Bad Bad Girl

A Novel

By: Gish Jen

Narrated by: Jen Zhao, Gish Jen

L.A. TIMES 15 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • TIME "100 BEST" • RUPAUL'S BOOK CLUB PICK • An engrossing, blisteringly funny-sad autobiographical novel tracing a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship.

“A transcendent work of art.” —Boston Globe

“Gish Jen has written the multigenerational mother-daughter epic of our new century.” —Junot Díaz

“Heart-piercingly personal. . . . Suffused with love.” —Los Angeles Times

My mother had died, but still I heard her voice. . .

Gish’s mother, Loo Shu-hsin, is born in 1924 to a wealthy Shanghai family whose girls are expected to restrain themselves. Her beloved nursemaid—far more loving to than her real mother—is torn from her even as she is constantly reprimanded: “Bad bad girl! You don’t know how to talk!” Sent to a modern Catholic school by her progressive father, she receives not only an English name—Agnes—but a first-rate education. To his delight, she excels. But even then he can only sigh, “Too bad. If you were a boy, you could accomplish a lot.” Agnes finds solace in books and, in 1947, announces her intention to pursue a PhD in America. As the Communist revolution looms, she sets sail—never to return.

Lonely and adrift in New York, she begins dating Jen Chao-Pe, an engineering student. They do their best to block out the increasingly dire plight of their families back home and successfully establish a new American life: Marriage! A house in the suburbs! A number one son! By the time Gish is born, though, the news from China is proving inescapable; their marriage is foundering; and Agnes, confronted with a strong-willed, outspoken daughter distinctly reminiscent of herself, is repeating the refrain—“Bad bad girl! You don’t know how to talk!”—as she recapitulates the harshness of her own childhood.

Spanning continents, generations, and cultures, Bad Bad Girl is a novel only Gish Jen could have written: genre-bending, courageous, wise, and as immensely incisive as it is compassionate.

Emotional roller coaster

I am a typical American with no education or knowledge of what the Chinese culture is like or what tragedies they have gone through. I feel so ashamed that we don’t educate ourselves on what other cultures have gone through and experienced that has shaped their lives and view things through their eyes. The book absolutely spellbound me. I was so happy and excited for her mother when she moved to America for education. I can’t imagine the discrimination and hardship she faced as such an intelligent woman. Yet she went on. Then her first romance and eventual family, i was so happy for her to be so successful. Then the story changed thru the daughter’s eyes, and my heart just ached for her as she couldn’t get the approval or love she wanted and deserved. I kept asking myself why would she not just turn her back on her mother and break connection. But this must be part of the ingrained Chinese family first and always. I could really go on and on with my thoughts. I would love to meet the author, Gish Jen, as I have an incredible amount of respect for. You are an absolute inspiration to everyone, to keeping your love for family when it’s very hard. I am very happy for you to have beautiful life with husband and to your success of your children. You have inspired me.

A window into another culture…

Loved this book. It not only provided a window into another culture, it also gave me a way to remember my own parents, who were, in some ways, not that dissimilar to the ones portrayed here. I highly recommend the audio version of this book - it brings home the culture and the generational differences in a voice that I could identify with.

Authenticity

I loved the authenticity. The emotions that the author was able to convey. The Chinese poems and sayings. I’m pretty sure the author never said the exact Chinese phrase of “bad bad girl”