A review by kristinbutler
My Year Abroad by Chang-rae Lee

5.0

I was hooked from the first page. Listened on audio and the narrator sounds like an Asian David Sedaris.

I love the way the author uses the English language, sees East Coast suburbia from an outsider/insider POV, inhabits his main character’s thought, invents or re-thinks words that are completely understandable. It’s original. Super funny. Laugh out loud. Urban dictionary meets Catcher in the Rye.

The waitress sends the main character a microwink.


The white suburban town has more labradoodles than “Ethnics” and still calls mayonnaise its favorite sauce.



Brilliant. Non derivative.