“Susan Choi…proves herself a natural—a writer whose intelligence and historical awareness effortlessly serve a breathtaking narrative ability. I couldn’t put
American Woman
down, and wanted when I finished it to do nothing but read it again.”   —Joan Didion
A novel of impressive scope and complexity, “
is a thoughtful, meditative interrogation of…history and politics, of power and racism, and finally, of radicalism.” (
San Francisco Chronicle
), perfect for readers who love Emma Cline’s novel,
The Girls.
On the lam for an act of violence against the American government, 25-year-old Jenny Shimada agrees to care for three younger fugitives whom a shadowy figure from her former radical life has spirited out of California. One of them, the kidnapped granddaughter of a wealthy newspaper magnate in San Francisco, has become a national celebrity for embracing her captors' ideology and joining their revolutionary cell.
"
A brilliant read
...
astonishing in its honesty and confidence,” (
Denver Post
)
explores the psychology of the young radicals, the intensity of their isolated existence, and the paranoia and fear that undermine their ideals.