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The Conversation
The Conversation
Roanna Gonsalves, Lecturer in Creative Writing, UNSW Sydney

'I had a sadomasochistic fascination with English': a vivid, playful debut disrupts clichés of docile Asian womanhood

Sylvia Plath Esther Greenwood Doreen Michelle de Kretser
Jessica Zhan Mei Yu Leah Jing Macintosh

Many contemporary novels adamantly refuse readers a pleasurable reading experience – with clunky prose and a cloying earnestness. But life’s too short for boring books.

Mercifully, Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s debut novel, But The Girl, is effervescent on the page. It enhances the pleasure of reading with the lively voice of its narrator and its control of narrative pace.

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