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English(English) Article

‘My Year Abroad,’ the latest from Pulitzer finalist Chang-rae Lee, doesn’t meet its potential

About the Article

‘My Year Abroad,’ the latest from Pulitzer finalist Chang-rae Lee, doesn’t meet its potential
Article
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/my-year-abroad-the-latest-from-pulitzer-finalist-chang-rae-lee-doesnt-meet-its-potential/
Journal
The Seattle Times
Issued Date
January 26, 2021
Page
-
Language
English(English)
Country
UNITED STATES
City
Washington
Book
-
Writer
Lee Chang-rae

About the Author

Writer default image
  • Lee Chang-rae
  • Birth : 1965 ~ -
  • Occupation : Writer
  • First Name : Chang-rae
  • Family Name : Lee
  • Korean Name : 이창래
  • ISNI : 0000000115844087
  • Works : 4
Descriptions - 1 Languages
  • English(English)

Book review The latest novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Chang-rae Lee (“Native Speaker,” “The Surrendered”) seems at first as though it’s going to be a rowdy rollick. Its prose is jazzy and jokey. Its plot immediately takes preposterous twists and turns. Unfortunately, “My Year Abroad” grows simultaneously sillier and duller the longer it goes on. Extravagant flights of fancy outstay their welcome, and irrelevant flashbacks sometimes stop the narrative in its tracks. The novel has its moments, especially in its first 100 pages. But it’s never a good sign when you finish a book wondering what on earth the author was trying to accomplish. Twenty-year-old narrator Tiller Bardmon is, in his own words, “an amenable boy” recently “smashed to raw bits by circumstances too peculiar to recount.” In the wake of his dreadful year abroad, Tiller has shacked up with Val, a single mother who has “a lot of years on me.” Serving as de facto stepdad to Val’s 8-year-old son, Victor Jr., Tiller is able to contribute to household expenses thanks to an ATM card tied to a bank account that seemingly never runs out of funds.

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