The Foreigner: A Novel [Deckle Edge] [Paperback]

Francie Lin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2008

Winner of the Edgar® Award for Best First Novel by an American Author

Set against the Taiwanese criminal underworld, The Foreigner is Francie Lin's audacious debut novel. A noirish tale about family, fraternity, conscience, and the curious gulf between a man's culture and his deepest self

 

Emerson Chang is a mild mannered bachelor on the cusp of forty, a financial analyst in a neatly pressed suit, a child of Taiwanese immigrants who doesn't speak a word of Chinese, and, well, a virgin. His only real family is his mother, whose subtle manipulations have kept him close--all in the name of preserving an obscure idea of family and culture.

But when his mother suddenly dies, Emerson sets out for Taipei to scatter her ashes, and to convey a surprising inheritance to his younger brother, Little P. Now enmeshed in the Taiwanese criminal underworld, Little P seems to be running some very shady business out of his uncle's karaoke bar, and he conceals a secret--a crime that has not only severed him from his family, but may have annihilated his conscience. Hoping to appease both the living and the dead, Emerson isn’t about to give up the inheritance until he uncovers Little P's past, and saves what is left of his family.

The Foreigner is a darkly comic tale of crime and contrition, and a riveting story about what it means to be a foreigner--even in one's own family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Lin's stunning debut, a crime novel set in Taiwan, Emerson Chang, a 40-year-old virgin who's a financial analyst, travels from San Francisco to Taipei on a quest to scatter his mother's ashes and re-establish contact with his shady younger brother, Little P, who's been bequeathed the family hotel. At a meeting with Little P, Chang encounters two peculiar cousins, Poison and Big One, as well as Little P's devious friend, Li An-Qing (aka Atticus), who's anxious to get Little P to sell the family hotel to him. Emerson soon finds himself mixed up in machinations involving Atticus and extortion due to Little P's unsavory dealings. In addition, Emerson loses his job back in California, and the property he's inherited in Taipei turns out to have its own mysteries. Chang's distinctive voice propels a strong and original plot, with horrifying revelations. Taut, smart and often funny, this novel will satisfy readers of thrillers and general fiction alike. (June)
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Review

"Genre-wise, The Foreigner is best described as a thriller, rife with murders, drugs, secrets and betrayals. But you won't find any of the cardboard characters, clunky writing, or clichéd conventions that too often mar suspense fiction. Lin is equally attentive to description and plot. . . . Lovely, detailed writing makes you care about what happens to these characters. . . . A sequel would prove most welcome."---Los Angeles Times

"Lin demonstrates admirable range and skill in The Foreigner. She's capable of writing both marvelous humor and scenes of utter darkness in her tale of a naive man at a complete loss for dealing with the world."---San Francisco Chronicle

"Lin has much to say about the clast of East and West and the sometimes shaky bonds of family, wrapping her sly observations in an entertaining coating of ever-propulsive narrative that turns Emerson from a rich boy into a warier, sleeker, wiser man."---The Baltimore Sun

"[A] darkly funny debut."---Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 309 pages
• Publisher: Picador; First Edition edition (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312364040
• ISBN-13: 978-0312364045
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Thiller That's So Much More Than a Thriller, August 6, 2008

By 

Gwendolyn Dawson "Literary License" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Foreigner: A Novel (Paperback)

In the simplest terms, The Foreigner is a thriller about a second-generation Taiwanese-American who travels to Taiwan to extricate his brother from the violent criminal underworld of Taipei. It would be more accurate, however, to describe The Foreigner as a sensitive exploration of family relationships--an assimilated son to his immigrant mother, an American brother to his Taiwanese brother--wrapped in the guise of a thriller. This unique blend is fast-paced like a traditional thriller, but far more haunting on a personal level. Likewise, Lin's prose is superior to that of the typical thriller, and her terse yet evocative style is reminiscent of a prose poem:

"A large, warty piece of galangal hung suspended in its matrix like an embryo, while a ceramic plat on the sideboard labored under ten tiers of lucky bamboo."

"The streets looked deserted, loose garbage tumbling in the gutters, the convenience stores like remote white beacons in the chaotic dark."

Although the plot occasionally loses its direction and certain loose ends are left hanging, the powerful ending makes up for the waywardness and delivers something substantial and lasting. Recommended, particularly for those who enjoy thrillers.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and Tedious, July 28, 2009

By 

Howard (Scottsdale, AZ, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Foreigner: A Novel (Paperback)

Because of the good reviews and the award that The Foreigner received, I read the entire book, but, about half way through, I think it was sheer stubbornness that kept me going. The synopsis of the plot promised much, but failed to deliver. The motivations of the characters was never explained; apparently their actions were clear enough for the writer. Although there was some suspense about the nature of the activities of the Twainese brother, it was drawn out and by the time I found out what it did, I had long ago ceased to care. The protagonist, although admirable in many respects, was not interesting and, again, his character and motivations were not explained. As for the two cultures, Chinese and American, there was no attempt by the author to devle into them, and this book in no way added to my understanding of the Chinese experience in the US or the expat experience in Tawain. Ultimately, I felt disappointed in myself for spending the time to finish the novel. Francie Lin is a talented writer, but this novel is only a beginning, one with which I did not need to be associated.

17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars He sounds like a woman, August 28, 2008

By 

T. Wang (Vancouver BC Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Foreigner: A Novel (Paperback)

I read this book was because my friend gave it to me as a gift and as a Taiwanese. I thought it would be fun to read a intercultural story which was about to my hometown.

I really have to say this story features a very unlikable character. Emerson, our leading man, has no personality. He said bunch Intellectual stuff and tried to express some emotion here there. However, I never felt authentic about this character and had hard time to have sympathy toward his situation in the story.
Especially, to me, Emerson sounded like a ~~ woman. That made me wonder if Lin was able to separate herself when she was writing about this male character.

Anyway, the biggest problem for me is that the weak characters fail to lead me deeper into the story but I am glad that Lin chose Taipei, my home city as the background for her story.

Thanks very much.