Fiona and Jane

De: Jean Chen Ho

Narrado por: Natalie Naudus

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!

Nice book about friends

I enjoy this book. It shows all the twists and turns true friendships take over the years. If you’re really friends you can miss ten years and pickup where you left off.

I wish it was less corny

Cartoonish narrator, Fiona’s voice was such a joke it was hard to read. I wish it had a less corny ending and the short stories were less random and more linear

Favorite book of 2022 ya’ll!!!

An amazing book that can be read like a novel of sorts but it’s a set of linked stories that focus on two friends and their evolving friendship 🥺 truly inspired by it all and how well done it speaks on the many topics it tackles like love, family, home, and of course friendship! 🥰 pick up the audiobook and a hard copy like I did!! It’ll be your best decision guaranteed!

Solid short stories

A lovely and thought provoking collection of short stories. I loved the narrator and the characters would stick with me

Was skeptical

Then I hung on through the end. No twist, no big ending. For me, I found it relatable and ultimately moving. Worth it if you tend to see how all things tie together in some way and that forgiveness of self is crucial to self acceptance.

Pure tedium!

I could not get into this book as hard as I tried. It was painful. I cannot rate the performance because I couldn’t get into any part of it - and I have listened to - and finished - some bad books.

No plot

A waste of time. I really wanted to like it, but it just felt like there was no point. It just ended and that was that. Disappointing.

A uninteresting plot that goes nowhere

I was waiting for a story of a lifelong, life-sustaining friendship between two women. I’m still waiting. It was simply a random collection of uninteresting stories from two unlikable characters. It was a pain to finish.