Upcountry

by Chin-Sun Lee, Michelle H. Lee (Narrator)

Claire Pedersen and her husband are relocating from NYC to the Catskillsthey have found a terrific deal on a property in foreclosure. The house has been in April Ivess family for three generations, but the single mother of three children from two different fathers needs the money. Claire and April are instantly antagonistic, but the sale proceeds, and renovations begin. Soon after, Claires husband develops an erotic fascination with Anna, a young member of a nearby religious community called The Eternals. Two marriagesand one pregnancyswiftly and dramatically end. Claire is left to finish the renovation and salvage the life she had imagined. April, meanwhile, is dealing with her ex who has just been released from prison on a drug charge and the decision of whether or not to let him build a relationship with the son he has never known. Life upcountry means close encounters between disparate social Claire and April navigate mutual dislike and unanticipated empathy. The house remains a sore point for both. Anna is the unhappy fulcrum between the two older women. Shunned from The Eternals since the incident with Claires husband, she yearns to return to their protection. Annas strict views on transgression and penance are baffling to April; for Claire, Anna remains the embodiment of her ruined marriage.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published March 12, 2024

About the author

Chin-Sun Lee is Korean-American and the youngest child of North Korean exiles. After a long career in fashion design, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing at The New School in New York. Her work has appeared in Electric Literature, Literary Hub, The Georgia Review, Brooklyn Rail, and Joyland, among other publications. She's also a contributor to the New York Times bestselling anthology Women in Clothes (Blue Rider Press/Penguin 2014). She currently lives in New Orleans. Upcountry is her debut. Her second novel, a speculative thriller titled Soon You'll Be Just Like Us, is forthcoming in May 2027 with Creature Publishing.

Reviews

[Teresa]

Lee’s debut novel is an intricate dance of three women whose lives intersect and interlock in various ways in a small village in the Catskills. Events are set in motion with the sale of one woman’s longtime family home to a newcomer. Themes of real estate, outsiders, exploitation, and prejudice lead the reader into a weather event that then leads to drastic changes for two of the women and a revelation for the third.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

With stunning precision, disquieting tension, and assured prose, Lee delivers a transporting and spellbinding story of resiliency and despair, faith and distrust, identity and community I rapidly devoured. --- My interview with Lee at Chicago Review of Books: https://chireviewofbooks.com/2023/11/...

[hannah lee]

Felt a little bit unsatisfied by the ending of this book. I thought that there was a lot more that could have been explored through the characters and was not so much upset by the decision to (spoiler) kill off one of the characters but the execution of it. It seemed like it was more for the convenience of the plot than anything else.

Really well-written and I really appreciated the depth of the characters—I can imagine them as if they were characters in a movie. This book tackles dark topics (religious cults, broken families, drug abuse, sexual abuse, etc.) and speaks to the resiliency of human nature and what it means to create meaning in one’s own life in spite of the trials & tribulations of life. I also deeply respect Chin-Sun Lee’s approach in exploring different aspects of spirituality (religion, psychic, atheism) and how different spiritual views influence one’s response to suffering in the world without feeling prescriptive or casting judgement on any particular view. Much to continue reflecting and pondering over aspects of my own life :-)

[Ann Marie Coviello · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much to like in this quiet book that reminds me of what I come to literary fiction for—to find out how people make sense of the brokenness of everyday life and how to heal it. I highly recommend it to fans of the early books of Barbara Kingslover, Jane Smiley, and even Jodi Piccoult. For readers looking for well-written but unobtrusive prose about women confronting their relationships, the failed economy for women, their spirituality and how they are defined by motherhood or its lack, this book shines.

In a small town in upstate New York, three women's lives cross and converge. Claire, April and Anna couldn't be more different. Claire faces disappointment on every major front of her life. She's in a lackluster marriage to a frustrated artist. She dearly wishes for a child she can't have. Her career has stagnated and come to a halt. She and her husband decide to change their lives and move from New York City to a small town "upcountry" where housing is cheap, and they can—they hope—start over.

April is the working class, down-on-her-luck single mother whose family home is snapped up by Claire for a bargain. The two women can't be friends, even though they are sisters under the skin. They are both women trying to survive in a world essentially hostile to their modest hopes for themselves and their families.

Anna is of a younger generation, and she is just as lost. An international adoptee from South Korea, she has been raised by an American couple who are dedicated members of a religious cult. She's never had the choices of an educated woman like Claire, and she believes deeply in the safety and security of her life. Yet even in the insular community where she should be protected, she, too, is subject to the disappointments and humiliations far too many women in America experience.

If this books sounds like a downer, it isn't. As these three women's lives intersect, you are cheering for them, hoping they find redemption. Without spoiling the highly satisfying ending, all three women are redeemed, although not in ways you see coming.

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beginning during the recession in 2009, and over a couple of years, the lives of three women intersect in the fictional town of Caliban, in upstate New York. There is aloof Manhattan attorney Claire Pedersen, married to depressive painter Sebastian, who buys the family home of April Ives, a single mother of three who works several jobs, which isn't far from the compound of The Eternals, a religious sect/cult that seems to mix Fundamental Christianity with Judaism, where Anna, then pregnant, and the only Korean-American member of this white cult, lives. It's an open-ended story, at times eerie, that refreshingly doesn't rely on big hooks or trends. A quiet story that seems to say the especially downtrodden and those with faith, no matter how twisted, find ways to outlast the more educated and ostensibly privileged? I was intrigued, even as I was discomfited by these women, and their choices, how they navigate their worlds.

[Melanie Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I couldn’t put it down, stayed up half the night reading it. Vivid, unique characters and relationships, a story with a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and a dazzling creative voice coming from this debut author. Fabulous!

[☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um????



SPOILERS:


was this book about a woman buying house fixing it for the previous owner and then dying???

Idk girl I'm really unsatisfied with whatever happened here ,i was expecting more and i wanted more.

The writing was great but it was not tying together ,it felt like things were happening and its not going anywhere,

I Couldn't connect with the characters and felt detached ,and the only character i somewhat care about died ,throughout the story she was suffering and only suffering which made no sense.

I will check out the Author again she is a good writer but the story structure was lacking here

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this story. The premise was appealing to me but I found the delivery to be uninspiring and difficult to get into. This book wasn’t for me.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Unnamed Press for the early read.

[Lisa]

I’m not sure how to rate this. It started so strong and I was drawn in by the tension and disquieting feel of the modern day gothic plot. However, and I know I’m in the minority here, the story drifted for me after the beginning.

[Tegan Breker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe the book that will get me back into reading? Spooky and twisted and so hard to put down!

[Emily Perkovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tension created in this was so well done. It had horror vibes and I had to keep reminding myself that there probably wasn’t going to be a supernatural mystery or that the Eternals were not going to turn out to be eating the babies. I will say, I loved all of the characters except for the one I really wanted to like, April, which ended up being very frustrating for me towards the end.

Thank you Unnamed Press & NetGalley for the review copy.

[Becca Hilberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two-thirds of the book was very strong and channeling Otessa Moshfegh, but the ending and random death of a main character seemed scrappily put together and too sudden. This book, however, is the author's debut, and they're definitely going to stay on my radar for future books!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

YAY CHIN-SUN 🫰🏽🫰🏽 this was a great southern gothic, couldn’t put it down 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upcountry written by Chin-Sun Lee and narrated by Michelle H. Lee is briliant. Grade A star, 5 star, gold riband brilliant.

Firstly, Michelle H Lee does a wonderful job of narrating this audiobook. Her voice is perfection and so well suited to the narrative, subtly conveying every change and shift in the flow of the storyline, changing between dialogies fluidly and consistently

Chin-Sun Lee has written an incredible story and it is essential to advise readers to take note of the trigger warnings. All events are in context to the narrative

The book follows three women, Claire, April and Anna, whose lives are interwoven in a series of events in the town of Caliban. Claire is the tightly wound attorney who moves to Caliban from Manhattan with her husband Sebastian. April, previous owner of the house that Claire and Sebastian and mother to a son and two daughters, and Anna, a member of the "Eternals" a highly private, religious community, trying to escape from the life she has found herself in

Lee weaves the three storylines of the three women elegantly, the core events pivoting around the house, the creek and small-town malice, birth and death. All three woman and their partners and ex-partners become entwined following a tragic accident in the creek which is reflected in events throughout the book. There is a consistent sense of balance throughout the storyline, for evey action, there is an equal and/ or opposite reaction and this is so very true in this book

Dark, atmospheric, relatable, utterly, utterly outstanding. If i could give 10 stars I would

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the incredible author Chin-Sun Lee and outstanding Narrator Michelle H. Lee for this fantastic ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

[Makailyn Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marked by many casual yet frank meetings and expository thoughts, this book almost lost me. Relating wasn’t in the plans, so it took me a second to buy in and see myself in the story, but in that waiting time I still couldn’t bring myself to call it boring. And so the reflection had opportunity to settle. Quietly thrilling. There’s an eeriness to the book that holds you. Spiritual, with all the necessary components: a grating awareness of corporeality, the volatility of belief, and slight, human-like expressiveness. Nothing is cartoonish or quick. 245 pages of anxiety and fear and such precise writing.

Three completely different (and I would say rightfully paranoid) women constantly find themselves at the center of judgement (which they teeter between attributing to their gossipy town and something more cosmic). This is not a pleasant story. I felt very afraid for them. It’s a very scary thing to be an outcast. Even more frightening to be a woman, whose main function is often as subject, unwillingly so. A subject who recognizes herself ends up in such a precarious position. Still, I love how they converged on each other—not with love so much as with an uneasy tolerance that begets fixation. I wanted more for them, but maybe it’s the best we can do.

“It was vicious, this business of living. Still, what choice did she have but to get on with it?”

[Katyak79 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up due to the gorgeous cover, and ended up being very pleasantly surprised. This book is very good, but is so so sad. The story line revolves around three women in upstate New York. One is an attorney married to a wishy washy artist, one is a hard-ass local woman and one is a very young girl living in a local cult. The husband becomes obsessed with the young girl, who is very pregnant and from there, things fall apart spectacularly. If you want a novel with happy endings, there are none in sight here. For these women, life is relentless, vicious and sad but the way the stories play out does feel rewarding at the end of the book. My only real complaint is that throughout the story, it's hinted at that the house being renovated by Claire has some sort of supernatural presence or history. This presence is alluded to many times (the blood smell on the first floor, the shadows and occasional figures Claire sees) but is never really explained and I wish it was.

[Sandell Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up Country is a gothic, ghostly, and powerfully written novel by Chin-Sun Lee. Our paths crossed briefly at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, Virginia, and since that meeting, I was on the lookout for her novel. Up Country is the story of three women forced together by circumstance, calamity, and natural disaster in a small town in upstate New York. Claire, a lawyer in a troubled marriage is the newcomer; April, a single mother of three children from different fathers is the “townie”; Anna, Korean and a member of a white Christian cult, is the outsider. Imagine weaving these disparate stories together. That is exactly what Chin-Sun Lee does. She dives into the dark place of each life. She makes connections and fills her readers with love and compassion. I could not put this book down.

[Daina Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book. the undercurrent of tension and awkwardness between Claire and April in the first chapter immediately piqued my curiosity about these characters and how their different backgrounds will color their relationship. i felt like i was in the room with them when they met. with the introduction of anna and sebastian, the drama builds immediately to a level that was beyond unpredictable. so many things to love about this book, the insightful observations of people who have chosen a place and a way of life, and now have to deal with the people of that place. i stayed up late nights reading as i needed to know what turns the story would take. i highly recommend this book if you are looking for an all absorbing read.

[Loretta (on semi-hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would never thought I would be this invested in this book. I admit I had low expectations about this book and was surprised how fleshed out and real the characters were. I felt for them, they had problems I could really relate to, even though I haven't gone through the same things myself! The writing was so good I felt it in my gut. Small town life is the same everywhere...

The Eternals cult wasn't that interesting. I initially thought they would be some really esoteric new religion cult but they were just an amalgamation of very strict Christianity and Judaism. Boring. Also Anna was the weakest character, hard to explain but she didn't feel as well written as Claire and April.
There were some things that were left unexplained and minor nitpicks.

All in all, very solid read.

[thubles · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a fantastic little book! really enjoyed the almost atmospheric yet connectedness of the setting. the characters decisions, their reason for their actions, and how seemingly it could be all connected and influenced on the book’s plot. the main three characters, claire, april, and anna, were compelling in their stories and it was interesting to hear their thoughts through the pov shifts. there were some parts about the house that i wished i knew more (what was the rusty smell the women keep smelling? was it related to the history of april’s family with the house) but the ending wrapped up well, not happy but a little satisfying.

[Kristen Gentry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upcountry appeals to a wide range of readers. It hooks like a beach read from the very beginning with an "Oh, no they didn't!" moment and holds you in its grasp until the very end. But make no mistake, Upcountry is rich, its characters deep, its commentary on the housing market, gentrification, religion, the artist's life, small towns and their crippling gossip and limited opportunities thought-provoking. It holds its own amongst literary titles. Lee keeps conflict rolling, but she provides just the right amount of time to process that conflict with beautifully written sentences without ruining the momentum. I highly recommend this book to others.

[Mary Groebner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book on Friday and was through 55 pages before I finally put it down - then finished it the following day. The characters were so different from each other, but so well-drawn and whether I thought I would like them in real life or not, I still wanted to know what would happen to them, how their lives would intersect and where they'd be at the end. Details of their pasts that shaped their intersecting present lives trickled out over the course of the whole book, as did realities of life in a small town. Engaging.

[Elisa Speranza · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a spectacular debut novel. Chin-Sun Lee brings us into the beating heart of a small town, with all its buried secrets, grief, loss, and ghosts. Through the eyes of three female protagonists, we're on a guided tour of their lives in this haunted but beautiful landscape, full of broken people and mysterious tragedies that keep us turning the pages. At the root of it all is an abiding sense that our fates are intertwined, whether we like it or not. Lee's prose is lyrical, bracing, and true. Highly recommend.

[Kathy Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel introduced me to three women, each very different from one another and from myself. Yet, on their life journeys they developed into people I was happy to get to know. I found myself appreciating the humanity in each of the women as their individual growth allowed them to learn to appreciate each other. The characterization was vividly drawn. These women will be with me a long time. Hopefully, if I encounter similar people in my own life, I will welcome them with more grace than if I hadn't read this book.

[Ryan Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one I just couldn’t put down—a dark page turner from the very first about three women whose lives cross in a small upstate community. I was blown away, not just by the propulsiveness of the plot, but also by how the author explores some of the most pressing social issues of our time—race, class, socio-economics—but in an utterly organic way. The book has an eerie, haunted quality from the very beginning, a haunted house devoid of ghosts, but full of the still-living past. It’s a book that begs for repeat reading and that foreshadows even more impressive works on the horizon. Read it!

[Kaitlyn Hermansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quiet, yet eerie story of 3 women whose lives intersect in a small town and are all briefly connected to the same house. Though never overly exciting, this was an intriguing story that still managed to keep me hooked on each character and their lives. Lee manages to give each character depth and fit a wide variety of dark topics into this book, but it never feels rushed or uncalled for. I didn’t find the ending satisfying, but I nonetheless enjoyed this and it made for an interesting read on how one’s spirituality affects them in their personal afflictions.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous debut

I do not read much fiction, but this story immediately drew me in. The characters are depressing and relatable, but the mood and the tenor has a very unique approach, with sincere empathy for characters with deep flaws and conviction. There was really never a dull moment, but this was not the type of forward-motion plot that slaps you in the face either - the progress had the right cadence and stayed entertaining. Very nice work from a great new author!

[Brian O'Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved 'Upcountry'. Chin-Sun Lee is a master craftsperson of American dread. 'Upcountry' slowly peels back the layers of one small town to reveal the rot festering just beneath us all. The writing is moving and spare, with a journalistic restraint that adds to the almost 'forensic' tone, disturbing in all the best ways. Cinematic—love to see this book turned into a film. Looking forward to Chin-Sun Lee's follow up.

[Sumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2/5. An engrossing take on what women must do to survive in a small town in America. The details of each characters past shows how every event (big and small) has a ripple effect which is what eventually led to their lives intersecting. I felt like there were many themes in this book, but definitely a focus on identity, unity, and community.

[Adam Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upcountry is fast paced, creepy, complicated, and dark. Exactly the kind of book I reach for. All of the unsettled female protagonists come alive for me, and the eerie penetration of their lives kept me enthralled. Lee's writing is tight, spare, and artful. She's also a brilliant writer of dialogue and a master of cliff-hanger chapter endings. I loved it.