What do you think?
Rate this book
Choose Me
In this latest collection of short fiction, Evelyn Lau's elegant prose explores the complexity of human relationships. Though they long to be chosen, the women in Lau's stories are drawn to men they can't have, men whose allure fades the more available they become. The wives and lovers of those men confront each other with a discordant mix of admiration and jealousy.
In the novella, "Choose Me," Becky's attraction to Warner is equalled in intensity by her fascination with Annabelle, his aging but still glamorous wife. Zoe, the young poet of "Family," retreats from Douglas when she realizes that their involvement will never rival the "grand passion" he once shared with his wife. In "Suburbia," Belinda is increasingly disgusted by every aspect of her lover, as more and more she comes to see him through his wife's disappointed gaze.
With a precise eye and a deft touch, Lau explores the ambiguous motives that propel her characters into emotional and sexual entanglements. Lau's use of language is controlled, and her images sensuously described.
In the novella, "Choose Me," Becky's attraction to Warner is equalled in intensity by her fascination with Annabelle, his aging but still glamorous wife. Zoe, the young poet of "Family," retreats from Douglas when she realizes that their involvement will never rival the "grand passion" he once shared with his wife. In "Suburbia," Belinda is increasingly disgusted by every aspect of her lover, as more and more she comes to see him through his wife's disappointed gaze.
With a precise eye and a deft touch, Lau explores the ambiguous motives that propel her characters into emotional and sexual entanglements. Lau's use of language is controlled, and her images sensuously described.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1999
73 people want to read
About the author
Evelyn Lau
23 books78 followersEvelyn Lau was born July 2, 1971 in Vancouver, British Columbia to Chinese-Canadian parents, who intended for her to eventually become a doctor. Her parents' ambitions for her were wholly irreconcilable with her own; consequently, her home and school lives were desperately unhappy. In 1986 she ran away from her unbearable existence as a pariah in school and tyrannized daughter at home.
Lau began publishing poetry at the age of 12; her creative efforts helped her escape the pressure of home and school. In 1985, at age 14, Lau left home and spent the next several years living itinerantly in Vancouver as a homeless person, sleeping mainly in shelters, friends' homes and on the street and often supporting herself by selling her body to much older men.
Despite the chaos of her first two years' independence she submitted a great deal of poetry to journals and received some recognition. A diary she kept at the time was published in 1989 as Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid. The book was a critical and commercial success. Topics and individuals discussed in the book include some of Lau's various relationships with manipulative older men, the life and habits of a group of anarchists with whom she stayed immediately after leaving home, Lau's experiences with a couple from Boston who smuggled her into the United States, her abuse of various drugs, and her relationship with British Columbia's child support services. The film The Diary of Evelyn Lau (1993) starred Korean-Canadian actress Sandra Oh.
Lau had a well-publicized romantic relationship with University of Victoria creative writing professor and author W. P. Kinsella which led to the filing of a libel case against her[3]. She currently lives in Vancouver, where she freelances as a manuscript consultant in Simon Fraser University's Writing and Publishing Program. For invitations to poetry readings and festivals, the author may be contacted through Oolichan Books.
Lau began publishing poetry at the age of 12; her creative efforts helped her escape the pressure of home and school. In 1985, at age 14, Lau left home and spent the next several years living itinerantly in Vancouver as a homeless person, sleeping mainly in shelters, friends' homes and on the street and often supporting herself by selling her body to much older men.
Despite the chaos of her first two years' independence she submitted a great deal of poetry to journals and received some recognition. A diary she kept at the time was published in 1989 as Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid. The book was a critical and commercial success. Topics and individuals discussed in the book include some of Lau's various relationships with manipulative older men, the life and habits of a group of anarchists with whom she stayed immediately after leaving home, Lau's experiences with a couple from Boston who smuggled her into the United States, her abuse of various drugs, and her relationship with British Columbia's child support services. The film The Diary of Evelyn Lau (1993) starred Korean-Canadian actress Sandra Oh.
Lau had a well-publicized romantic relationship with University of Victoria creative writing professor and author W. P. Kinsella which led to the filing of a libel case against her[3]. She currently lives in Vancouver, where she freelances as a manuscript consultant in Simon Fraser University's Writing and Publishing Program. For invitations to poetry readings and festivals, the author may be contacted through Oolichan Books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 27, 2007
First, I gotta say, "I love Evelyn Lau." Must be the whole angsty disgust thing that and broken down depressive -- our bodies are not ourselves -- theme that thread thru everything she writes. I like it. I like it a lot.
Then there is her use of language. It's knitted together very well. Something I always tried to imitate is the way she joins sentences in a paragraph together by the unity of images.
Oh, one more thing I really like. Twisty endings.
The last story, "Blue Skies," about a man who "seemed the sort of man
for whom rules were bent, who was forgiven by women he betrayed"
suddenly remind me of an old friend I haven't seen in a long while...
Then there is her use of language. It's knitted together very well. Something I always tried to imitate is the way she joins sentences in a paragraph together by the unity of images.
Oh, one more thing I really like. Twisty endings.
The last story, "Blue Skies," about a man who "seemed the sort of man
for whom rules were bent, who was forgiven by women he betrayed"
suddenly remind me of an old friend I haven't seen in a long while...
October 25, 2021
An imaginative series of stylish short stories that I thoroughly enjoyed.
December 31, 2009
Repetitive in it's stories. Once you've read one or two you can expect the same for the rest of them.
August 28, 2015
Well written, but these short stories about "love", usually between older, married men and younger women, are depressingly pessimistic.
August 6, 2023
This was not good. Every story had a female, who was not happy, very flat, wanting other woman's husbands or very unsatisfied with their own husbands. It was almost as if each essay/story was the author's secret wishes of her own life or her fantasies and could not come up with better characters. Very maudlin and depressing. Lots of cheating or wanting to cheat.
December 9, 2025
Wow, the men in this book are a piece of work.
I kinda of feel bad for the women, but most of them know what they’re getting into, especially considering this is a book centered around infidelities and the such.
I think my “favorite” of the bunch has to be The Outing since I did not expect that ending.
3/5 stars
I kinda of feel bad for the women, but most of them know what they’re getting into, especially considering this is a book centered around infidelities and the such.
I think my “favorite” of the bunch has to be The Outing since I did not expect that ending.
3/5 stars
Want to read
July 13, 2015Saw on NPR Facebook July 2015
September 6, 2012
more great short stories
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews