WOMEN, SEATED

A novel, originally written in Chinese, about the unraveling lives of a nanny and the family she serves after the downfall of its patriarch, a prominent Chinese politician. For readers of Ha Jin, Leïla Slimani and Kevin Wilson.

In WOMEN, SEATED, we enter the world of an elite Chinese family: A life of luxury, limitless power, and around-the-clock service, which includes their trusted nanny Yu Ling. Slipping in and out of the shadows, careful to speak deferentially, meticulous in her care of their only son Kuan Kuan, Yu has served the family for years and knows their secrets. But little do they suspect that Yu has secrets of her own.

In the pressure-cooker political environment of China, the fates of even the most powerful families can reverse overnight. When Kuan Kuan's father and grandfather are arrested and his socialite mother goes on the run, Yu is left behind to make a series of life-changing choices. Will she be able to outrun her own past: How far will she go to claim what she considers her due?

Zhang Yueran's last novel, Cocoon, has been translated into several languages. It was nominated for the Best Foreign Book Prize 2019 and won the Best Asian Novel of the Prix Transfuge 2019. It was voted one of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2022. Zhang lives in Beijing and teaches literature and creative writing at Renmin University.

Jeremy Tiang is the translator of over 20 books from Chinese, including novels by Zhang Yueran, Shuang Xuetao, Yan Ge, Yeng Pway Ngon, and Chan Ho-Kei. He is the author of a novel, State of Emergency, which won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018. He also writes and translates plays. Originally from Singapore, he now lives in New York City.