes

“The heart was the most senseless organ there was—yet the most essential. No wonder people were doomed to be fools from the beginning.”
― Lucy Tan, What We Were Promised

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“Why do our minds fixate on the kinds of love we're not getting instead of the kinds of love we are?”
― Lucy Tan, What We Were Promised

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