Virtual Event: Breakfast Gathering with Gish Jen

Harvard Book Store and LORI LANDER—artist, community organizer, and civic engagement leader—welcome award-winning author GISH JEN for a morning discussion of her latest story collection, Thank You, Mr. Nixon. 

Contribute to Support Harvard Book Store

While payment is not required, we are suggesting a $5 contribution to support this author series, our staff, and the future of Harvard Book Store—a locally owned, independently run Cambridge institution. In addition, by purchasing a copy of Thank You, Mr. Nixon on harvard.com, you support indie bookselling and the writing community during this difficult time.

About Thank You, Mr. Nixon

Beginning with a cheery letter penned by a Chinese girl in heaven to “poor Mr. Nixon” in hell, Gish Jen embarks on a fictional journey through U.S.-China relations, capturing the excitement of a world on the brink of tectonic change.

Opal Chen reunites with her Chinese sisters after forty years; newly cosmopolitan Lulu Koo wonders why Americans “like to walk around in the woods with the mosquitoes”; Hong Kong parents go to extreme lengths to reestablish contact with their “number-one daughter” in New York; and Betty Koo, brought up on “no politics, just make money,” finds she must reassess her mother’s philosophy.

With their profound compassion and equally profound humor, these eleven linked stories trace the intimate ways in which humans make and are made by history, capturing an extraordinary era in an extraordinary way. Delightful, provocative, and powerful, Thank You, Mr. Nixon furnishes yet more proof of Gish Jen’s eminent place among American storytellers.

Praise for Thank You, Mr. Nixon

“Witty, engaging and profound, the stories in Gish Jen's new collection beautifully illuminate the evolution of American-Chinese relationships over the past fifty years. An indispensable contemporary voice.” —Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl

“Be prepared to be awed and enthralled by one of our best writers! Fiercely funny and unrelentingly honest, Gish Jen’s new collection places a finger on the pulse of many lives caught between the indifferent movement of history and the profound desires of individuals.” —Yiyun Li, author of Where Reasons End

“An absolute delight. Jen’s luminous, deeply moving stories are filled with insight and humor, heartbreak and love. Her elegant prose creates characters who not only endear themselves to us but also illuminate our common humanity. Gorgeous.” —Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation