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Inheritance
Not yet published
Expected 7 Apr 26A Korean Canadian woman returns to the prairies, where she revisits her childhood and confronts her haunting guilt.
Anne Kim is a New York lawyer whose success is built on forgetting the past. When her father dies and she returns to Edmonton for the funeral, she is shocked to discover that he was from North Korea and that he left his brother behind.
As Anne reads the undelivered letters her father wrote to his brother about life in Canada, she is transported back to her childhood during the 1980s and 90s. She recalls the struggles her parents faced as immigrants who ran a grocery store in a rural prairie town. Anne and her brother, Charles, felt the weight of their father's expectations: whereas Anne was driven to excel and became an overachiever, Charles rebelled, determined to pursue his own dreams. His rebellion created a rift that culminated in a devastating act, irrevocably shattering the family and leaving Anne overwhelmed by inescapable guilt.
Inheritance explores the immigrant experience, the sacrifices made by both parents and children, and the way trauma is transferred to the next generation. As Anne completes her journey to the past, she emerges to finally define life on her own terms.
Anne Kim is a New York lawyer whose success is built on forgetting the past. When her father dies and she returns to Edmonton for the funeral, she is shocked to discover that he was from North Korea and that he left his brother behind.
As Anne reads the undelivered letters her father wrote to his brother about life in Canada, she is transported back to her childhood during the 1980s and 90s. She recalls the struggles her parents faced as immigrants who ran a grocery store in a rural prairie town. Anne and her brother, Charles, felt the weight of their father's expectations: whereas Anne was driven to excel and became an overachiever, Charles rebelled, determined to pursue his own dreams. His rebellion created a rift that culminated in a devastating act, irrevocably shattering the family and leaving Anne overwhelmed by inescapable guilt.
Inheritance explores the immigrant experience, the sacrifices made by both parents and children, and the way trauma is transferred to the next generation. As Anne completes her journey to the past, she emerges to finally define life on her own terms.
320 pages, Paperback
Expected publication April 7, 2026
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1022 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 21, 2025
This is a novel that reads like a memoir. The protagonist is the female child of a couple who escaped wartime Korea to come to Canada. Her older brother carries the traditional burden of eventually leading the family, and he protests against it when his future is shattered by his father's shortsightedness. It is then up to the sister to take up that burden which is not traditionally hers to inherit. In the meantime, the parents struggle to run their own business and survive economically.
It is with some relief that the story continues enough into the future so that we can read how it resolves. The transition to becoming an even somewhat accepted part of society can be easier for children than their parents, but it is never actually easy. Learning more about people from other cultures emigrating to new countries is important for everyone. This story helps to develop the empathy that we all could use more of.
It is with some relief that the story continues enough into the future so that we can read how it resolves. The transition to becoming an even somewhat accepted part of society can be easier for children than their parents, but it is never actually easy. Learning more about people from other cultures emigrating to new countries is important for everyone. This story helps to develop the empathy that we all could use more of.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Park's aptly titled debut novel, INHERITANCE, meticulously examines the fault lines of a fractured Korean immigrant family with graceful precision, exploring the weight of trauma entwined with tradition and family expectations, the loneliness of growing up as "other" in a predominantly white town, and coming to terms with a complicated family history and uncomfortable truths. Part coming-of-age novel and part historical family-saga, this debut novel authentically captures the emotional toll of family sacrifice for the dream of a better life.
The story unfolds in 2014 -- as Anne, a lawyer at a large NYC law firm navigates the funeral of her father. Anne went to Yale and is the "success" of the family, compared to her older brother Charles, a self-admitted fuck-up who just got out of rehab. Interspersed between the "now," we also see Anne, Charles, and their parents in scenes from the past from the 80's and 90's. As Anne spends more time at home with her mother and Charles, she is forced to face the ghosts of her past, her complicity in derailing Charles' life, and exactly how she escaped her small-town life.
So many scenes from the novel resonated with me. As an immigrant growing up in the late 80's and 90's, some of my own life experiences parallel Anne's. Scenes of covering for friends who are not allowed to date, being responsible and "good" in the way prescribed by my parents, the feeling of loneliness and isolation, being self-sufficient and caring for siblings while our parents worked -- these all felt real and palpable.
When Anne is young, her parents tell her stories of how they were descended from kings. Anne asks why they don't move back to Korea.
Anne's mother and father immigrate to Canada for the ubiquitous desire for "better life" but is it truly better? Anne's father, a graduate of Seoul University, gave up his job to a friend before leaving Korea. In Canada, he struggles with jobs and with the language, ultimately buying a small business (with hefty loan) in the prairies of Canada. When the friend visits from Korea bearing gifts and stories of success thanking Anne's father for giving him the job, Anne's father reckons with his decision and the reality of their life in Canada, as owners of a failing grocery store dealing with racism, vandalism, and isolation.
Perhaps the most devastating, poignant part in the story is Charles' relationship with their father. Charles, who is a genius with computers and is ahead of his time, is not understood by his father. Their father's proclamation that "your life is not your own. It belongs to your family" --escalates the tension between father and son, and between Anne and Charles, affecting everyone in the family at a very high cost. As she spends more time with her brother, Anne ultimately comes to terms with her own complicity and passivity. Honestly, I'm still reeling -- #justiceforcharles.
There is a vault of pain in this story that I was not ready for. The author has done a great job in breathing life into each character, faults and all. Kudos to the author for crafting an intricate, intense family saga that truly resonates long after you've finished the story.
Thank you to Pegasus Books for the #gifted ARC.
The story unfolds in 2014 -- as Anne, a lawyer at a large NYC law firm navigates the funeral of her father. Anne went to Yale and is the "success" of the family, compared to her older brother Charles, a self-admitted fuck-up who just got out of rehab. Interspersed between the "now," we also see Anne, Charles, and their parents in scenes from the past from the 80's and 90's. As Anne spends more time at home with her mother and Charles, she is forced to face the ghosts of her past, her complicity in derailing Charles' life, and exactly how she escaped her small-town life.
So many scenes from the novel resonated with me. As an immigrant growing up in the late 80's and 90's, some of my own life experiences parallel Anne's. Scenes of covering for friends who are not allowed to date, being responsible and "good" in the way prescribed by my parents, the feeling of loneliness and isolation, being self-sufficient and caring for siblings while our parents worked -- these all felt real and palpable.
When Anne is young, her parents tell her stories of how they were descended from kings. Anne asks why they don't move back to Korea.
Anne's mother and father immigrate to Canada for the ubiquitous desire for "better life" but is it truly better? Anne's father, a graduate of Seoul University, gave up his job to a friend before leaving Korea. In Canada, he struggles with jobs and with the language, ultimately buying a small business (with hefty loan) in the prairies of Canada. When the friend visits from Korea bearing gifts and stories of success thanking Anne's father for giving him the job, Anne's father reckons with his decision and the reality of their life in Canada, as owners of a failing grocery store dealing with racism, vandalism, and isolation.
Perhaps the most devastating, poignant part in the story is Charles' relationship with their father. Charles, who is a genius with computers and is ahead of his time, is not understood by his father. Their father's proclamation that "your life is not your own. It belongs to your family" --escalates the tension between father and son, and between Anne and Charles, affecting everyone in the family at a very high cost. As she spends more time with her brother, Anne ultimately comes to terms with her own complicity and passivity. Honestly, I'm still reeling -- #justiceforcharles.
There is a vault of pain in this story that I was not ready for. The author has done a great job in breathing life into each character, faults and all. Kudos to the author for crafting an intricate, intense family saga that truly resonates long after you've finished the story.
Thank you to Pegasus Books for the #gifted ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to Pegasus Books for the ARC!
Inheritance is a gripping exploration of family, sacrifice, intergenerational trauma, the immigrant experience, and memory. This novel follows Anne Kim is told between two timelines — the present day (2014-2015) in the wake of her father’s passing, and her childhood memories. The dual timeline makes for an engrossing read, beginning with how the family ends up and going back in time to discover the events that led up to them becoming how they were.
Growing up as one of the only Korean American and Asian immigrant families in Edmonton and a rural Canadian prairie town in the 1980s and 90s, Anne wanted nothing more than to fit in with her white peers. Her family navigates racism and discrimination on top of trying to make a living in Canada amidst everything they had to leave behind in Korea.
In 2014, Anne is a successful lawyer in New York, financially supporting her family. She has what looks like the perfect life, but she isn’t fulfilled or happy. After her father’s passing, she must grapple with some questions of the past and how the weight of her father’s expectations led her brother down one path and her down another.
As a character-driven reader, Anne wasn’t the most interesting protagonist to read as she was often very passive in her behavior, and we don’t get to look much into her thoughts and motivations for much of the novel. However, as the child of immigrants, I related to the ways Anne felt pressured to assimilate at the cost of erasing her own family’s culture and heritage, and the immense weight of Confucianism and filial piety. As we get more context into the lives and backstories of Anne’s family and what happened to them during her childhood, the pieces fall into place and the plot unfolds. I couldn’t help but sympathize and root for Anne, who navigates various challenges to the best of her ability and is finally able to start thinking about what she wants for herself as an adult.
Inheritance is a gripping exploration of family, sacrifice, intergenerational trauma, the immigrant experience, and memory. This novel follows Anne Kim is told between two timelines — the present day (2014-2015) in the wake of her father’s passing, and her childhood memories. The dual timeline makes for an engrossing read, beginning with how the family ends up and going back in time to discover the events that led up to them becoming how they were.
Growing up as one of the only Korean American and Asian immigrant families in Edmonton and a rural Canadian prairie town in the 1980s and 90s, Anne wanted nothing more than to fit in with her white peers. Her family navigates racism and discrimination on top of trying to make a living in Canada amidst everything they had to leave behind in Korea.
In 2014, Anne is a successful lawyer in New York, financially supporting her family. She has what looks like the perfect life, but she isn’t fulfilled or happy. After her father’s passing, she must grapple with some questions of the past and how the weight of her father’s expectations led her brother down one path and her down another.
As a character-driven reader, Anne wasn’t the most interesting protagonist to read as she was often very passive in her behavior, and we don’t get to look much into her thoughts and motivations for much of the novel. However, as the child of immigrants, I related to the ways Anne felt pressured to assimilate at the cost of erasing her own family’s culture and heritage, and the immense weight of Confucianism and filial piety. As we get more context into the lives and backstories of Anne’s family and what happened to them during her childhood, the pieces fall into place and the plot unfolds. I couldn’t help but sympathize and root for Anne, who navigates various challenges to the best of her ability and is finally able to start thinking about what she wants for herself as an adult.
March 29, 2026
Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours and Pegasus Books for the gifted copy.
Wow, what a debut novel from Jane Park. A nuanced, character driven story exploring a Korean family’s experience in the early 90s after immigrating to a Canadian prairie town. Exploring how trauma transfers generation to generation and the challenges immigrant families face - showcasing both the sacrifices made by parents and sacrifices made by their children.
I was moved by this story that felt like I was reading a memoir. The author shared that although this work was entirely fictional, many of the racists scenes come from her lived experiences.
A beautifully told story. I was engrossed throughout with the plot alluding to a catastrophic event that changes the trajectory of the family’s lives. Told in alternating timelines with the story flashing back to the 90s and the main character’s childhood.
I highly recommend if you are a fan of historical fictions or memoirs. And I encourage that even if those genres are not your favorites, to pick this story up and get curious about the lived experiences different from your own.
Wow, what a debut novel from Jane Park. A nuanced, character driven story exploring a Korean family’s experience in the early 90s after immigrating to a Canadian prairie town. Exploring how trauma transfers generation to generation and the challenges immigrant families face - showcasing both the sacrifices made by parents and sacrifices made by their children.
I was moved by this story that felt like I was reading a memoir. The author shared that although this work was entirely fictional, many of the racists scenes come from her lived experiences.
A beautifully told story. I was engrossed throughout with the plot alluding to a catastrophic event that changes the trajectory of the family’s lives. Told in alternating timelines with the story flashing back to the 90s and the main character’s childhood.
I highly recommend if you are a fan of historical fictions or memoirs. And I encourage that even if those genres are not your favorites, to pick this story up and get curious about the lived experiences different from your own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
What a phenomenally written debut novel!! It follows a Korean family and their life journey and struggles as they migrate to Canada to raise their children, jumping back and forth between the past and the present.
The way I could not get it out of my head. It made me feel a whole TON of different emotions. I became very invested in the characters and to be honest certain parts wrecked me just a bit because of that…but to me that is what makes it such a good book. Being able to feel so connected to the plot and the characters and being able to feel emotion right along side them. To feel pain when they hurt and to cheer them on in their comebacks. To close the book and wish it wasn’t over.
I also am huge on learning about different cultures as well as their traditions, and love when a book can teach you a little of that inside a story!
I absolutely adored the authors writing style, and I certainly will be excited for future work.
The way I could not get it out of my head. It made me feel a whole TON of different emotions. I became very invested in the characters and to be honest certain parts wrecked me just a bit because of that…but to me that is what makes it such a good book. Being able to feel so connected to the plot and the characters and being able to feel emotion right along side them. To feel pain when they hurt and to cheer them on in their comebacks. To close the book and wish it wasn’t over.
I also am huge on learning about different cultures as well as their traditions, and love when a book can teach you a little of that inside a story!
I absolutely adored the authors writing style, and I certainly will be excited for future work.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A poignant and emotional read about the immigrant experience, treatment, trying to fit in. Although a much serious genre, this book reminds me of Kim’s Convenience.
Based on some of the author’s experiences, Inheritance follows the story of Anne, who discovers her father was from North Korea after his death. Her attempts to delve deeper into his past is met with resistance from her mother.
Written from Anne’s point of view, we are taken on a journey through the past(early 90s) and the present (2014/2015). The book explores generational trauma, racism, sacrifice and familial pressures.
It highlights the plight of immigrants everywhere- pressure, suspicion, hierarchy, fear and questions of identity. It also exposes the dichotomy between the boy and girl child and the burden each bears.
This book is a must read perfect for fans of historical/contemporary fiction.
Based on some of the author’s experiences, Inheritance follows the story of Anne, who discovers her father was from North Korea after his death. Her attempts to delve deeper into his past is met with resistance from her mother.
Written from Anne’s point of view, we are taken on a journey through the past(early 90s) and the present (2014/2015). The book explores generational trauma, racism, sacrifice and familial pressures.
It highlights the plight of immigrants everywhere- pressure, suspicion, hierarchy, fear and questions of identity. It also exposes the dichotomy between the boy and girl child and the burden each bears.
This book is a must read perfect for fans of historical/contemporary fiction.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I read this and literally had tears running down my face. I could feel the story emanating from my heart and my mind. Every immigrant children will have reader’s digest version of their experiences and stories to tell and this one absolutely hit the head on the nail. Personally I feel that this book was written almost like the author’s memoir and I could feel her writing in ways that I can’t describe easily. The storyline from tradition, culture, ways of life and filial relationships have moderated the story for readers to discover the true nature behind the characters and their lives. I can’t wait to read more of Jane Park’s work.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A solid debut title that really brings home the reality of the immigrant experience.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews