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Set in an alternate reality where pregnancy endows women with exceptional powers, one new mother uncovers terrifying truths about herself and life in this philosophical and propulsive tale of a woman and mother in crisis.
In a world where drastic measures have averted the global environmental crisis, humans too are now subject to great transformation.
Vivi should be happy she's pregnant. But she's troubled by a looming reality that seemingly bothers no one else: having a baby also means birthing an identical, nearly indestructible self who will eat her and take her place. "Rebirth" is simply a fact of life—nature's way of equipping women for the challenges of motherhood. But as Vivi's unborn child develops, so does her fear.
In a rare turn of events, Vivi emerges from rebirth weakened rather than strong. When her husband cannot tolerate her defects, they divorce and Vivi relocates to the country with her baby to work for her old boss.
Chronically exhausted, mentally struggling, and on her own, Vivi must move on—for her own and her son's sake. But just as with her failed rebirth, swapping old for new isn't as straightforward as it seems. When Vivi finally discovers what went wrong during childbirth, it will rewrite her life utterly: future, present, and past.
An inspired blend of Nightbitch and The Substance, as enthralling and incisive as The School of Good Mothers and The Need, But Won't I Miss Me is a gripping and profound exploration of the physical and psychological tolls of motherhood, with a speculative horror spin. Tiffany Tsao imaginatively reveals the macabre hidden in the mundane and asks us to consider what we lose of ourselves when we leave our broken parts behind.
"This well-structured and deeply compelling novel is about so much more than postpartum struggles literalized into horror...readers are treated to a profound exploration of the limits and consequences of love." —Booklist (starred review)
"Readers will hang on every detail, falling easily into Tsao's novel and its complex, flawed but sympathetic characters and unable to shake the unsettling tone set by the title; they won't be even close to ready for the twist when it drops. A master class in storytelling that will leave readers, if not reborn, forever changed by the experience." —Library Journal (starred review)
"New mothers possess superhuman abilities and sustainable electricity wards off the climate crisis in this clever blend of fantasy and speculative fiction from Tsao... Tsao cannily uses the fantastical elements to explore a new mother's anxieties about measuring up to other mothers. It's worth a look." —Publishers Weekly
This information about But Won't I Miss Me 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.
Born in the US and raised between Indonesia and Singapore, Tiffany Tsao is a former academic turned award-winning literary translator, who translates from the Indonesian. She received the 2023 PEN Translation Prize for her translation of Budi Darma's People from Bloomington, and her translation of Norman Erikson Pasaribu's Happy Stories, Mostly was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her family.
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