In this jaw-dropping, darkly comedic memoir, a young woman comes of age in a dysfunctional Asian family whose members blamed their woes on ghosts and demons when in fact they should have been on anti-psychotic meds. Lindsay Wong grew up with a paranoid schizophrenic grandmother and a mother who was deeply afraid of the "woo-woo"—Chinese ghosts who come to visit in times of personal turmoil. From a young age, she witnessed the woo-woo's sinister effects; at the age of six, she found herself living in the food court of her suburban mall, which her mother saw as a safe haven because they could hide there from dead people, and on a camping trip, her mother tried to light Lindsay's foot on fire to rid her of the woo-woo. The eccentricities take a dark turn, however, when her aunt, suffering from a psychotic breakdown, holds the city of Vancouver hostage for eight hours when she threatens to jump off a bridge. And when Lindsay herself starts to experience...

Crazy Rich Asians meets Love & Gelato in this hilarious, quirky novel about a Chinese-American teen who is thrust into the decadent world of Beijing high society when she is sent away to spend the summer in China.Iris Wang is having a bit of a rough start to her summer: Her boyfriend cheated on her, she didn't get into any colleges, and she has no idea who she is or what she wants to do with her life. She's always felt torn about being Chinese-American, feeling neither Chinese nor American enough to claim either identity. She's just a sad pizza combo from Domino's, as far as she's concerned. In an attempt to snap her out of her funk, Iris's parents send her away to visit family in Beijing, with the hopes that Iris would "reconnect with her culture" and "find herself." Iris resents the condescension, but even she admits that this might be a good opportunity to hit the reset button on the apocalyptic disaster that has become her life. With...

About the Author LINDSAY WONG is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling memoir The Woo-Woo , which was a finalist for Canada Reads 2019. She has written a YA novel entitled My Summer of Love and Misfortune. Wong holds a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in literary nonfiction from Columbia University. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Winnipeg. Follow her on Twitter @LindsayMWong, Instagram @Lindsaywong.M, or visit www.lindsaywongwriter.com. Product Description From the bestselling, Canada Reads-shortlisted author of The Woo-Woo comes a wild, darkly hilarious, and poignant collection of immigrant horror stories. They'll haunt and consume you--in strange and unsettling ways. Living forever isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Hearts can still break, looks can still fade, and money still matters, even in eternity. The ghosts, zombies, and demons in this collection are all shockingly human, and they're ready to spill their guts. Vanity, love, and tragedy are all candidly explored as the unfulfilled desires of the dead are echoed in the lives of modern-day immigrants. Story-by-story, the line between ghost and human, life and death, becomes increasingly blurred. There's a courtesan from 17th century China who, try as she might, just can't manage to die. Grandmama Wu, who returns from the dead to protect her grandchildren from bullies. Not to mention an Internet-order bride who inadvertently brings the apocalypse to Nebraska City. From Shanghai to Vancouver, the women in this collection haunt and are haunted--by first loves, troublesome family members, and traumatic memories. Intertwining horror, the supernatural, and mythology, Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality riotously critiques contemporary life and fearlessly illuminates the ways in which the past can devour us. A collection about transformation and what makes us human, it solidifies Lindsay Wong as one of the most vital and electrifying voices in Canadian literature today. Review One ofCBC's "30 highly anticipated Canadian titles coming this year"Chatelaine 's "9 New Books To Read This Winter"Winnipeg Free Press 's "15 books to watch for in the first half of 2023" "From a hair-chomping grandma ghost to nine-tail fox demons who snack on frat boys, the women of Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality are moody, sharp-tongued, and subversive. With humour and mischief, Lindsay Wong spins horrifying tales across continents and centuries. These stories slither through uncanny worlds and dredge up deep feelings of alienation, longing, and shame. Eccentric and unforgettable." -- Pik-Shuen Fung, author of Ghost Forest "The stories in Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality will make you laugh, cry, cringe, and gasp. Here, Lindsay Wong, has created an absurd symphony of tragedy and joy that leads Asian Canadian writing into uncharted and new, incredible, directions. The horrible is hilarious, the tragic is titillating, the morbid is mirthful. In these stories you will find beauty, horror, pleasure, and play." -- Jenny Heijun Wills , author of Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. " Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality is a truly original collection of short stories, a book that brims over with otherworldly creatures, disaster, humour, and the unassailable bonds of familial love and hate. Lindsay Wong asks us to accompany her characters as they fight, dream, and survive in worlds that are on the verge of collapsing. It's a wild ride and I loved every second of it."--Jen Sookfong Lee , author of Superfan and The Conjoined "Fans of the black humour of Lindsay Wong's debut memoir The Woo-Woo can celebrate. This is a dark, hilarious and utterly brilliant collection that sees Wong unleashing her macabre imagination. Her doomed characters reflect the kaleidoscope of immigrant experiences; the stories skewer "crazy rich Asian" stereotypes and deliver unique insights on intergenerational trauma and culture clash. A must-read!" -- Joanna Chiu , author of China Unbound , winner of the Writers' Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing "In this exhilarating collection, characters seek exuberance in hardship; they struggle to make the most of life, death, and everything in between. Wong writes against Asian immigrant stereotypes with a singular voice, seemingly freewheeling and maximalist but always in tight, expert control. Utterly unforgettable!" -- YZ Chin , author of Edge Case "Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality is an engrossing, entertaining, and haunting feat. Lindsay Wong expertly braids fable and nightmare into the story arc, oscillating between shocking and twisted, and heartfelt and humorous. Family drama quickly turns to revenge and gore, as characters morph and grow to surprising ends. Packed with curses, ghosts, and death, this collection captures an unease rarely explored, yet certain to be richly valued by readers." -- Derek Mascarenhas , Author of Coconut Dreams "Drenched in morbidly dark humour, this collection of extremely entertaining immigrant horror stories reflects on class, death and family trauma." --The Globe and Mail "[A] haunting and darkly comic collection peopled by unforgettable characters." --Chatelaine