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A Novel
by Kathy Wang
An engrossing and original story about a woman who moves from Taiwan to California and builds an unexpected life there, for readers of Olive Kitteridge and Hello Beautiful.
Joan Liang's life is a series of surprising developments: she never thought she would leave Taiwan for California, nor did she expect her first marriage to implode—especially as quickly and spectacularly as it did. She definitely did not expect to fall in love with an older, wealthy American and become his fourth wife and mother to his youngest children. Through all this she wrestles with one persistent question: Will she ever truly feel satisfied?
As Joan and her children grow older and their circumstances evolve, she makes a drastic change: she opens the Satisfaction Café, a place where people can visit for a bit of conversation and to be heard and understood. Through this radical yet pragmatic business, Joan constructs a lasting legacy.
Vivid, comic, and intensely moving, The Satisfaction Café is a novel about found family, the joy and loneliness that come with age, and how we can give ourselves permission to seek satisfaction and connection at any stage of life.
"Crisp and assured...independent and pragmatic, but also secretly soulful, Joan is a character capable of surprising the reader at every turn...Wang has a light touch, whether describing events that are heavy or mundane, and avoids sentimentality. This gratifies." —Publishers Weekly
"Warm and thoughtfully told...Wang's novel gives us a main character to root for." —Kirkus Reviews
"The Satisfaction Café is big-hearted without being sentimental, profound without pretense, and witty without sacrificing sincerity—qualities that reflect its unforgettable protagonist, Joan. This is the kind of story that makes you want to write a thank you note to the author, call up an old friend, and gaze at strangers with greater compassion and curiosity. Kathy Wang bestows us with virtuoso prose, gentle wisdom, and a main character who stands among the best I've ever read. I fell in love with and savored this beautiful novel." —Emily Habeck, author of Shark Heart
"Subtle, surprising, and elegantly constructed, The Satisfaction Cafe is an insightful and funny exploration of how seldom our choices feel like choices; how rare and elusive the idea of home can feel." —Lynn Steger Strong, author of Flight
This information about The Satisfaction Café was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Kathy Wang is the author of Family Trust, Imposter Syndrome, and The Satisfaction Café. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School, and lives in the Bay Area.
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