Best-selling author Weike Wang burst onto the literary scene with her award-winning debut, the coming-of-age novel Chemistry. With her first Audible Original short story, Shadowing, Wang’s tale of a young but strong-willed medical student struggling to deal with the realities of her career is brought to life by performer Francesca Ling.
When it comes to her own listening, Wang also enjoys stories with memorable characters, strong settings, and singular voices. Here are some of her favorites.
For a fiction writer, nonfiction can be food. I’ve been mulling over the East-West divide all of my life, but much more so recently. A couple years ago, I discovered this very smart book about the self and the history of the self in both cultures.
My first Ogawa novel was The Memory Police, a literary dystopian narrative that I also recommend. My second was this unexpected tale about a boy, a housekeeper, and a math professor, imbued with heart, humor, and a tiny bit of math.
Sigrid was my teacher, mentor, and now friend. While I love all her books, Mitz is such fun—and I now think there should be more books about marmosets.
Born in the ‘80s myself, I found an easy kinship with Kim Jiyoung. The prose can be startling and sounds like a case study that slowly peels away at an ordinary woman who has gone through all the motions of adulthood, or so it seems.
I was first drawn to this book by its curious title and bright cover of lemons. Then each sentence engaged me, and scene after scene, I was blown away by the style. Turning technicolored lemons into lemonade is the magic of Rachel Khong.
