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Dear Haider
Liz, born in China and raised in Montreal, is about to land in Germany for a summer physics internship at the end of her freshman year. Eager for a new beginning, she hopes to break free of her unrealized childhood dream of becoming a pianist, a dead-end romantic relationship, and the tug of war between her Chinese and Canadian identities.
In Germany, she meets fellow intern Haider, an Indian Muslim from Toronto, and they fall in love against expectations. But summer doesn’t last forever. Once they return to Canada, culture clashes and family disapproval threaten to pull them apart. As her sense of self is pushed dangerously close to a tipping point, Liz must summon the courage to survive the chaos that her life has become.
Lili Zeng holds a PhD in biophysics from McGill University. She has several peer-reviewed papers under her name and has given a dozen scientific and public outreach talks. Also a classically trained pianist, she has won numerous music competitions and soloed with prestigious chamber and symphony orchestras. She was born in Guangzhou, China, and moved to Montreal, Canada, with her parents as a child. Dear Haider is Lili’s first novel.
Praise and reviews
“Lili Zeng’s slow-burn account of Liz’s summer student internship lays the foundation for a rollercoaster ride filled with often unexpected life adventures as Liz steps into a new chapter of her life. Zeng’s awe-inspiring debut novel is a fearless and courageous narrative of first love, loss, despair, and ultimately of hope and healing. Truly, a testament to the resilience and enduring faith of the human spirit!”
— Mary Anne Levasseur, caregiver and youth mental health advocate
“A very sincere and touching story about a young girl exploring herself and love. It candidly shows the protagonist Liz, a Montreal-based Chinese immigrant’s step-by-step adventures and inner doubts, conflicts and struggles in her love with a white youth and an Indian youth. Some of the real presentation and reflections on racial differences and chasm are a valuable and even most fascinating part of this story.”
— Xiaodan He, filmmaker, A Touch of Spring
“When Liz sets off to continue her studies in Europe, her path seems clear––until unexpected love is both a distraction and a portal. But to what? A coming of age story of the struggle with one’s own sense of self as it expands and contracts against the expectations of the larger world.”
— Leila Marshy, author of Philistine
In Germany, she meets fellow intern Haider, an Indian Muslim from Toronto, and they fall in love against expectations. But summer doesn’t last forever. Once they return to Canada, culture clashes and family disapproval threaten to pull them apart. As her sense of self is pushed dangerously close to a tipping point, Liz must summon the courage to survive the chaos that her life has become.
Lili Zeng holds a PhD in biophysics from McGill University. She has several peer-reviewed papers under her name and has given a dozen scientific and public outreach talks. Also a classically trained pianist, she has won numerous music competitions and soloed with prestigious chamber and symphony orchestras. She was born in Guangzhou, China, and moved to Montreal, Canada, with her parents as a child. Dear Haider is Lili’s first novel.
Praise and reviews
“Lili Zeng’s slow-burn account of Liz’s summer student internship lays the foundation for a rollercoaster ride filled with often unexpected life adventures as Liz steps into a new chapter of her life. Zeng’s awe-inspiring debut novel is a fearless and courageous narrative of first love, loss, despair, and ultimately of hope and healing. Truly, a testament to the resilience and enduring faith of the human spirit!”
— Mary Anne Levasseur, caregiver and youth mental health advocate
“A very sincere and touching story about a young girl exploring herself and love. It candidly shows the protagonist Liz, a Montreal-based Chinese immigrant’s step-by-step adventures and inner doubts, conflicts and struggles in her love with a white youth and an Indian youth. Some of the real presentation and reflections on racial differences and chasm are a valuable and even most fascinating part of this story.”
— Xiaodan He, filmmaker, A Touch of Spring
“When Liz sets off to continue her studies in Europe, her path seems clear––until unexpected love is both a distraction and a portal. But to what? A coming of age story of the struggle with one’s own sense of self as it expands and contracts against the expectations of the larger world.”
— Leila Marshy, author of Philistine
- GenresFiction
309 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 27, 2024
17 people want to read
About the author
Lili Zeng
1 book5 followersLili Zeng holds a PhD in biophysics from McGill University. She has several peer-reviewed papers under her name and has given a dozen scientific and public outreach talks. Also a classically trained pianist, she has won numerous music competitions and soloed with prestigious chamber and symphony orchestras. She was born in Guangzhou, China, and moved to Montreal, Canada, with her parents as a child. Dear Haider is Lili’s first novel.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 18, 2024
A fascinating love story that blends reason and emotion, reality and imagination, hope and despair, all set against a backdrop of cultural clashes!
April 13, 2025
The ending of the book reminds me of my own demise. But the beginning was really cheesy. Worth reading until the end.
June 4, 2025
This book highly deserves to be read for its unforgettable and touching story.
April 14, 2024
A good first novel. A little uneven, but the end story is well written. Worth a look.
October 4, 2024
As my BSc was also in McGill Physics, so much of this story hit home for me (in fact, I'm lucky enough to know Lili in person). To top it off, like the protagonist I also went to study in Europe and met an Indian. So, needless to stay, I personally loved the ride.
That being said, when I objectively step back and turn on "critic-mode" there is quite a bit of room for improvement. The writing could be tighter, and the dialogue was sometimes cumbersome or cringy (both especially true in the first half). The ending also left me unsatisfied.
Though I will add that for a first time author the novel is impressive (I don't often find myself giving more than 2 stars to debut novels). And I'd fully recommend this to anyone who has known an intercultural relationship.
That being said, when I objectively step back and turn on "critic-mode" there is quite a bit of room for improvement. The writing could be tighter, and the dialogue was sometimes cumbersome or cringy (both especially true in the first half). The ending also left me unsatisfied.
Though I will add that for a first time author the novel is impressive (I don't often find myself giving more than 2 stars to debut novels). And I'd fully recommend this to anyone who has known an intercultural relationship.
August 28, 2024
Run, Liz, run, omg this is intense... So much deeper and more nunced than the jacket would have you believe; an intensely nail-biting psycological terror-ride that doesn't relent. Liz is super-relatable thoughout as she navigates the dissocation between unheathy relationship standards and the increasingly narcissistic, toxic environment in which she finds herself. That the setting is a Rise Summer in Germany and Liz is in McGill's intense MathPhys programme just heightens the stakes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2024
An excellent first novel with a particularly wonderfully written ending that I find to be absolutely unforgettable! Also some interesting insights on inter cultural dynamics. I find it has a haunting quality that lingers in one’s mind.
September 24, 2024
A solid first novel with exceptional ending. So many relatable clashes of worlds, cultures and complex emotions of early adulthood. Rooting for you from afar.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews