| Title | : | Joan Is Okay |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0525654836 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780525654834 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 |
| Publication | : | First published January 18, 2022 |
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work, happily solitary, successful. She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white coat makes her feel needed, or with her family, who try to shape her life by their own cultural and social expectations.
Once Joan and her brother, Fang, were established in their careers, her parents moved back to China, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland. But when Joan’s father suddenly dies and her mother returns to America to reconnect with her children, a series of events sends Joan spiraling out of her comfort zone just as her hospital, her city, and the world are forced to reckon with a health crisis more devastating than anyone could have imagined.
Deceptively spare yet quietly powerful, laced with sharp humor, Joan Is Okay touches on matters that feel deeply resonant: being Chinese-American right now; working in medicine at a high-stakes time; finding one’s voice within a dominant culture; being a woman in a male-dominated workplace; and staying independent within a tight-knit family. But above all, it’s a portrait of one remarkable woman so surprising that you can’t get her out of your head.
Joan Is Okay Reviews
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I enjoyed this much in the way I enjoyed Chemistry. Wang has a really unique voice. There is a sharp weariness (interesting contradiction), that shapes much of the prose. This is a book where there are stories within the story. The end felt rushed and incomplete but that may also be the point. Will definitely be thinking about Joan is Okay for some time to come.
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Absolutely perfect story about an imperfect heroine! Joan is remarkable, unique, peculiar, absolutely one of a kind, quirky character you may easily relate with.
She has different way of look at and interpret the basic things in regular life, defining people by their weights and heights, expressing herself by her occupation, having limited and less social skills, expecting less giving more to the earth, alienating with her own family, questioning her identity, her dreams, her existence in the world. She shows signs of Asperger’s syndrome: smart, introverted, having limited attractions with people, emotionally confused because of cultural references she’s inherited.
She is stuck between her Chinese heritage and traditional Western lifestyle like trying to be part of two exact opposite planets. But even harder she tries, she cannot be fully accepted by two different cultures. She is born in the US, traveling around nearly eleven cities as like any ordinary Joe does, not knowing much about her native country or its traditional values.
Her brother Fang built a prosperous life for his own family in Connecticut, putting pressure to her for resigning from her job as ICU doctor in New York hospital for opening her own private practice, buying her own house as her sister-in-law criticizes her to be less woman for not being married and raising her own children.
Of course her relationship with her brother is doomed to fail at the moment he decided to act like her father.
After her father loses his life because of a sudden stroke and her mother flies from China to spend time with her brother’s family, she starts questioning her own past and her existence because her grief brought out complex feelings she’s bottled up for years.
Yes, her parents endured to work at odd jobs as immigrants to give them better lives in the states and when their children were accepted by Ivy League colleges, they thought their job was done and they returned back to China by leaving Joan and her brother on their own at young age.
Raising herself in a foreign country where she’s estranged with her own brother, suffering from difficulties to form a bond with other people pushed her to focus on her career in hospital.
But without her job, who she is? An quirky Chinese woman : not woman enough without kids, not American enough without knowing about books, TV shows, concept of Seinfeld? What’s left from her?
I was so close to give this thought provoking , provocative, unique, impressive story of Joan. I loved how she perceived the world. I also enjoyed to see her interaction with her neighbor Mark. I wish their blossoming friendship would turn into a bond of two opposite people who see the world from different angles. But I agreed the point of Joan and I understood her resistance to be someone she wasn’t!
But ending was too abrupt and rushed. I think there were still unsaid words of Joan and I wished to hear them. Maybe I’m a little subjective because I formed an emotional bond with a character so I didn’t want her story end… Actually the final page of the book is not an end. Just a full stop.
But I can honestly say: this is one of my most memorable reads! I loved Joan so much and she earned a special place in my heart.
So many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts. -
"To stay just under something gives me a sense of comfort, as when it rains and I can open an
umbrella over my head."
Joan was an attending physician in the Medical ICU of a New York City hospital. "I liked the purity of it, the total sense of control. Machines can tell you things that the people attached to them can't...The chance to feel pure and complete drudgery in my pursuit of use...being in the trenches was a delight...I was a gunner and a new breed of doctor, brilliant and potent, but with no interests outside work and sleep...Disease is war and in war, gunners operate the artillery."
Joan's parents immigrated to the United States from Shanghai to seek a better life, leaving their son Fang with relatives back home. He would not come to the US until age twelve. Joan, eight years his junior, was born in Oakland's Bay Area. With limited job opportunities, her parents returned to China once she started Harvard. "Once I was bound for college, they saw their jobs as parents complete."
What was her upbringing like? A Chinese saying: Hitting is love, berating is love." Joan's father, when angry, berated her and later bought her ice cream. Her mother's form of berating was aimed at fortification. "A person shouldn't sentimentalize or believe anything to be precious."
Fang had met parental expectations. He became successful working at a hedge fund. What was success? Upon visiting Fang's spacious ten acre compound, Joan was asked, "Can't you see yourself in a Tesla? Why not start a practice in Greenwich, CT? What do you have against trees and more space?" Joan's neighborhood in New York City was near the intersection of Harlem, Columbia University and the Upper West Side. "The area had some danger to it, though [she] never felt unsafe."
When their father died, Fang booked a flight for both of them to Shanghai. Fang, having stronger ties to China, stayed for two weeks. "Greetings between some families can be so anticlimactic...after two years physically apart [from her mother] there were no big embraces or kisses...I had forgotten about crowds in China...the phrase 'ren hai' exists, or 'people sea'." Joan stayed for just the weekend. She did not know China..."my face was Chinese [and] it was a shame to know nothing about myself." She was caught between two cultures.
Returning to work in the ICU unit after the weekend, she received a visit from HR. She was expected to take off a month for bereavement. In addition, she was only supposed to work two weeks out of every month. By working the shifts of other ICU doctors, Joan must now take off two additional weeks for a total of six weeks leave. Being on her feet for many hours at a time created inner peace and happiness. The hospital directors failed to understand that working, for her, was like coming home.
"Joan Is Okay" by Weike Wang is a work of literary fiction that reads like a memoir. Joan's fulfillment is in her work. She doesn't need marriage and family to define her. Culturally misunderstood, "she felt the flush of anxiety, felt [her] new cultured neighbor was about to tell [her] that [she] perceived the world all wrong." A highly recommended tome.
Thank you Random House Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
I wasn’t sure initially if I was going to like Joan is Okay. The writing is sparse. But that mirrors Joan. She’s a no nonsense kind of gal, a very literal person, as her mother says. An attending physician in the ICU of a NYC hospital. She likes being a cog in the machine. Cogs are essential. She struggles to find things to keep her busy when she’s not working. As I learned more about her parents, it was easy to understand what formed Joan into the person she is.
She drives her brother Fang insane. Fang’s life is all about living the most opulent life possible. Meanwhile, material things don’t interest Joan. Her neighbor feels so sorry for her, he gives her his hand me down furniture.
There’s a dry sense of humor to this book. A humor, I’m not sure Joan even realizes she has. The book deals with living the life you want and not bowing to pressure to be something you’re not. It tackles family expectations, motherhood and home and belonging. I grew to appreciate Joan. In her own quiet way, she didn’t compromise. She was her own woman.
This book packed a quiet punch. It was thought provoking and would make a great book club selection.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book. -
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
this is one of those books that i thought would be 5 star and i loved like a 5 star but then something happened that prevented it from being a 5 star but i still kind of feel about it like i would about a 5 star so 4.5 star it is?
there are stories i wanted concluded here, but life goes on without things tied up, so i guess that's fine for a book, but it still was very abrupt. i like a slice of life as much as the next girl but i also like a good ending.
still, i loved joan very much and i could have read a much longer book in her brain and this made me...feel things.
like emotions.
how weird.
bottom line: weike wang stan club!!!
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currently-reading updates
makes one of us :)
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reading books by asian authors for aapi month!
book 1:
kim jiyoung, born 1982
book 2:
siren queen
book 3:
the heart principle
book 4:
n.p.
book 5:
the hole
book 6:
set on you
book 7:
disorientation
book 8:
parade
book 9:
if i had your face
book 10: joan is okay -
With gimlet-eyed observation and laced with darkly biting wit, JOAN IS OKAY is a deeply felt portrait of a woman who’s effaced herself to survive—and how, in the face of devastating loss, she’s forced to confront her grief and her place in the world. In her second novel, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America.
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"Joan Is Okay" by Weike Wang is an unusual and thought provoking read!
Joan, a second generation Chinese-American, is an ICU doctor in a busy NYC hospital who loves her work. She cherishes her solitude and success but wonders if she loves what she does and how it makes her feel more than her controlling family and their cultural expectations.
Soon a sequence of events takes place that forces Joan outside of the comfort zone she has carefully and purposely created for herself.
Talk about a book that messes with your head! I didn't expect that from a book with a three word title or from its brief synopsis. I didn't expect that from a book with only 209 pages, and least of all from a book without chapters, only breaks between thoughts, and no quotation marks for referenced conversations.
This book is different and, if you know me, you know that's what I like. Joan is different, too, and I like her singular first person voice sharing her thoughts through every sentence and every paragraph. It's unusual and thought provoking and I like that, too!
It feels somewhere between a memoir and a journal with our protagonist, Joan giving her day-by-day thoughts and reflections about her work, childhood, family, and ethnicity. Her thoughts are brief, intelligent, and logical.
I'm a little obsessed with how amazing this author's writing is that a book, such as this one, sounds so personal without being a real memoir. Her writing brings Joan to life and seems authentically human and painfully imperfect. I will definitely read her debut novel
Chemistry and anything else she writes in the future!
4.5 stars rounded up because I just CAN'T stop thinking about Joan!
Thank you to Random House Book Club for an early copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways. It has been my pleasure to give my honest and voluntary review. -
Joan is Okay is a short novel where not a lot happens, but a lot is brewing beneath the surface.
Joan is in her mid-thirties and an ICU attending doctor at a New York City hospital. Work is her happy place. She enjoys being a cog in the machine. Her parents are from China, while she was born in America. When Joan turned eighteen and was about to start university, her parents moved back to China, allowing their daughter to begin the next stage of her life independently. Now, years later, Joan’s father has just passed away, and her mother returns to the States to reconnect with her children.
Usually, Joan uses work as an excuse to dodge family or friend gatherings. However, now that she has some time off work, she can no longer find a plausible reason to avoid them. She watches as news of COVID first surfaces in Wuhan, China and as it quickly spreads across the globe.
As an Asian American, Joan has experienced the feeling that she belongs neither to America nor her Chinese heritage.
While this book deals with serious topics, it is also balanced with deadpan humour. It touches on racism, microaggressions, sexism, belonging, familial responsibilities, and more. The majority deals with Joan’s life and the last quarter discusses the emergence of COVID.
I believe Joan is a character that will stay with me for some time to come. She is a quiet woman, but one firm in her beliefs.
Thank you to Random House for the arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. -
Audiobook….read by Catherine Ho
…..6 hours and 36 minutes
I intellectually appreciate this book.
Joan is ‘plenty’ okay:
a woman, daughter, sister, Asian, dedicated physician, friend, introverted, shy, an immigrant, Chinese American,
and….
She is authentically aware of her strengths and flaws…
but….
my personal interest kept zigzagging —
I thought this ‘memoir-styling’ novel was ‘okay’….
The last
chapters about the pandemic were very gripping….
….deeply felt…
but….
much of the novel’s sensible-unemotional (dry at times) writing style — made it a struggled to stay interested.
That said….
It would be very hard to deny the power of the last few chapters.
My zigzagging experience:
I cared 🙂
I didn’t care 🙁
I didn’t feel much😔
I did feel much🥳
Favorite laugh:
“A women who twirls her hair is never to be taken seriously”.
3.5 stars….rating up.
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Joan is Okay follows Joan, a thirtysomething ICU doctor in a busy New York City hospital, daughter of Chinese parents who immigrated to the United States to secure the American dream for their children. Joan devotes herself entirely to her work, where she’s extremely competent and successful. She’s unbothered by her solitary existence outside of work, though at times she thinks about how much of herself she should give to her tight-knit family. When her father suddenly dies, her mother moves back to the United States to connect with her children, and the COVID-19 pandemic begins, Joan is forced in even deeper ways to consider what matters most to her.
The Goodreads blurb for this book describes it as “deceptively spare yet quietly powerful” which I agree with so much. For a lot of Joan is Okay I felt a bit bored. I enjoyed Weike Wang’s concise prose and laughed out loud a couple of times, yet Joan as a character felt distant.
However, toward the end of the novel, many of the elements within Joan’s life came together in a way that felt so emotionally powerful. Within the last 40 pages or so I cheered for Joan and the last page of the novel literally made tears spring to my eyes (while sitting in a Washington D.C. airport with my KN95 mask on, just to set the scene). I feel like Wang incorporates a lot of important commentary throughout the book about Asian immigrant dynamics, anti-Asian racism, existing as an Asian woman in a white-dominated work environment, yet the strings aren’t pulled together until the end of the novel. When they did come together, I felt so impressed by the subtle brilliance of Wang’s writing and the complex yet loving dynamics between Joan and her brother, mother, and father. Wang avoids the common stereotypes about Asian family dynamics (e.g., overbearing and emotionally cruel parents, an emotionally stunted yet professionally successful Asian brother) for more dynamic characterizations which I really appreciated.
I also appreciated the quiet, subtle, yet powerful way Wang destigmatizes Joan’s content existence as a romantically single, childless Asian American woman. I feel like there’s so much societal glorification of the route of romantic love, having a nuclear family, etc. and I loved Joan’s consistent dedication to her career throughout the book. Wang writes in a way where Joan’s choice to remain devoted to her job as an ICU doctor felt less like a feminist political statement, even though it is, and more like a natural extension of her character and personality. Icon behavior from Joan and from Wang.
There were several moments at the end of the book that made me so, so happy for Joan and one scene on the last page that made me teary-eyed so I’m just gonna put them all in spoilers to avoid giving them away: . Recommended if you liked Wang’s novel Chemistry and if you enjoy realistic fiction featuring characters with distinct voices and personalities. -
Joan is Okay is an okay book.
I thought I would love this more than I did. I found Joan to be incredibly dull and not quirky like I assumed. This is being described as witty and moving but I would have to wholeheartedly disagree. There was no wit nor humor and in order to be moved I would have to care about Joan and I didn't at all.
Thanks to Overdrive for my copy! -
We’re often told that it’s hard to write about a book you love and for me, this was absolutely true with this particular book, as there was so much I loved about this one that I’m actually at a loss as to where I should start in my praise of it. To me, this was one of those rare books where every single aspect of it came together so perfectly – from the thought-provoking story to the wonderfully rendered characters to the sparse yet beautiful writing, to the carefully chosen prose that flowed so smoothly from page to page – to the point that I wanted this book to go on forever. When I was only a few pages into the story, I already knew that the main protagonist Joan (whose last name is never revealed to us) would be one of those characters who’ll make an indelible mark on my heart – and by the end of the story, she did exactly that and then some! For me, Joan was more than just a favorite character; she was a kindred spirit whose smart, observant, witty voice expressed thoughts and feelings that I resonated deeply with. Though certain aspects of Joan’s background were similar to mine (Chinese daughter of immigrant parents who came to the U.S. in pursuit of the American dream; has a disillusioned older brother whose values are opposite of her own; grew up in a household where she had to straddle two completely different and opposing cultures, etc.), where we actually had the most in common was in our reclusive personalities, which is significant to me because my personality plays a huge role in my life experiences. This is partly why I related so well to Joan as a character, since so many of her experiences and struggles are ones I’m familiar with myself. When Joan talks about immersing herself as deeply into the studious part of her schooling (she “went from library to classroom and only returned to the dorm to sleep”) as she could to avoid having to socialize or interact with others, or when her boss praises her work ethic, she cringes and tries to change the subject because she hates drawing attention to herself and is uncomfortable receiving praise, or when she has problems communicating with others, whether friends or family, and therefore gets herself into awkward situations – all of these are deja vu experiences that I’ve struggled with my entire life. Most of all, Joan’s “relationship” with her work hit the hardest for me, as I struggle with the exact same experience of being defined primarily by my work, often to the detriment of other “relationships” as well as to my own well-being (I both laughed and cried at Joan’s “reaction” to being forced to take time off from work – I laughed because it was truly hilarious how that situation unfolded, but then thinking about the implications in my own situation was a bit upsetting). Reading this book was actually a roller coaster ride for me emotionally – at some parts, I would laugh so hard that I nearly fell out of my chair, but then on the next page, something would happen that would be a gut punch to me and I’d feel like crying.
One of the things that this book did exceptionally well was breakdown the aspects of Chinese versus American culture in a way that was succinct and accurate (and funny without deliberately trying to be funny), yet still respectful to both cultures. My favorite scenes were the ones where Joan would have conversations with her mother, whether by phone or face-to-face, and a few words in, the various clashes of culture (east versus west), generation (older vs younger), values (work vs family), etc. would come out in full force – clashes that I was more than familiar with having experienced most of them myself continuously my entire life. Most of the conversations were short, but yet, there was so much context there, and covering so much ground. Being an immigrant myself, I’m of course drawn to immigrant stories and having read my fair share of them, I have to say that this book, more than any of the others I’ve read, comes the closest to relaying what my personal journey as a Chinese woman growing up in an immigrant family in America truly feels like.
As I said from the beginning, there was so much I loved about this book that there’s no way I would be able to do justice to it with a simple review. In addition to the “immigrant story” aspect (though those of us who read a lot of immigrant stories will quickly find out that this one is technically not the “typical” immigrant story that we are used to reading), this is also a timely story that, in its short 200+ pages, manages to also explore what it is like being a Chinese American female doctor working at a major hospital in New York at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (having followed the news and the course of events in society over the past 18 months, the significance of this portrayal is not lost on me). This is a book that I highly, highly recommend and yes, I am definitely going to go back and read this author’s debut novel, Chemistry.
As a concluding thought, I wanted to share an excerpt of one of my favorite passages from the book (this is one of many – looking back, I probably highlighted close to 80% of the book!). The lead up to this is that Joan is reflecting on an incident earlier on when she let her neighbor Mark talk her into having a party at her New York apartment – a situation that actually she abhors, since she hates parties:
My epiphany. Mark was just like Reese [her colleague at the hospital] —well-meaning in some ways, clueless in others. Neither could imagine having wasted another person’s time or consuming every square inch of air in a room. Because Room People were full of themselves. They believed their own perspectives reigned supreme. And whereas I was taught to not stick out or aggravate your surroundings, to not cause any trouble and to be a good guest, someone like Mark was brought up with different rules—yes, push back, provoke, assert yourself, some trouble is good, since the rest of us will always go easy on you and, if anything, reward you for just being you....I chose to not text him back or do what I wanted to do, which was call and lay into him until he could finally see where I was coming from. Expending more energy on him wasn’t the answer. Why try to explain yourself to someone who had no capacity to listen?
This was one of many profound passages from the book that I loved because, through Joan’s voice, Wang put into words my sentiments exactly when it comes to interacting with people around me. It wasn’t until I read this passage that I realized I’ve been surrounded by “Room People” most of my life and, like Joan, I’ve struggled through numerous “why did I let them talk me into this” situations – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Why continue to expend energy on people or situations that do nothing but bring awkwardness/misery/regret? Instead, I now understand that others may have been brought up with different rules and I don’t have to compromise mine in order to conform to theirs.
Received ARC from Random House via NetGalley.
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Joan is okay, easy to relate to, sometimes hard to figure. She is a thirty-six-year-old Chinese American workaholic doctor who loves her career. She appears fairly satisfied until the death of her father initiates shifts in her life. Her family closes in and pressures her to restructure herself: she should find a husband, be a mother, be more stylish in her appearance, and either demand more compensation from her job or open her own practice in a safer neighborhood. Everyone pushes a personality makeover. Joan had been comfortable with her low visibility at her apartment building but now a well-meaning neighbor badgers her into changing her lifestyle. Despite her stellar work performance, both her supervisor at the hospital and the HR department insist she takes more time off. Even the doorman at her apartment building feels the need to modify Joan, whether it is fixing her up romantically with the new tenant or correcting her posture before he will operate the elevator.
Joan was okay! Joan was happy... she thought she was. Now she is questioning her position in the world. Should she be rearranging her interactions with her family? How has she been boxed in by Chinese American stereotypes and social limitations? She had even concealed her ability to speak Chinese from coworkers in order to avoid any judgment that may cause. Joan is a complex character, maintaining her humor and wit even as she struggles to balance her self definition against the vision others have for her.
We feel an ominous rumble building as the coming pandemic begins to manipulate this story's direction. As a Chinese American doctor living in New York City so much is uncertain as the story winds up. We are invested in Joan and need to see how she is going to fare now. We need to know that Joan is okay. I will be right there if Weike Wang shares more Joan.
I am grateful to Random House and NetGalley for providing the Joan ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"I wanna think it's gonna be alright
It's just a little soon to say"--Jackson Browne -
This is the
Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club January 2024 selection. The author will join us for a live discussion on January 31!
In this first person, character-driven narrative, we meet thirty-something ICU doctor Joan. Her relationships with her Chinese and Chinese American family members are fraught, and her inability to read cues makes friendship and neighborliness tricky, but her great love for her work is utterly uncomplicated—that is, until her father dies. Her workaholism has always been seen as an attribute in her NYC hospital, but when she takes just 48 hours off to fly to Shanghai and back for his funeral, HR steps in and makes her take some extended time off. Without the distraction of work, Joan is forced to reckon with the things she's been avoiding, in all their complexity and ambiguity. But then COVID-19 enters the story, with devastating effects in her personal and professional life. I so appreciated being let into Joan's interior world: her cool assessments of the people around her, her dry (and sometimes unintentional) humor, and her frank reckoning with individual and societal struggles. Catherine Ho's excellent audiobook narration was a wonderful way to experience this story. -
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3 ¼ stars
Bursting with wry humor and insight Joan Is Okay makes for a quick and quirky read about a woman who doesn’t want to change to fit in with society's standards.
In spite of what the people around her may think, Joan is okay…isn’t she? On paper Joan has achieved the American Dream, hasn’t she? She’s in her thirties and works as an ICU doctor at a New York City hospital, a job she finds deeply full-filling. Joan’s hard work ethic has earned her respect at the hospital and she’s even due a pay rise. When Joan’s father dies, she flies to China to attend his funeral but, unlike her older brother who stays for a longer visit, she immediately returns back to New York. Her colleagues seem puzzled by her refusal to take time off. Her now widowed mother is staying for a while with Joan’s brother and his family. They keep insisting that Joan should be around more. Her brother, who leads a fairly extravagant lifestyle, nags her about moving away from New York and opening her own practice where he lives. But Joan doesn’t seem to care about money, not in the way her brother does. She also shows no interest in finding a partner or starting a family. She’s content dedicating herself to her work and doesn’t seem to understand why other people may find her choices so baffling. As the narrative progresses Joan begins to feel overwhelmed by others. Her workplace forces her to take her time off to ‘grieve’, one of her colleagues is resentful of her raise and paints himself as somehow having been wrong by the hospital, and her new neighbour keeps encroaching on her private space, inviting himself over and offloading her with things he no longer wants. Then, towards the latter half of the novel, Joan is further troubled by the news of a virus…(you guessed it…covid cameo).
Joan’s idiosyncratic narration is certainly amusing and engaging. She finds social interactions difficult and often takes what other people say too literally. Because she keeps to herself others see her as standoffish and weird. Her approach to her work and the unique way she understands the world around her brought to mind Keiko from
Convenience Store Woman and Molly from
The Maid. As with those characters, it could be argued that the reason why people view Joan as ‘different’ is that she’s neuroatypical. Yet, no one alludes to this possibility, even if Joan consistently exhibits neurodivergent traits…I understand that women and racial minorities ‘slip’ under the radar when it comes to being diagnosed (and are often misdiagnosed) but given Joan’s profession and the country she lives in…I would have excepted someone to mention this or keep this in mind rather than make Joan feel like an ‘alien’ because she doesn’t react or express herself in a neurotypical way. Anyway, aside from that Wang certainly brings to life the character of Joan. Her interior monologue is characterized by a dry yet witty tone. Joan’s acts of introspection are punctuated by sillier asides having to do with sitcoms and social niceties. When coming across other people she does have the habit of listing their height and weight which rubbed me the wrong way. No one can just look at someone and know their exact height, let alone their weight. It also seemed like an added 'quirk' that is a bit stereotypical (of a character who is heavily implied to be neuroatypical and is into a medical/science related field).
We also gain insight into her everyday life working at the ICU. Her father’s death and her mother’s temporary move into Fang’s house makes her reflect on their experiences in America, the linguistic and cultural barriers they faced. Joan also considers how her experiences differ from her brother’s ones; unlike her, Fang was born in China and while their parents moved to America he was left in the care of some relatives. Does he resent Joan because of this? Is his fixation with wealth and status an attempt to prove himself?
Wang is able to articulate complex and often hard to pin down feelings and thoughts. I also appreciated that there were instances where the author was able to point to what state of mind Joan was in without being explicit about it. We can see that Joan is numb without her telling us. Her deflection and minimisation of her own grief were also very convincing and felt consistent with her character.
There are moments where Joan is interacting with her superior, her colleague, or her neighbour, that really convey how uncomfortable she is. Often nothing overtly ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ has been said but their tones or line of questioning feels invasive or somewhat condescending. Wang also captures the realities of working in a predominantly male workplace. I was reminded of
Severance,
Edge Case,
Days of Distraction, which also explore the experiences of young(ish) Asian American women who have jobs in typically white & male spaces. Wang emphasizes how often (supposedly) ‘well-meaning’ liberals such as her neighbour succeed only in making one feel even more ‘other’. The realism of Joan’s everyday life and inner monologue are contrasted with moments and scenes that verge on the absurd. Some of the secondary characters (such as this random girl who introduces herself as a 'post-millennial') came across as cartoonish, and their presence in Joan’s story felt jarring almost.
As the narrative progresses my interest waned. There was a lot of repetition, and some of the situations Joan ends up in felt a bit…trying too hard to be quirky? Kind of a la Fleabag. The inclusion of covid also affected my reading experience. It just stresses me out reading about the pandemic given that we are still in it and no, I don’t care to ‘relive’ those first few months back in 2020. I would have liked fewer scenes with the neighbour or random characters and more page time spent on Joan and her mom, or Joan and her brother. Still, I did find her point of view insightful, particularly when she considers how growing up as the daughter of Chinese immigrants has shaped her and her sense of self. I did find it slightly implausible that she was unfamiliar with so many American things, given that she was born and lived her whole life there...but I guess if you are a truly introverted or asocial person you would have less exposure to popular culture. Still, I could definitely relate to feeling lost or a step behind as there are instances where my English friends and or colleagues say things or refer to things I just don't 'get'.
While reading this I was reminded of Mieko Kawakami's
All the Lovers in the Night. Both novels focus on women in their 30s who lead rather solitary lives. They do not seem interested in pursuing romantic relationships nor do they care about 'moulding' themselves into their respective society's ideal of a woman (who is often a wife & mother). I appreciated that story-wise Joan is Okay doesn't follow a conventional route, which would have ended with Joan 'finding' someone or 'changing' because of love. Still, I did find the finale kind of anticlimactic. And again, by then, covid had kind of stolen the scene so I'd lost interest somewhat. If you liked Wang's Chemistry and you can cope with 'covid books' I would definitely recommend you check out Joan Is Okay. -
Joan is a thirty-six-year-old doctor at an ICU at New York City hospital. She loves her job and feels safe there. Her parents raised her and her older brother Fang in America, but once they were college educated, Mom and Dad returned to China where they finally found financial success for themselves. After Joan’s father dies, her mother returns to America for a time to visit her grandchildren. The hospital requires Joan to take substantial leave after the death even though she’d much rather work, but she spends some time at her brother’s, hanging out with her mother and nephews.
Fang and his stay-at-home wife constantly let Joan know she’s living her life wrong. They repeatedly tell her that she should come out to the suburbs and open a practice there and get herself a husband and children so she can be complete. I liked that she never felt the need to have a husband and a kid to feel whole. The expectations of women go the other way, too. Her sister-in-law Tami’s parents are disappointed with her for getting an education and then quitting her career to “just” be a mom. Familial expectations, coworkers’ opinions, even the neighbors weigh in because Joan seems just a little too weird living a life without a TV and an active social calendar.
This novel is odd and original like the character Joan and offers compelling insight into what it’s like to be a Chinese-American female, especially toward the end of the book when COVID-19 starts to make an appearance in society and at the hospital where Joan works.
I enjoyed this, especially things like her thoughts on American TV once her neighbor gives her his old one because he simply can’t believe she doesn’t have any of the pop culture references that most of us have.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES JANUARY 18, 2022. -
Funny how Life works out, isn't it?
This wasn't *meant* to be a pandemic novel, says Weike Wang.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: First things first: I think Joan's neurodivergent. There. I said it.
What else is Joan? A disappointing daughter, who isn't going to give her mother the expected grands. An annoying sister, who is resolutely unimpressed with her brother's lavish getting-and-spending lifestyle. A breathtakingly good, effective ICU doctor at the outset of the Plague. A clueless, oblivious object of somewhat diffident romantic interest...utterly unrequited...for her neighbor. And most of all, most satisfyingly and unbreakably, Joan is herself.
If you don't like to read "women's fiction" because it's about men (how to catch), read this book. It's about Others (how to evade), when it's about anyone not Joan. And that was exactly why I enjoyed the read so much. Joan's struggles are typical for an atypical person, and her intelligence isn't a problem but a solution, making her an extra delightful companion for this reader. As everyone around her tries to make her feel she's missing out, lacking something, somehow wanting for something, and until she decides for herself what she thinks, she remains upset and at sea. In her enforced idleness (bereavement leave? for a father she felt little connection to still less affection for, shouting abuser that he was?) she loses the armor of being too busy to deal with all the mishegas of ordinary life.
It is great to read about the woman lead's sense of self being explored and resolved without a boyfriend at the beginning, middle, or end of the process. It is bracing to read the genuinely painful experience of the first-generation American in attempting to come to a happy resolution to a parent's desires when these are rooted in a wildly different world. But then, as the visibly different as well as culturally different as well as neurologically different (this last is not explicit in the text, but its factuality is the hill I'll die on) Joan thinks, "Why try to explain yourself to someone who had no capacity to listen?" She thinks this in a different relationship's context but the truth is, it is Joan all the way. She's not going to do the same thing a dozen...even, I suspect, a pair of...times expecting or hoping for different results. What kept me from giving it all five stars was, however, that very thing: I felt Joan was harshly judgmental from beginning to end, despite questioning herself and her responses as we went through the story. I think that's a bit unbelievable, it seemed to me she would've adjusted some of her private judgments...still, not a fatal flaw since I liked her from giddy-up to whoa.
In fact, in just over 200pp, I fell in love with Joan as she is. I think you might do the same. Give her a few of your hours. She's a good companion. -
Joan is a remarkably quirky character I will be thinking about for a long time to come. Her extreme naivete, her lack of filter, her almost robotic drive--in some ways, she's the opposite of the protagonist in Weike Wang's debut novel, Chemistry (one of my favorite books ever!) but they share a similar core in many ways, shaped by their similar childhoods with parents who longed to return to China, even if that meant being away from their own children. This is one of the first novels depicting Covid19, and it was chilling to see the facts regarding the progression of the pandemic and how it affected Joan's work life (she's an attending in a NYC ICU) and her mother, who's visiting the US from China and unable to return. As with Chemistry, the spare, staccato prose works to accentuate the characterization to great effect. I could not put this book down.
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[3.5] No one in Joan's life seems to think she is okay. Joan, who lives a simple, regimented life as a physician in a NYC hospital, is content. But those around her do not understand her contentment. Like her doorman suggests, I wished she would fall in love with her neighbor. I wished she would find a fulfilling hobby. I, like all the other bothersome people in her life, wanted more from her. That Joan comes alive is the power of Wang's understated writing. As a character though she is frustrating! But there is a message here - and the title says it all.
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Was it harder to be a woman? Or an immigrant? Or a Chinese person outside of China? And why did being a good any of the above require you to edit yourself down so you could become someone else?
i'm gonna be honest: i was bored for a lot of this novel, listening to its swathes of mundane details and musings. (i don't think it's the book, probably more my difficulty getting settled into literary fiction in general.) but what kept me reading was the fact that these swathes of mundaneness were punctuated by moments of stunning cleverness, all delivered in the narrator's signature deadpan. it endeared me to her within just a few chapters.
i also appreciated how this story was by, for, and about chinese women. it's not an educational opportunity or sermon about being (east) asian in america, but rather just a story of one woman's life, told with nuance and without fanfare. -
I never read friends’ reviews before starting a book for some bizarro unfounded fear I have of accidentally plagiarizing their stuff, but I do occasionally take a peek at their ratings and absolutely was going to start my thoughts here with Joan is Okay is . . . okay (just like my friend Michelle did!).
So the story here is about, you guessed it, Joan. It’s partially about the grieving (or lack thereof) process, partially about the immigrant experience, partially about being a woman of a certain age who has no children or partner, partially about competing in a male dominant industry, partially about family and home, partially about Covid, and just a titch of snide humor (which Joan, I’m sure, isn’t even aware she has). It’s told in a free association sort of style with no punctuation indicating dialogue, no chapter breaks, etc. And it’s . . . okay. I read this because it popped up on some of the “Must Reads of 2022” lists. I’m just not smart enough to get what makes this one so special, I guess.
My main complaint (I’ve read enough Cormac McCarthy that the lack of quotation marks will never be an issue for me) was that Joan started off as an obviously “quirky” character – who noted every person she came across by height and weight, mimicked facial expressions and hand gestures because she was unsure of her own, found solace in “friendships” with anthropomorphized objects like the Roomba or the hospital ECMO, was unintentionally funny at times as mentioned above, etc. But then that stopped. And I'm not exactly sure why . Joan had had no epiphany . . . it was like the author either forgot about or simply tired of her own gimmick.
Strangely enough, the things I liked most about this were the mundane items I would normally complain about. Descriptions of food and language and particularly Covid. Go figure ; )
2.5 Stars -
Wang’s memoir novel is written from the point-of-view of Joan, a woman who loves the purity of being the attending physician on the ICU wards. Just a patient and the multiple monitors, IVs, and medical apparatus. She can escape her successful brother’s materialism, avoid dealing with her parents’ impossible expectations, and be accepted as a competent peer in a male-dominated profession.
The workaholic also avoids engaging in the world outside of the hospital. Her new neighbor Mark may be a bit overbearing, but he is determined to correct the emptiness of her apartment and its lack of a personalized presence. The man is always upgrading his own possessions and is happy to pass the rejects on to Joan.
Joan’s father dies in China (her parents returned to China when Joan went to college) and she designates only a single weekend to fly to the mainland to honor his death. Her mother eventually decides to visit her children in the United States---and she is hilarious in her unreasonableness. [e.g., She calls up Joan on the phone and adamantly wants Joan to tell her where she put her passport.]
Joan struggles to stay independent when everyone around her seems to be pushing her to be a different person than who she is. Joan’s worth to the hospital as a pulmonary specialist is invaluable when the pandemic arrives; although she has to endure grumbling from some patients and staff because she is first-generation Chinese.
Wang’s spare, but powerful writing engages the reader to root for this flawed, but brilliant woman struggling to follow her own path. -
I might just be the wrong reader for Weike Wang. Her writing style is very sparse and there is almost no plot movement in the 200 pages that is Joan is Okay. I just found it very hard to feel engaged with the book and with Joan. Though, I do have to say - I think this is the first novel I've read that directly addresses the COVID-19 pandemic. Unexpectedly, those were my favorite parts of the book, when this Chinese-American doctor in New York City was watching the pandemic, first from afar and then as it gradually moved closer to home.
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A simple, slice-of-life novel about a Chinese-American ICU doctor that considers her work, her relationship with her family, her solitude, and (eventually) the pandemic. Much of what's interesting here is about how Joan's straightforward Joan-ness can be a struggle for other people.
Joan is not a very complicated person, and this can confuse the people around her. When someone new moves in across the hall and tries to befriend her he is baffled to find her apartment mostly empty, with no television or books. He takes it upon himself to change this, though he never actually takes Joan's opinion into account. Joan is the kind of person that can sometimes run head on into other people's desires this way, it also happens with her brother and sister-in-law, who live on an absurdly large estate in Connecticut and keep insisting Joan modify her life in ways large and small to fit with their idea of success. Joan's boss, however, may not understand why she is the way she is, but he loves the way she loves her work. Rewarding her over her peers sends one of her white male perfection-focused colleagues into a bit of a meltdown.
Despite Joan's own simple desires, she is aware of the world around her. She understands how her place as a woman of color and a daughter of Chinese immigrants impacts her place in the world. She may not change herself to fit the idea of what people expect of her because of her race and/or gender, but she isn't oblivious. Joan just wants what she wants.
This is the kind of protagonist that people will want to label neurodivergent, although it's unclear whether that's actually true. Joan can often be literal. Calling her social skills "awkward" is generous. She has struggled to connect with people, including her own family, and after her father's death people find her response cold, though we see clearly in Joan's own mind how much time she spends grieving her father's loss. Sometimes this type of protagonist is a gimmick, but happily Wang sees her as a full and lovable human being, which is just as it should be.
The book is set from the fall of 2019 through the spring of 2020, and includes the early pandemic. We do not see much of the actual pandemic, but once news of the virus in China begins, it becomes a slow-drip where we know what's coming. It is not a significant focus of the novel and not much time is spent discussing lockdown or death, if that's still a sticking point for you.
Wang's prose is clearly still hers, in short bursts as in CHEMISTRY. This can irk me in some but with Wang it always suits her material. -
I received an e-version of this book from Net Galley. It will be released 1-18-22.
I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable, thought- provoking story of a complicated young Chinese-American lady whose job as an ICU nurse thoroughly consumed her life. Tending to the needs of patients in a busy NYC ICU, seemed less stressful to Joan than dealing with the social situations she inevitably faced. She preferred her pared down, isolated life outside the hospital. There were some really funny scenes when a guy who lived in a neighboring apartment tried to befriend her. Fang, her brother went a different route when his parents brought him to the US for a better life. His life was materialistic and family oriented. His arrogance was impossible for him to stifle. Perhaps that was never a goal.
Their parents went back to China after their children were established and able to support themselves. After a family tragedy, Joan decided to go to China for the weekend, (!) Covid arrives to complicate American feelings toward Chinese-Americans. This is only touched on as the book ends rather abruptly. That didn’t matter to me as I was left thinking about whether the intensity of some jobs leaves space for other relationships. By taking extra shifts, Joan was able to build a life that focused on her academic strengths rather than her social anxieties. Does life need to be balanced or can it be just as fulfilling with a narrow focus? I was left with many questions and that’s the way I like it. -
"When I think about people, I think about space, how much space a person takes up and how much use that person provides." So opens Weike Wang's second novel Joan is Okay which is ultimately about Joan reclaiming her space.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about how Joan should live her life--her colleagues, her HR department, her doorman, her brother, her sister-in-law, her neighbor--everyone that is but Joan. Joan is a little different, and she has been striving to be the same for most of her life.
Compelled to take leave by her HR department after the death of her father, Joan steps back from the work as an ICU doctor that consumes her life. As she feels forced to spend more time with others, she is able to consider her life. Joan ponders, "Was it harder to be a woman? Or an immigrant? Or a Chinese person outside of China? And why did being good at any of the above require you to edit yourself down so you could become someone else?."
Wang's novel tackles some serious themes: grief, how immigrants struggle with their heritage and identity, how women define themselves, what we owe our families, and what is home.
Threaded through the narrative is Wang's sometimes snarky and always witty humor.
During the last third of the novel, the Covid pandemic looms. Joan watches the news and absorbs the increasing case counts initially in China and then in NYC. Online she sees “clips of Asian people being attacked in the street and on the subways. Being kicked, pushed and spat on for wearing masks and being accused of having brought nothing else into the country except disease.” And she is called back to work.
With concise, controlled prose Wang tells of the terrors of the pandemic in tandem with Joan's personal struggles.
I have to confess to getting a little squirrely when reading about the early days of COVID-19 in both China and the US. This virus is still consuming more of my time than I would like; and like everyone in the health professions, and probably everyone in general, I am fatigued.
Covid is not the main focus of this novel; it's an incidental that happens during Joan's 36th year and is incorporated into the narrative. This is Joan's tale as she defines herself herself and her way of being in her world. This multi-layered, thoughtful novel (and Joan) touched me; and gave me another lens through which to look at these issues.
And, yes, Joan is okay. -
Joan is an ICU doctor in her 30's. She is single and lives in New York City. She was born in America to Chinese parents and has a brother who lives in Connecticut. Joan is different - and she hates the word different. She is a workaholic and takes other people's shifts so that she can spend more time at work. Work consumes her life. When forced to take an extended bereavement leave from work she doesn't know what to do with herself. However, the time allows her to take a look at her life and gives her the strength to stand up for herself and go back to work as the COVID-19 pandemic hits America and her hospital is having to deal with the increasing number of patients with the virus.
The book was written in the first person and deals mostly with what is going on in Joan's head. Her analysis of everything from her point of view. Her literal interpretation of everything that is said. How she deals with relationships. An interesting book.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on January 18, 2022. -
When I look for audiobooks, I tend to go for anything 9 hours or less, and this was a sixish hours audiobook well read by Catherine Ho.
I've had Weike Wang on my radar but never read
Chemistry. This is her second novel, about Joan, a successful ICU doctor in New York, child of Chinese immigrants who actually moved back to China once Joan and her brother no longer needed them. The story introduces Joan in normal times as a slightly isolated person, but this seems to bother her family and neighbors more than it bothers her. Then covid hits and it changes some of these dynamics. -
Wang is my kind of writer. She’s all voice and tone and plays it so deadpan it sparkles. I’m in awe of her ability to balance pathos, dark wry wit, humour and heartache. She did it in Chemistry and she’s nailed it again – and bless her for doing it bang on 200 pages. I love Joan very, very much and I’m going to be recommending this one pretty hard.
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I very much enjoyed this. Loved Joan.
I loved this story and I was reading it during a very stressful period of time when I was beyond busy at work and spending time with Joan took my mind off of what was bothering me and she made me laugh at times and she also gave me a viewpoint into a life much different than mine. I’m usually afraid of books that are compared to “quirky” characters because sometimes those depictions can be misleading. Fortunately, Joan was as promised from the summary and while the writing style used is pretty straightforward, factual and sparse, this matched Joan perfectly. (As, does the title. Think: Dwight typing up the sign: IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY. From that one episode of The Office.)
I loved reading about her experience as an immigrant, how that did or did not shape her attitude towards her life and how she was contemplative and direct with others about their assumptions about her based on being Chinese American. This is a short read, but it’s dense at the same time and is another book that would be great for a book club choice. There is so much worth discussing. I highly recommend this if you haven’t heard of it before.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the gifted e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review Date: 01/20/2022
Publication Date: 01/18/2022
