I was excited about this given the description, yet found it lacking. The narration jumps around in a clunky way, and I failed to understand everyone’s motivations. I guess that’s the struggle with unreliable narrators.

I think the base was strong, as I got that the intention was to link the a daughter’s choices to the choices (mistakes, sacrifices) made by her parents. However, I wanted to connect with the Taiwanese American background more, or the grief that surrounds losing a parent, anything. Instead the majority of the story just felt like motions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 dysfunctional stars
“So often our house was filled with injured, resentful silences.” “She was filled with bad, cruel thoughts.”

Don’t judge a book by its cover. A Quitter’s Paradise is splotched with the hopeful colors of pink and turquoise, a cute critter in a tree and a teal-hued city in the background. Paradise implies something positive. I found nothing positive in this book. I was so ready to quit (that would have been paradise!), but I mistakenly remained hopeful for change, redemption, growth – any kind of ‘normal’ progression – or even a story arc. At two-thirds through the book, I believed the author when she wrote, “Abandoned hope lies always in wait.” I waited fruitlessly. Don’t get me wrong, as an avid reader, reviewer, survivor, I am familiar with sadness and tragedy. They have their place in most stories. But relentless spitefulness sours any narrative.

Don’t necessarily judge a book by its ‘publisher’s blurb.’ A Quitter’s Paradise was described as darkly humorous. Phrases I jotted while reading give a different perspective: ‘Mean mother, mean sister. Really? So unrealistic. Makes me mad. Again sad, dysfunctional. She is a weak character. Sad ugly. The dad is the worst: abusive and misogynistic.’

New characters were introduced quickly and then the narrative jumped to another time and place. This made the audiobook especially hard to follow. (I read the ebook in combination with the audiobook.) At one point I thought this jump of people and time was perhaps purposely meant to be disconcerting, leaving the reader confused. If so, the technique worked, but not to the benefit of readers! Most chapters had numbers distinguishing them, but some sections were randomly set off with a phrase. Tiny section breaks within the ebook chapters were not distinguishable in the audiobook and the sudden shift was hard to follow. In the audiobook, the female voice is pleasant, which is a stark contrast to Eleanor’s mean-spirited survivor character.

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, child abuse, suicide

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't connect with the main character at all, and the time lines threw me off. Unfortunately, this one failed to capture my interest, which makes it a no-go for me.

*listened to the audiobook* 3.5 stars. it was okay… this is a book i am glad i got the audiobook for because i think having read it physically, i may have not finished it.

through the book, we watch eleanor’s life fall apart after her mother’s death. she life begins to untangle and eleanor soon finds herself in strange situations she creates and is trying to understand whats going on.

eleanor as a lead was strange and i felt quite disconnected from her. she was quite quirky and i tried to sympathize with her but she seemed to cause all these situations and tried to blame it on others or excuse herself because in the moment, one small thing was going right. the flips between her current life in what went on in the past were interesting. i didn’t necessarily feel like it was necessary to have in them in the book as i had difficulty understanding why they were included. i wished the book was a little more linear and not so abrupt.

the writing was great but the book left me unfulfilled especially because you never get a full decision from eleanor about anything. i felt like i had all this information but nothing to do with it. i wish i had liked it more.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this audiobook arc in return for an honest review.

The novel is a nonlinear story of Chinese immigration and strained family relationships. I found Eleanor’s look into the life of a research scientist, as well as the dynamic between her and her scientist husband, to be interesting. Eleanor is deep in grief and floating through life rather directionless and indecisive throughout this novel. She does a lot of lying in this story, and, as a reader, I was silently begging this character to seek therapy.

You must like character-driven novels to read this one, and it’s worth picking up if the synopsis interests you. While I appreciated the writing, I don’t know that this main character and this novel will stay with me.

I love the gorgeous cover!

This review is posted on Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks and FB and IG @beginandendwithbooks

The description of the book and the actual execution of the book were different. This story lagged in the middle and I had the most trouble with it being more character driven than plot driven. Elanor, our main character is rediscovering herself and dealing with grief. While I did empathize with Elanor, I found her difficult to connect with and don't entirely feel like I really connected with her character. I needed more of a plot to make this book work for me.

Thank you SJP Lit, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for early access to this audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

a fine read! I personally struggle with litfic that isn't really plot driven - although I did love the writing style and flow of the book through different perspectives. I found that the last two thirds of the books didn't really have much to do with the titular theme of "a quitter's paradise" as Eleanor's life post-quitting her PhD felt somewhat like chaos and not paradise.

Eleanor has always gone with the flow happily following the guidance of those around, including her mother, her older sister, her husband, etc.

After her mother’s death and quitting her phd program she finds herself less than happy with where she is but seems to have no motivation to make changes.

Here and there we also get perks at her parents’ past and how it’s influenced her present.

This one fell a little flat for me. Even with Eleanor being the narrator I don’t feel like I got to really hear what she was thinking or feeling. Maybe this was intentional to highlight her personal disconnect. Not for me but maybe for you.

I really enjoyed the premise of the book, but I do feel the narration lacked somewhat. The story was well written and interesting, but did drag in the middle

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
So the description of this audiobook and the actual audiobook were definitely different and it wasn’t what I expected.
It wasn’t a bad listen though.
Narrator was ok.
Book just wasn’t what I expected from the description.

The author discards trite immigrant tropes for a more nuanced portrait of flawed people navigating an unfriendly society. While I appreciate this aspect of the book, it just isn't a fun or particularly compelling read: there is little love or joy, neither within nor between characters nor from the author to her subject(s). The protagonist seems to consistently make the wrong choice to no particular effect. This book feels in some ways like a watered-down version of Elaine Hseih Chou's Disorientation.
Thank you SJP Lit, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for early access to this audiobook.

A Quitter's Paradise was a tough story to read, but I really rooted for Eleanor. She is coping with grief and figuring out her life. I felt a great sympathy towards Eleanor as she struggles with grief and family issues. I also appreciated the Asian American experience.

This was a GREAT story to listen to! AWESOME narration! Great main characters. The plot was easy to find. The story was engaging and easy to follow. Will be purchasing this book. Shout out to Netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this story.

4 STARS!

This was not at all what I expected... The very beginning of the blurb on here talks about it being a "darkly humorous debut." I don't understand why anyone would consider this "darkly humorous" - it is a story about grief and family and coming to terms with who you are and what your relationship is to the people you love.. In that context it is a very interesting and well presented story. But I went into this looking for althe aforementioned darkly humorous tale, and found myself repeatedly disappointed as a result.

The protagonist is difficult to connect with because she is so lost and completely floundering in her own life. This is not a genre I typically choose, as I find the narratives difficult to relate to and the characters difficult to connect with. So while this wasn't a good fit for me, for the right reader I think it is well prepared and the audiobook narration is suitable to the style of the writing.

I listened to the audio book version of this book. I thought the voice actor was great. I was engaged as she read Chang's words about Eleanor's life. The story alternates between time periods and characters but it all ties together in an interesting way. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.