Beautiful As Yesterday

‘A delicate and brilliant novel on the arguments, triumphs, loves and differences of a Chinese family in America’

Xinran, author of Good Women of China

Mary and Ingrid are sisters, born and brought up in China, now living in the US. Mary is the older of the two; seemingly a devoted wife, mother, churchgoer, and with a well-paid job. But she is tormented by adultery, her grudge toward her parents, and her despair at work. Her estranged sister Ingrid, meanwhile, has never settled to anything, and is haunted by her college boyfriend’s tragic death. When their widowed mother travels to the US for the first time, they can’t avoid a family get-together. Amid all it stirs up, it becomes clear that the uneasy relationship between the sisters has its roots deeper than either has ever acknowledged – and extends to their parents and their homeland.

Beautiful as Yesterday is a penetrating exploration of belonging; of family and friendship, love and loss.

‘Fan Wu is an exciting storyteller with an original take on the disarray of family history and American culture, and, ultimately, how we manage to define ourselves’ Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club