Thanks to NetGalley for an audio arc of this book to review.

This books is short artistic love story. However, don't expect a traditional love story. The story is told in the second person where our perspective is presumably the girl friend at the start of the book. However, the men and non-binary folk, a little imagination turns this into a queer story between the narrator and us the reader. In all seriousness, however, the story isn't queer. It doesn't advertise it as such, but for some reason I misread the description when I requested it. Thats more a personal issue I had with the book.
The book itself was interesting, but it felt more style than substance. The second person perspective is unique. But more abstract was the insertion of other fictional stories between the narrator and us the reader (or his partner). Each story had an underlying message, and the commentary around that was compelling. It just wasn't anything that really did much for me personally.
3-3.5 / 5 stars

3.5 rounded up. What a unique book. I almost quit it straight away but as it was from NetGalley (and short) felt I needed to give it a shot. As the book progressed I began to catch on and started enjoying the book. Definitely one of the stranger books I've read this year and far more philosophical than my usual but overall interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think I’ve grown myself out of short stories books and shouldnt have requested this one as its not my genre of choice.

You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked. opens with the recounting of the pineapple scene from Chungking Express which appropriately set up the melancholy tone of the relationship winding its way down through the novel. I cannot fully pin down what made this a 5 star read for me when I give so few out but I felt emotionally sucker punched by the writing delivered in 2nd person singular and for me, via audiobook which I’d heavily recommend although I can see myself picking up a print copy as well. Finding out Sheung-King is a scholar of Italo Calvino after finishing this book made a lot of sense to me because there’s such a dedication to form throughout that worked perfectly for me. Notably, Sheung-King references other works throughout especially as our narrator confronts Orientalism and Western tropes for Asian art and culture as well as their inherent ties to capitalism and exploitation. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Like a lot of Canadian lit, this book was brought to my attention by Darryl (@dsweet_library). At that time, it wasn’t readily available to get a hold of in the States so I was beyond excited to get an audiobook for review through Netgalley. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher!

One part love story, one part folk tale, one part dream like reverie, one part meditation on having multiple cultures, and one part art/literary critique. That's a lot to pack in a slim novel, but it works. All the threads are balanced carefully and come together for a satisfying story that also makes you think. I was most struck by how my feelings for the protagonists changed from the first story to the last. They aren't perfect people, and they are pretty opaque (especially to each other) but they were both very interesting to learn about and spend time with. The narrator mentions several times his love for Murakami, and this novel owes a lot to his dreamy aimless intelligent characters. And when you add in the element of cross cultural exploration and (mis)understanding, you get a book that is really enjoyable!

Told in a stilting narrative, this novel left me dissatisfied, which I think was the intent. Our narrator, who remains unnamed, is a Chinese man who lives and works in Toronto, and his girlfriend, the "you" in the narrative, is a Japanese woman who is described as being much more attractive than the man.

The novel describes their relationship: he tells Chinese folktales to her, she thinks the way he speaks is weird. She's frequently late and likes to randomly disappear, he seems confused by her behavior all the time.

The narrator's retellings of Chinese folktales is interesting, and I really enjoyed his summary of and commentary on Han Kang's The Vegetarian, but do I know what the point of this book was? No.

The writing style was super interesting - and honestly that’s what kept me interested. I don’t know if it’s because I’m picky when it comes to audiobooks but this one.made me wish I could have read this book in printed format just to see how the layout of the story on the page would have affected my reading experience. Again, I just so often wondered if I would have been more invested if I could see the words on the page. Another thing that I liked was that the couple didn’t have names. I felt it added to the intrigue of the book as any preconceived notions I would have attached to certain names were eliminated and all I had to judge were the characters actions. My favourite story was the one that gave the title to the novel - that was the second I was hooked.

But the story was SLOW and I found myself still questioning by the 60% mark what the story was about. There were themes, but I couldn’t get what the through-line was. The girlfriend’s characterization was well done, but I still found myself wondering about the narrator and why he was still with his girlfriend.

Overall good story, but defiantly something I would have loved to have read on paper than to have listened to. 2.5/5 stars

[Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this novel in exchange for an honest review]

I was instantly intrigued by the title of this book. This unique title does justice to the novel’s unique content and style of writing. You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked felt like performance art in audiobook form. This book is wholly character driven. Don’t read this one if you are a reader looking for action and drama. Although it took me a while, this book eventually drew me in and the ending left me wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

A beautifully poignant slice of life.

You Are Eating An Orange. You Are Naked. is a collection of episodic memories addressed to the narrator’s love interest, “You,” intertwined with Chinese and Japanese folklore, and more western narratives. The memories follow the couple’s travels through Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Nagoya, Tokyo, Prague, and home in Toronto. The stories hit on topics like Identity, Race, and Human Connection.

I highly recommend this read for anyone looking to diversify their reading lists, or for anyone looking to try a new genre. I’m not even sure how I would categorize this novel, but it was a far cry from my typical mystery/thriller reads, and I could not have loved it more! I’m actually very inspired to read more from the works cited in this piece.

Sheung-King’s uncensored narrative felt incredibly relatable, and it moved seamlessly between being poetic, to hyper-real, to just plain magical — making the most mundane occurrences seem so powerful and moving. Kenny Wong’s narration of the audiobook further grounded the tales and made for a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience.

Thank you to ECW Press and NetGalley for the Advanced Audio Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a smart and romantic tale of a young man and woman who live in Toronto but travel the globe telling each other stories and folktales. The story uses memory recall to detail specific events of their relationship. Parts are written as if he’s writing directly to her, other parts he writes to himself.

Playful banter and social criticism are used as these two characters explore food, art, culture, identity (including race/Orientalism, religion, and language), and what it means to exist between spaces and identities. It is also about desire and how we value ourselves and each other: Attractiveness, interests, career, and education.

From the acknowledgments, it appears it is based on a real love and experienced (at least loosely). I’m rooting for this couple and hope they are still challenging and loving each other.

Thank you to Sheung-King, ECW Press Audio, Book’hug Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since You Are Eating An Orange. You Are Naked. by Sheung-King was on the Canada Reads longlist, I have been intrigued. The title alone gets your attention. This is a quick read (or listen) coming in at under 200 pages and I had high hopes for it. There are things I really liked about it and then there are things that I didn't really like which explains my middle of the road rating.

This novel is character driven. It is about a couple in a relationship and as they travel to different cities and countries, they tell each other stories of their lives, folk tales or random stories they've heard. We are never told their names and only get glimpses into who they are from the narrator and the stories they tell, so the character development happens, but it happens at a turtle's pace.

The writing style is simple with some interesting patterns. I enjoyed the way food was used and the way the reader is drawn into the story, witnessing the couple but not intruding, The female character is a bit more mysterious which was an interesting element. I can't say that I cared for her. Sometimes the way she treated the man was horrible and if the roles were reversed, it would be understood quite differently.

Their topics of conversation are interesting: gambling, purpose of life, love and marriage, and cucumber sandwiches as metaphors. The stories were often reflections about their own relationship, but I'm not sure I always got that.

I was not a fan of the last section of the book and it is the reason the book didn't get a four star. I kind of lost interest and the ending didn't pull me back. I liked enough about the novel to be interested in reading more from this author, but for me this was just an average novel, overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Book*hug Press for the free audio copy. Kenny Wong was the narrator and did a good job. There was nothing above and beyond in the narration, but I'm not sure the story lent itself to that.

This debut novel lets us know that Sheung-King has talent and we need to keep an eye out for him. I think he has potential to give us some amazing stories.

Bookworm Rating: 🐛🐛🐛

In this book, Sheung-King, has a simple and approachable writing style. The voice of the character is clear and as I listened along to the book, I felt myself there with the character. I was disappointed that the conflict of the story was not made clear early on and the book instead felt like reading someone's diary. This might be the style that the author was intending to go for. Also as suggested by the title of the book, there will be plenty of humor as we read along. Overall, I give this book three and half stars.

4 stars

A couple hang out in cities around the world & tell each other stories: some from childhood, some fables or folktales, some they heard from a friend of a friend. This is the kind of slow moving, character-focused slice-of-life story I enjoy. Nothing rushed, plenty of time to contemplate ducks & capitalism & childhood & racism as the couple talk. The woman MC is a bit of a clichéd “quirky just because” character, but the writing is good otherwise.

[What I liked:]

•This book has a very similar style to an early Murakami novel, like Pinball or Norwegian Wood. A young man narrates, 1st person present tense. We never learn the couples’ names, but their characters are fleshed out with random details from childhood memories & the sometimes unexpected reactions or responses they have to situations & conversations. I really like slice-of-life stories when the characters are interesting & the prose is good.

•In addition to quirky tales, the book does explore some more weighty topics such the consequences of actions, finding purpose in work, & if anything means anything, etc. I like that the narration style feels like I’m almost a third person hanging out at the table drinking whiskey with the couple, considering death by falling pig & if gambling is problematic as they chat. The weightiness isn’t forced upon the reader, but you’re invited to sit & ponder.

•The character development isn’t linear, but I still enjoyed the moments of learning more about the MC’s as they popped up. For example, I enjoyed hearing about the guy’s grandfather & how he looked in his Sunday suit, how he liked to smoke a pipe & lived in Burma.

•Harold Lee is a great character—every discomfort he raises in the narrator, & how the narrator is jealous of him but doesn’t want to be, then likes Harold but doesn’t want to. It’s a very relatable sequence.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I enjoy this style of book, but if you are looking for action or a linear narrative you won’t find it here. I think the pace suits the style well, but this is definitely a “slow moving” story.

•I like the woman MC, more or less, but I do feel like some of her characterization may be overdone, as if she’s weird & quirky just because the writer wanted a weird & quirky woman character. She’s kinda flaky & does what she wants when she wants, but there’s not a clear motivation behind it—is she self centered? Does she have trust issues? Is she just very independent & also socially unaware of how her behavior affects others? I’ve no clue. She just seems to do odd things because it gives her mystique, which isn’t good character development in my opinion.

•I didn’t get a strong sense of how the narrator feels about his girlfriend & her oddities—or actually why they’re together at all. He says the way she smokes makes him want to kiss her, & there is some chemistry, but what does he think of her personality? Are they only together out of habit, or because there’s no one better to date? It’s not portrayed clearly.

•There is lots of...how to call it...name dropping? The MC’s discuss & quote writers & directors like Murakami & Salman Rushdie & Wong Kar-wai. It felt pretentious & didn’t fit very smoothly with the rest of the narrative.

CW: mentions of death & violence, discussions of racism including slurs

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

2 stars *may change

This book is hilarious. Like, genuinely funny in a bad way, I had no idea what I was going into at first, but man, that was something. The book manages to be written in both first and second tense, with a narrator describing the female companion as "you" (me? I would never). It was so...something?

The best way I can describe this book is using a quote from it (Note that I listened to the audiobook so this is me writing it down based on what I hear): "Out of nowhere, I realize that I don't mind you flicking my dick when you're drunk. In contrast, maybe a part of me likes that you flip my dick and walk away. I imagine you walking into the restaurant, flicking my penis, and just walking away without saying a word."

Ahahaha, what? Okay.

I mean, yeah, I don't know what else to say. This book wasn't for me. Go figure.

Whoa. I did not have the same reaction to this audio book that others did. As of now, it has well over a 4-star rating and it was longlisted for Canada Reads 2021. But I just didn't get it. It seemed to be *too* experimental, too telling. Too much the second person. "You think this, you did that." Maybe I'm just getting too conservative in my reading choices.

At any rate, I'm grateful for the opportunity to try out something new. Thanks to Book*hug Press, via NetGalley, for a copy of the audio recording, narrated by Kenny Wong.