Eleanor Liu is a thirty-something Taiwanese-American woman who lives in New York City with her husband Ellis. Both are scientists who work in a lab on their PhD's. Eleanor's mother recently passed away, and she is trying to avoid her grief. She quits her chemistry study and starts working for Ellis. The story moves to the present time in Eleanor and Ellis' lives to the past. Where we learn more about the background of Eleanor's family, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan. Her father imported lots of different salesware from Taiwan to hopefully sell in the USA. You learn about his background in Taiwan, and how he met his wife, and the struggles they had with their two daughters and making a life in America.

In the present time, Eleanor struggles with a lot of things and she never seems like a person who is happy with her life, as she makes some sketchy choices also with stealing a lab rat and going on an affair with a coworker and gets pregnant. As a reader, you never really get to the bottom of who Eleanor really is and what makes her make certain (bad) choices.

Overall I liked the writing and the overall storyline. The story moves many times in past and present and from point of view, which made it a bit chaotic, but on the other hand it gave good view of her parent's background and it explained a lot, but Eleanor stayed a bit of a strange main character.

I liked the overal idea of the story, and Elysha Chang truly knows how to write a story fit for a book, but at some points I found the story and the characters lacking any kind of depth, which made it less interesting to read and not really characters that keep you caring to read about them. I truly had higher expectations of this book.

Thank you for the early release copy of this novel. I requested it to consider for the Read.Talk.Grow podcast which subsequently went on a recording hiatus. I’m sorry that I was unable to read and review prior to the publication date and have now procured a physical copy.

Thank you #Netgalley!

We follow Eleanor as she is going through a life changing moments, she left her PhD program, she is processing a loss of a parent and all their her parents experienced in life. The bouncing back and forth between Eleanor and her parents was confusing at first but then I got the style of the novel. I personally did not find the character Eleanor that intriguing as she hid from difficult things and avoided confrontation.

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

📚A Quitter’s Paradise - Elysha Chang📚

A Quitter’s Paradise is an eye-opening and inspiring exploration of personal growth and self-discovery. This book takes you on a journey across multiple timelines and is engaging and emotional, touching on topics of loss, love, miscarriage, parental expectations and the lives of undocumented immigrants.

Chang’s writing is refreshingly honest and relatable, infused with vulnerability and authenticity. It is well-paced, appears to be well researched and definitely kept me turning the page. I did really relate with the expectations parents can place on their children and I know others will feel this too.

What you can expect:
🐭 Familial bonds and secrets
🐭 Alternating timelines
🐭 Exploration of grief
🐭 The immigrant experience

I enjoyed this thought-provoking journey through time and I’m definitely intrigued to see what Elysha comes out with next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to @netgalley @zandoprojects @sjplit @dreamscape_media and @elyshoshine for sending me this to review 🙏🏻

In "A Quitter's Paradise," Eleanor Chang struggles to face her mother's death and her fragmented family. She avoids reality, concealing secrets from her husband and delaying the task of sorting through her mother's belongings. As she questions the nature of grief and the legacy of an elusive mother, Eleanor's journey intertwines with her family's stories—from their lives in Taipei to their immigration to New York City. The novel explores the complexities of family and the impact of shared history on individual identities.

I enjoyed learning about the family’s history and Eleanor’s grief was interesting, but I didn’t really *get* Eleanor as an adult. The storyline I enjoyed the most was Eleanor’s sister as a teen and I would’ve liked to check in with her as an adult to fully flesh out the family and how they lived their lives apart from each other and the consequences of their choices.

I was so excited to read this novel because I love to support debut authors, plus I trust Sarah Jessica Parker's taste in books implicitly. The cover art caught my eye, too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this compelling, witty story about grief and growth and life itself. I am already looking forward to seeing what Elysha Chang publishes next!

I hate that I am giving this such a low rating.

It has all the potential to be a good book, but the execution is just severely lacking. Our MC is so avoidant that she becomes one-note and boring. Reading from her POV made me want to DNF pretty quickly. I continued on because of the promise to explore grief and estrangement, but it was not worth it.

I do appreciate that Chang gave us a character who is so damn messy, but there was something missing in order to make it feel like a good story.

Delighted to include this title in my July round-up of Guaranteed Great Vacation Reads, highlighting engrossing summer titles for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

I loved this book because of the unique setting and interesting characters. I also love it when things get out of hand in stories, which they definitely did here. My full review was published yesterday in The Post and Courier here: https://www.postandcourier.com/features/book_reviews/review-a-quitters-paradise-details-the-perils-and-pleasures-of-giving-up/article_ce5168c8-2008-11ee-9da0-c3a482aa465b.html

this was all over booktok and i'm so glad i got a chance to read this! thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, for the oppty to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very unusual read for me, I didn’t ‘enjoy’ it but I finished reading, which was mostly to see where is this going? I love a family saga and there were elements of that with the past and present timelines. I did not find it humorous at all, and wondered what I was missing having seen it described that way. It was uncomfortable and sad. Eleanor’s inability to express her grief presented in ways that were self-sabotaging and destructive. I felt like all of this pain must be leading somewhere, but for me it didn’t and, unfortunately left me unsatisfied. I appreciate the opportunity to read something different and challenging, and thank the publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy.

Thanks so much for the review copy. I so wanted to love this because I love SJP and usually enjoy her book selections. This book jumped around in time too much for me.

As a quitter, I found this book quite relatable. I was more drawn to the present POV and wanted to not switch away from that. Elysha Chang's writing was beautiful and I would love to see what she comes up with next. Thank you so much to Zando Projects & SJP Lit for the ARC.

Published: 06/06/23

Thank you NetGalley and Zando Projects, SJP Lit for accepting my request to read and review A Quitters Paradise.

Culturally this is an Asian interpretation, fictionally of a family. My Asian culture experience is through books, mostly fiction. I find the parental/child relationship hard to take, and more of a business than dictionary definition representation of family.

The author uses the same things I've seen in other books -- the children assume their family debt, parents pressure them to pay as well show respect with dignity while paying these bills; don't complain or bring shame -- not further shame, just shame to the family. While all this is going on, the child is told they will take care of their aging parents, grandparents? Going to America the land of opportunity the foolish is a theme used as well.

In this story, Eleanor is trying to figure out her life with all the trappings (customs/traditions) in the United States. She faces different challenges here. The story is interesting. I didn't find it funny. I found it partly sad, but mostly cloudy. There seemed to be a point, but I missed it. I felt sorry for her until she made ludicrous decisions. She was an all over the radar beacon. And, then the story ended.

There is profanity.

This would make a good book club with discussion read.

I would recommend reading when in a good head space. This isn't a beach read. It is a thinker.

3.5 stars

Elysha Chang’s debut novel A Quitter’s Paradise is an interesting story about a Chinese-American woman named Eleanor who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and self-reflection after her mother dies. The narrative alternates between a past and present timeline, with the present one told from Eleanor’s first person perspective, covering her adult life where she and her husband Ellis are both scientists working on their PhDs. Eleanor is prone to avoiding her feelings and often goes to great lengths to make herself small and invisible — a “skill” she cultivated as a child growing up in a household that was often devoid of warmth and tenderness. In this timeline, we are given glimpses into Eleanor’s fraught relationship with her mother, but we don’t learn how this tense relationship came to be until the past timeline, told in third person, where the backstory of Eleanor’s parents, Rita and Jing, is told. Rita and Jing were immigrants from Taiwan, and though they were able to provide a financially stable life for Eleanor and her sister Narisa, their family dynamics were anything but harmonious. Jing was often away for work and when he was at home, he was mostly indifferent (and sometimes violent) toward his family. Rita often criticized her daughters for infractions that either didn’t exist or were contradictory to the point of confusion. Narisa was a wild child who mostly did as she pleased, even if it meant hurting others in the process (especially Eleanor, whom she bullied and ridiculed relentlessly). Growing up, Eleanor learned to be quiet and obedient, immersing herself in schoolwork and reading (similar to how the ancient scholars immersed themselves in their studies) — not because she particularly enjoyed either activity, but because that was the only way she could be left alone. In this way, she could become what her mother Rita “envisioned a modern scholar to be: someone actively engaged in disappearing, in self-effacing, someone hermited within themselves… Eleanor never corrected mistakes, never offered opinions, convictions, suggestions, clarifications. Never revealed anything about what she knew or did not know, what she felt or did not feel. How had she trained herself to be so amenable? Where did she learn to nod at concepts she didn’t understand? Simple. Eleanor did not really rule herself or any realm of her life. She inhabited a world that belonged always to someone else.” It is this personality trait of Eleanor’s that shapes much of the story in the present timeline, which ends up affecting her relationships with everyone around her.

I had serious mixed feelings toward this book, with regard to both the story arc and the characters. In terms of story arc, the first two-thirds or so was quite strong and kept me engaged, but then the last third of the story got a bit muddled and abstract, to the point that, in the end, I felt lost and was no longer sure I knew where the author was trying to go with the story. I also felt like the way the 2 alternating timelines were presented came off a bit disjointed - specifically as it pertained to the relationship between Eleanor and her mother Rita, which I was expecting to be more of a focus in the story. In the past timeline, we get to know Rita through her backstory, which plays a huge role in shaping her relationship with her daughters in their childhood years. In the present timeline however, the mother-daughter relationship wasn’t explored much outside of the first few pages, which felt like a lost opportunity to me. But it could be because I preferred the past timeline over the present one, so I was more interested in how that played out.

With the characters, I was actually quite conflicted. On the one hand, I definitely resonated with Eleanor as a child, growing up in an immigrant household and the struggles that came with it, as well as the tenuous relationship with her mother that shaped who she became as an adult — much of it was familiar to me, as I had experienced similar struggles in my own life. In the present timeline however, I couldn’t relate much to Eleanor and the outlandish decisions she made, many of which I thought were a bit over the top — so much so that I actually found her annoying, especially near the end of the story. I also didn’t know what to make of her relationship with Ellis, who featured prominently in the present timeline, but yet as a character, was not developed much — it felt like he could’ve easily been cut out of the story and it wouldn’t have made much difference.

Overall, I did enjoy this one, even though I felt parts of the story were uneven and the characters could’ve been better developed. The writing itself was quite good though, so I would definitely be interested in reading more from Elysha Chang in the future.

Received ARC from SJP Lit / Zando via NetGalley

"A Quitter's Paradise" follows Eleanor as she navigates the aftermath of her mother's death and her declining career. The story intertwines past and present narratives, delving into Eleanor's present life, her job, and her romantic and familial relationships, while also exploring the perspectives of her young parents and sister. Despite the title suggesting a lighthearted read, the book falls short of expectations, lacking coherence and relevance between the past and present narratives. It does have a few standout moments like how they describe Eleanor's persisting unsatisfaction at work and her parents' journey as immigrants. However, on the whole the characters remain underdeveloped, and the abrupt ending leaves many loose ends unresolved.

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.

As a child of an immigrant mother, I wanted to enjoy this more because I could relate to Eleanor’s character in so many ways but the different timelines made it hard to follow and i couldn’t stay engaged. I enjoyed Eleanor’s journey as she deals with the grief of losing her mother and the rest of life spiraling out of control. Overall a pretty enjoyable read, I think i would have preferred this in audio format.

Above all, the writing for this one is amazing. I would love to read another book from Chang just from her writing alone.


This is dual timeline, literary fiction that unspools and splits like a skein of yarn. In one timeline we follow Eleanor, whose life has honestly derailed a little bit. Her mom just died and she's dropped out of her PhD program and is now working as a lab tech in her husband's lab. She's done some illegal mini lab side projects on her own and done a few more things that she shouldn't have.

In the second timeline, we follow her parents immigrating from Taiwan to start their lives in America and what follows in a relationship with no love.

Ultimately, when the timelines came together I was left confused. It hit like a bang and was finished so quickly I'm still unsure what happened?

I think ultimately the way that Eleanor's perspective and life just kept unraveling made this plot seem like it was rolling down a mountain like a boulder not being able to stop until it combusts, which I really enjoyed.

However, it is so hard for me to enjoy this new 2023 theme in publishing where women in STEM are so messy and weak. That made it knock it down though I ultimately enjoyed the story as a whole. Another reason I knocked it down is Eleanor's actions (drinking or eluding to drinking) while pregnant. A neuroscience PhD is going to drink while pregnant?

I'd recommend this one to lovers of meandering literary fiction, but I'm not sure if it's going to be a hit for summer reading. I think it should've been released earlier in the spring or maybe early fall.

A QUITTER’S PARADISE by Elysha Chang is a novel that follows Eleanor, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, as she quits her neuroscience PhD program, engages in sketchy behavior as a lab tech, cares for her mother during her mother’s dying days, wrestles with ambiguous feelings towards her (white) husband, and reflects on the complicated turmoil of her childhood and family life.

The present-day storyline is told in first person, while the past is told in third person, giving a more omniscient view into Eleanor’s parents’ interiority. I’m pretty sure Chang and I had the same mom growing up, because she captures Eleanor’s mom with such emotional precision that I gasped several times. Not since Weike Wang’s CHEMISTRY have I seen this dynamic portrayed so well. The floundering in science and in romance, certain bits of wry prose, and Eleanor’s quirkiness and emotional stuntedness also reminded me of CHEMISTRY.

While the first part of the novel is written tightly, it starts to unspool more and more in ever widening circles as it progresses. In a way, this reminded me of Mary H. K. Choi’s YOLK in how thematic layers are revealed slowly. Here, the themes include family fractures, working-class and undocumented immigrant lives, miscarriage (though underexplored), self-knowledge, parental expectations, and loss.

What kept this from being a perfect novel for me is that it tries to cover too much ground (it doesn’t quite manage the pithy restraint of CHEMISTRY or Rachel Khong’s GOODBYE, VITAMIN), and the ending left me scratching my head a bit. That being said, I still absolutely loved it! The family relationships and ruptures were written so authentically. I wish Chang were touring in my city because this is a book talk I *need* to hear. I saved so many piercing quotes from this book that I’ll be referring back to, and I can’t wait for this book to find its readers.