Lotus: A Novel

"Readers will find Lijia Zhang’s debut novel rich in Chinese proverbs. After the titular Lotus loses face, she keeps on going despite the hurt, because “a cracked jar doesn’t mind being smashed again.” These lines delight, as does so much of this sensitively drawn world. Lotus herself is a charmer; she enters the oldest profession on an inebriated whim, and a magazine photo of her face changes her life when the photographer falls for her. But this is, above all, Lotus’ story, and Zhang has a light touch even when portraying the well-researched underbelly of contemporary Chinese culture."