Leavers: Winner of the PEN/Bellweather Prize for Fiction

The Leavers is a novel by Lisa Ko that explores the lives of Chinese immigrants in New York and their struggles to reconcile their adoptive parents' desire for assimilation with their memories of their mother and the community they left behind. It is a vivid examination of borders and belonging and a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 26 April 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

There was a time when I would have described Lisa Ko's novel as beautifully written, ambitious, and moving. And all of that is true, but it's more than that now: if you want to understand a forgotten and essential part of the world we live in, The Leavers is required reading.

Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth, said, "One morning, Deming Guo's mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her."

With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson.

But far from all he's ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents' desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.

Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It's a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.

As relevant as ever, as the future of immigrants in America hangs in the balance.

TIME said, "A rich, multifaceted portrait of displacement and the trauma of not belonging."

Independent said, "One of the most engaging, deeply probing, and beautiful books I have read this year."

Laila Lalami, author of The Moor's Account, said, "Instantly compelling."

Stylist said, "A must-read."

Marie Claire said, "FINALIST for the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2017."

WINNER OF THE 2016 PEN/BELLWETHER PRIZE FOR FICTION.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2017 BY OPRAH, NPR, BUZZFEED, AND HUFFINGTON POST.

Weight: 282g
Dimension: 196 x 127 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780349700526