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Title details for Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho - Available

Fiona and Jane

by Jean Chen Ho
Natalie Naudus
Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
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3 of 3 copies available
A TIME, NPR, VOGUE, OPRAH DAILY, AND VULTURE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)
One of TIME’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022
“Ho's debut work is the perfect modern example of great American fiction. . . . You will love it.” —Jake Tapper
“Intimate, cinematic. . . . The world Ho creates between the two women feels like one friend reading the other’s story, wishing she were there.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“[Fiona and Jane] is about an incredible lifelong friendship between two Asian American women growing up in Southern California—absolutely adored that book.” —Ailsa Chang, NPR’s “All Things Considered”
“Intricately rendered. . . . Fiona and Jane celebrates a woman’s ability to be late, to show up in their own lives when and where they want to, to change their minds, to be lonely and to be in love, and to be respected regardless.” —The Washington Post
A witty, warm, and irreverent book that traces the lives of two young Taiwanese American women as they navigate friendship, sexuality, identity, and heartbreak over two decades.
Best friends since second grade, Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts. Fiona was always destined to leave, her effortless beauty burnished by fierce ambition—qualities that Jane admired and feared in equal measure. When Fiona moves to New York and cares for a sick friend through a breakup with an opportunistic boyfriend, Jane remains in California and grieves her estranged father's sudden death, in the process alienating an overzealous girlfriend. Strained by distance and unintended betrayals, the women float in and out of each other's lives, their friendship both a beacon of home and a reminder of all they've lost.
In stories told in alternating voices, Jean Chen Ho's debut collection peels back the layers of female friendship—the intensity, resentment, and boundless love—to probe the beating hearts of young women coming to terms with themselves, and each other, in light of the insecurities and shame that holds them back.
Spanning countries and selves, Fiona and Jane is an intimate portrait of a friendship, a deep dive into the universal perplexities of being young and alive, and a bracingly honest account of two Asian women who dare to stake a claim on joy in a changing, contemporary America.
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY VOGUE * USA TODAY * TIME * OPRAH DAILY * PARADE * THE WASHINGTON POST * BUZZFEED * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING * MARIE CLAIRE * FORTUNE * GLAMOUR * W MAGAZINE * NYLON * BUSTLE * POPSUGAR * ELECTRIC LITERATURE * THE RUMPUS * DEBUTIFUL * AND MORE!

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 4, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593452172
      • File size: 210177 KB
      • Duration: 07:17:52

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 11, 2021
      In Ho’s intimate debut collection, two childhood friends, Fiona and Jane, grow up, grow apart, and then back together. The first story, “The Night Market,” begins with 18-year-old Jane’s visit to her father in Taiwan. On her last night there, her father reveals he’s in love with his male friend Lee and that he will not be returning to Jane and her mother in Los Angeles. Reeling after this revelation, Jane reflects on her parents’ relationship and her own budding romantic feelings toward her female piano teacher. From there, the stories follow more or less chronologically, with “Go Slow,” flashing back to an eventful night drinking soju at a strip mall Korean bar when Fiona and Jane are 16, then forward to Fiona’s ambitious move to New York with her boyfriend, Jasper, after college in “The Inheritance,” while Jane stays in California. “Cold Turkey” finds Jane grieving over her father and breaking up with her girlfriend. In later stories, Fiona leaves both law school and a cheating Jasper, and the old friends reconnect. Ho excels at creating characters whose struggles feel deeply human. This packs in plenty of insights about love and friendship. Agent: Ayesha Pande and Serene Hakim, Ayesha Pande Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Natalie Naudus's emotional but subdued performance of this novel perfectly matches its tone. Told through a series of linked stories, the audiobook documents the decades-long friendship of two Taiwanese-American women, Fiona and Jane. After growing up together in Los Angeles, they drift in and out of each other's lives as they navigate falling in love, heartbreak, and divorce; career; friendship; family dynamics; money; and more. Naudus gives Fiona a higher-pitched voice, while Jane's is lower and deeper, making it easy for listeners to distinguish between their points of view. Naudus's performance is most poignant as the women age. As their understanding of themselves, their friendship, and the world around them changes, so do their voices. L.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2022

      Fiona Lin is pretty and confident, while Jane Shen is more cautious and insecure. In Ho's debut novel, these two best friends, both the children of Taiwanese immigrants, work to define themselves both within and outside of their relationship to each other. They are each searching for ways to fill the gaps left by their fractured families. Written as a set of short stories with alternating points of view, the tales follow their journeys through adolescence and young adulthood, dealing with romance, disappointments, and personal revelations. Natalie Naudus narrates, illuminating the similarities and differences between Fiona and Jane while keeping them intertwined. Her voice is warm and vibrant, especially when the two meet after time spent apart, but she knows just when to pull back to a more emotionally distant remove. There is some breathiness in the performance that was not edited out during production, but it does not seriously detract from the atmosphere Naudus creates. VERDICT This should appeal to listeners who enjoy contemporary coming-of-age tales and short story collections.--Natalie Marshall

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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