Your basket is empty.
-
- Books
Finalist for the National Book Award 2017
'There was a time I would have called Lisa Ko's novel beautifully written, ambitious, and moving, and all of that is true, but it's more than that now: if you want to understand a forgotten and essential part of the world we live in, The Leavers is required reading' - Ann Patchett
Ko's novel is a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.
One morning, Deming Guo's mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon - and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he's ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents' desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.
Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It's a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.
Publisher: Dialogue
ISBN: 9780349700526
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 281 g
Dimensions: 205 x 138 x 26 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Quietly sensational . . . its underlying themes of displacement and deportation carry deep and desperately urgent resonances far beyond America, and fiction - Arifa Akbar, Guardian
Utterly immersive - Daily Mail
There was a time I would have called Lisa Ko's novel beautifully written, ambitious, and moving, and all of that is true, but it's more than that now: if you want to understand a forgotten and essential part of the world we live in, The Leavers is required reading - Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth
One of 2017's most anticipated fiction debuts... The Leavers feels as relevant as ever as the future of immigrants in America hangs in the balance - TIME
A rich, multifaceted portrait of displacement and the trauma of not belonging - Lucy Scholes, Independent
Lisa Ko's writing is snappy, real and completely engrossing... it took my breath away - Books ft. Politics
Instantly compelling - Stylist Magazine
Ambitious . . . Lisa Ko has taken the headlines and has reminded us that beyond them lie messy, brave, extraordinary, ordinary lives - New York Times Book Review
A must-read - Marie Claire
A rich and sensitive portrait of lives lived across borders, cultures, and languages ... One of the most engaging, deeply probing, and beautiful books I have read this year - Laila Lalami, author of The Moor’s Account
You may also be interested in...
“The book is touching and so poignant”
The leavers by Lisa Ko is ultimately a story of love, loss and finding yourself when you feel that you don’t fit in.
At ten-years-old, Deming Guo has already had an eventful life. His mother Peilan (Polly) Guo was an...
More
“Novel set in NEW YORK and CHINA (the prose is dense with wonderful imagery)”
Lisa’s Ko’s wonderful debut novel offers the reader a powerful exploration of the theme of identity. Through the often-heart-rending story of Deming and his mother, Polly, Ko focuses on the plight of illegal... More
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?