Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

"Wednesday's Child" by Yiyun Li is a short story collection that revolves mainly around themes of motherhood, loss, aging, and silence. I have never read anything by Li but this collection has had me adding her other books to my to-be-read list. I found a lot of this collection resonated with me, especially because the stories in this collection take place during the chaotic years of 2016-2021 and from snapshots of life from Chinese American women and how the events from those years affected them. Some of these stories really hit hard because with Trump and then with the sinophobia and anti-asian rhetoric that was going on (and kind of still goin' on today), I felt like I was reading experiences that I had as an Asian American woman.

Although this collection deals with some really heavy topics and honestly, leaves quite a feeling of uncertainty and unmooredness (not sure if that's the right term) but I think that's why I enjoyed this collection so much. It felt real and grounded.

I would definitely recommend but before reading, try and find a list of trigger warnings because I was taken aback by the first story especially.

“When she moved on to the next place, she would leave no mystery or damage behind; no one in this world would be disturbed by having known her.”

A touching, beautiful collection. I’ve only read two of her books, and now this one confirms that I need to read everything she’s written.

The few stories that revolved around recent events—Trump’s election, COVID—were the least interesting to me. I think we’ve just seen so much written about these topics that they can’t possibly have anything new to offer. But, other than that, a perfect collection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advance copy of this book.

Yiyun Li has once again proven that she is a master of her craft. In each of her short stories, Li beautifully calls into question the strangeness of life: motherhood, loss, silence, aging, autonomy and the desire to simply be.

Wednesday’s Child is composed of 11 short stories which transport the reader into the lives of various Chinese-Americans at subtly pivotal moments in their lives. A woman, ready to take her life, confesses her darkest secret to a stranger; a mother contemplates the death of her teenage child while helping another woman deliver her baby; an elderly nanny considers kidknapping a baby after deciding never to have her own.

Li expertly captures the unrest felt by many during the turbulent years of 2016-2021, with historical events such as the American 2016 election and Covid-19 lockdowns mentioned in several stories. Li highlights how these events affected the lives of Chinese-Americans in particular, drawing on her experience and knowledge of Chinese culture, and it’s impacts on first and second generation immigrants. The themes addressed in these stories are universal, however, and any reader could easily place themselves into them.

Wednesday’s Child is a book read with a heaviness. Few stories offer clear resolutions, problems go unsolved, the reader is left to grapple with life’s questions. Despite this, I was pleased with the ending. Life doesn’t give us many answers, and neither does Li.

“Memory was a haystack. Search for any one story and you to get a hundred stories, none of them complete.”

Yiyun Li can do no wrong. I enjoyed this book of short stories. The stories really focused on aging, how we have to lean on each other, and all of the joy and confusion that comes with it.

There are no repeating characters or settings in this collection of short stories, but Li has made them all feel as though they belong together, with repeating themes and tone. Even though they fit together, each one is memorable and distinct in its own right. I don’t know how Li continues to knock them out of the park, but I hope she keeps doing it.

Wednesday's Child (is full of woe). What a lovely evocative title for this collection of short fiction from an author who, based on this and only one other book, has become one of my favorites. There is so much beautiful imagery and language in each of these stories, but many share a commonality in the presence of a character (most often, a woman) who has immigrated from China. There is a death or a trauma. And what they mostly feature is a current tipping point in life with backstory filled in. But no future. We do not learn their fate or the result of their choices. I plan on reading her earlier work. She's that good.

All the female characters in Yiyun Li’s new collection, Wednesday’s Child, are so incredibly well-formed and nuanced, as are the relationships between the women. The latter is especially present in Hello Goodbye, where two friends support each other through bad marriages, fear of parenting, and the pandemic. Also, in Such Common Life, we see two older women dance around conversations that could bring them closer together. The relationship in this story was especially rich.

Li also captures a certain type of awful man very well, especially in A Flawless Silence, in which a woman not only endures unsolicited emails from a figure in her distant past, but also a husband with questionable political views. The end of this story was very satisfying.

Alone is a story that unravels beautifully, with a look into a particularly bleak episode of the protagonist’s life. One story that made me cry was When We Were Happy We Had Other Names, which captures the complicated nature of grief. The death of her child prompts a woman to make a spreadsheet of all the people in her life who have died, but this uncovers a new bout of grief for a grandparent long gone.

As the poem says, “Wednesday’s Child is full of woe”, and there’s plenty of that in Li’s latest collection. But there are also moments of beauty, and quiet dignity. To me, the overriding theme of the collection is how challenging it is to be a woman, and the many identities they are expected to assume. Every story is just gorgeous; Li creates an authentic, captivating world with every tale. But as is in real life, the real intrigue lies in the things left unsaid. Wednesday’s Child was an absolute pleasure to read.

Wednesday's Child is a beautifully written collection exploring themes of grief - particularly from familial loss., and how this emotion manifests itself in many different ways.
Although, like most story collections, there were some that I liked more than others, Li has an undeniable knack for poignant prose and no matter the story I was truly captivated by her writing. I'm so eager to read more of Li's work!

Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for the opportunity to read this collection.

I loved Book of Goose so I was thrilled to see this collection of short stories. Many are themed around motherhood and all enjoyable. And now, I'll circle back to read anything else Yiyun Li has written. Adore her!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I will confess that Yiyun Li is one of my favorite authors and therefore I am likely to be a biased reviewer. I believe she can do no wrong and I’m happy to report that is the case with this excellent collection of short stories.

While this is not one of those collections of interconnected stories, it is nonetheless a very cohesive collection. The stories belong together and work exceedingly well in the overall reading experience. There were standouts for me and not a single throwaway. The stories all share related themes. Li explores the effects of loss, grief, guilt, loneliness, and alienation. Several stories involve the death of a child, a tragedy that Li has experienced personally and written about previously. If this sounds too depressing, rest assured, Li skillfully balances the sadness with humor. That is simply how life is. There were many times I chuckled and even laughed out loud. One of Li’s greatest strengths is the characters she creates. She does it with empathy and understanding. They can be quirky at times, but always believable. Then there is the writing - controlled, beautifully rendered prose. Biased as I may be, everything works here.

My thanks to NetGalley and FSG.

Yiyun Li is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors so I was so excited to get this ARC, but sadly it did not live up to my expectations. Maybe it is because of it being a short story collection, which I tend to struggle with, but overall only the titular short story had any impact on me with the rest falling a bit flat.

Thank you to Netgalley as well as Farrar, Straus and Giroux for sending me an advanced copy

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher FSG for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
TW: grief, suicide, racism, violence, abuse, depression

Wednesday Child by Yiyun Li is an incredible collection of short stories with delicate exploration on grief, loss and death. With 11 short stories, each with their themes are impactful in their own ways to a reader like me. I was overwhelmed with various emotions from sad to melancholy, to laughing at some absurdness to crying over the loss, this collection proven is now slot to be one of favourite read this year for me.

Loss is inevitable. All living beings will pass away sooner or later. But when loss came in the crashing form of losing loved ones to suicide, this is painful beyond words. I can feel the sadness, the pain in each lines she wrote. I was enraptured in her stories of loss and grief, of living and dying, of being and unbeing, its the magic of life and the devastating death. From the grief of losing your daughter to suicide as a mother took a trip to recover from loss, an experienced Chinese nanny taking care of an infant in his first month for a family, a woman returned to China after years of living in the State, the struggle of a mother caring for her autistic son, an accomplished woman in China but become the caretaker for an old scientist, a mother who recorded every deaths she know into a spreadsheet to cope with her son's suicide. Some of the stories dealt heavier on topic of passing away and death, one that doesnt get glossed over for how sorrowful and decapitating they can be. With the author's right balance of emotions in the writing, this collection was profound and intriguing to read.

I love this author but couldn’t get into this collection right now - I think it is me and not the book! Will pick up a copy later and find the right time to get into it. LOVE Yiyun Li.

A stunning collection of short stories that is sad at times but never maudlin.

The writing is quiet, understated, and elegant.

The stories focus on the role and relationships of women, which works well. Despite the thematic link, the stories are varied in their subject matter, tone, characters, and language.

Many of the stories explore grief in various forms.

Highly recommended for fans of literary fiction and serious short stories.

I received a complimentary e-galley from the publisher; all opinions are my own.

A book of short stories about grief, sadness, despair and raw emotion. They were all beautifully written by the author and I devoured the whole book. I will reading more by Yiyun Li very soon. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ugh, This is so beautiful and gut wrenching. The grief expressed in this novel makes you want to recoil from the realness. Li is such an exceptional writer that you wonder why people even try to write in the same genre. Truly beautiful and left me breathless.

Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the e-ARC!
Wednesday’s Child is the first work I’ve read from Yiyun Li. While some of these stories didn’t peak my interest, the ones I enjoyed I really loved. The title story is amazing but it sets the bar a bit high for some of the other parts of the collection. I am very interested to dive deeper into Yiyun Li’s catalog after this, especially to see her work in novel form.

i don’t usually read short story collections, as they’re often difficult to rate and/or understand as a single unit. this one was all right; some of the stories were fairly good, whereas others fell somewhat flat. it is still an enjoyable read, though – or at least as enjoyable as a book about grief can be.

Wednesday's Child is so beautifully crafted. A set of stories about grief and how it bursts out in so many ways. Even though the stories range from melancholy to truly sad, the careful word choice by Yiyun Li creates almost a song, a lullaby, a dirge. I did not know if I would enjoy this story collection but I did very much.

Li has lived much of what she writes and that makes it even more poignant. She is an incredible writer and her work will haunt your dreams! If you love true literature, Wednesday's Child is for you!