{"product_id":"typical-american-paperback","title":"Typical American - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGish Jen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the highly acclaimed, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eMona in the Promised Land\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThank You, Mr. Nixon\u003c\/i\u003e comes a comic masterpiece, an insightful novel of immigrants experiencing the triumphs and trials of American life.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGish Jen reinvents the American immigrant story through the Chang family, who first come to the United States with no intention of staying. When the Communists assume control of China in 1949, though, Ralph Chang, his sister Theresa, and his wife Helen, find themselves in a crisis. At first, they cling to their old-world ideas of themselves. But as they begin to dream the American dream of self-invention, they move poignantly and ironically from people who disparage all that is \"typical American\" to people who might be seen as typically American themselves. With droll humor and a deep empathy for her characters, Gish Jen creates here a superbly engrossing story that resonates with wit and wisdom even as it challenges the reader to reconsider what a typical American might be today.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGish Jen is the author of four novels, a book of stories, and two books of nonfiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Girl at the Baggage Claim \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eTiger Writing\u003c\/i\u003e. Her honors include the Lannan Literary Award for fiction and the Mildred and Harold Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts \u0026amp; Sciences. She teaches from time to time in China and otherwise lives with her husband and two children in Cambridge, Massachusetts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 8 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 08, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42156359581831,"sku":"9780307389220","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/30def486442af38b390e1969665f509a.webp?v=1733243158","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/typical-american-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}