Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar

Books

A Chinese American woman spins tragedy into comedy when her life falls apart in a taut, wry debut novel, "as playful as it is profound" (Alison Espach, author of The Wedding People)-perfect for fans of Joan Is Okay and Crying in H Mart. A man and a woman walk into a restaurant. The woman expects a lovely night filled with endless plates of samosas. Instead, she finds out her husband is having an affair with a woman named Maggie. A short while after, her chest starts to ache. She walks into an examination room, where she finds out the pain in her breast isn't just heartbreak-it's cancer. She decides to call the tumor Maggie. Unfolding in fragments over the course of the ensuing months, Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar follows the narrator as she embarks on a journey of grief, healing, and reclamation. She starts talking to Maggie (the tumor), getting acquainted with her body's new inhabitant. She overgenerously creates a "Guide to My Husband: A User's Manual" for Maggie (the other woman), ...