lillian li, author

interviews/pieces

• The Millions (w/ Bradley Sides)

• Fiction Writers Review (w/ Emily Nagin)

• Shondaland (w/ Nicole Chung)

• Electric Literature (w/ Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello)

• Asian American Writers Workshop (w/ Crystal Hana Kim)

• Michigan Quarterly Review (w/ Lauren Prastien)

• Bitch Roundtable (w/ Helen Hoang, R.O. Kwon, and Evette Dionne)

• Midwest Gothic (w/ Henry Milek)

• Books Q&A (w/ Deborah Kalb)

• Grammar Quirks (w/ Grammar Girl)

• Entertainment Weekly: What's In a Page

• Poets & Writers: 10 Questions

• Publisher Weekly: Tip Sheet

recordings

• From Plate to Page: Writing Asian American Food (w/ Ligaya Mishan, Naben Ruthnum, & Rohan Kamicheril)

• The Kojo Nnamdi Show

• The Racist Sandwich Podcast

• Shelf Talking: A Podcast from Literati Bookstore (w/ Russ Brakefield)

• Politics and Prose reading

• Michigan Radio: Stateside (w/ Cynthia Canty)

• GrottoPub (w/ Larry Rosen and Lee Daniel Kravitz)

press

• Electric Literature: 46 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2018

• Cosmopolitan: 33 Books to Get Excited About in 2018

• The Millions: The Great 2018 Book Preview

• Bitch Media: The 25 Most-Anticipated Fiction Books of 2018

• Library Journal: Literary Glitter l Fiction Previews, Jun. 2018

• She Reads: 2018 Diverse Books of Summer

• POPSUGAR: This Summer's Hottest New Books for Every Type of Reader

• Bon Appetit: 8 Non-Cookbook Food Books to Read This Summer

• O Magazine: O's Top Books of Summer

• Time Magazine: 22 New Books to Read This Summer

• Buzzfeed: 30 Summer Books to Get Excited About

• Lithub: The Ultimate Summer Books Preview

• Star Tribune: Summer Books

• Fast Company: 94 new movies, TV shows, albums, and books you must check out this month

• Toronto Star: Loan Stars List (Librarians' Top Ten Picks for June)

• Bustle: 32 New Fiction Books Coming Out This Summer That You'll Definitely Want In Your Travel Bag

• AM New York: 5 Beach Reads

• InStyle: 11 Books to Bury Your Nose In This Summer

• Indie Next: July Indie Next List

• Bitch Media: 15 Books Feminists Should Read in June

• Tory Burch: Best Summer Reads

• Fortune Magazine: Your Summer Reading List

• NBC New York: Bill's Books

• Asian American Writers' Workshop: Staff Picks Summer Reads

reviews

• Entertainment Weekly: "Li’s talent for human tragicomedy grows more evident by the page. Her characters — Nan, the venerable restaurant manager on the brink of disaster, especially — come alive... By the climax, Li generously realizes the dreams, the regrets, and the resilience of a family holding on to its American dream, hoping it doesn’t slip away."

• The Wall Street Journal: "So expertly does first-time novelist Lillian Li conjure the Beijing Duck House, a gaudy, tatterdemalion restaurant in Rockville, Md., that readers ... can almost taste its signature dish and feel the heat of its woks."

• USA Today: "Number One Chinese Restaurant rewards readers with a compelling family story about love, work and what it means to serve."

• The New York Times Book Review: "Evocative. . . . Li's novel revolves around the tangled inner workings of the family-owned Beijing Duck House . . . Chinese-born family members and workers [for whom] the Beijing Duck House has displaced Beijing itself as 'the heart-center of the universe.' . . . [Li's writing] engrosses."

• The Guardian: “An insightful and elegant novel, beautifully written and with an impressively large and diverse cast of characters…This is Li’s debut, yet she writes with a confidence that suggests decades of experience.”

• Kirkus: "With its deliciously depicted restaurant setting and knowing perspective on Chinese-American culture, this novel is two-thirds cultural comedy. The other third is something deeper and sadder. A writer to watch."

• Publisher Weekly: "With echoes of Stewart O’Nan’s Last Night at the Lobster, Li’s insightful debut takes readers behind the scenes of a Chinese restaurant, the Beijing Duck House, in Rockville, MD."

• Shelf Awareness: "A smart combination of Chinese American life, service industry travails and the ups and downs of belonging to a family, Number One Chinese Restaurant will make great discussion fare for book clubs." [STARRED REVIEW]

• Book List: "Li ... distinctly showcases her literary pedigree in this raucous, bittersweet non-love story across cultures, generations, morals, and other seemingly impossible divides."

• The Village Voice: "Li humanizes cruelty. Where another would look away, she dives under a microscope, determined to see it clearly. The result is a wonderfully honest portrait of what it takes to make it in America."

• Asian Review of Books: "Li is successful in bringing depth and shape to the lives of those often found behind the scenes."

• South China Morning Post: "Li’s complex characters may remind readers of those in the acclaimed short stories of Flannery O’Connor, one of America’s greatest fiction writers. And Li is the kind of author who, to quote O’Connor, is 'interested in what we don’t understand rather than in what we do'."

• Book Page: "There is a wild fierceness to Li’s writing, as she likens characters to an 'agitated collie,' a 'trapped rat' and 'demon dogs,' both as comic relief and as a clue to the characters’ barely contained energies. This energy explodes, literally and figuratively, in a rousing climax that proves both curse and blessing."

• Book Reporter: "Li expertly crafts a deeply felt and beautifully evoked multigenerational narrative. She ensures that her readers see the wit and humor of these characters while also acknowledging the restlessness, isolation and ache..."

• New York Journal of Books: "The writing here is thoughtful and accessible. And if you’ve ever wondered even remotely after the lives of all those Chinese workers who’ve served you over the years, this novel brings them to life."