There were some nice moments in these stories, but overall it was another collection where I felt like overall the narratives lacked a clear vision of where they were going/what they were saying. All vibes and not much else. I'm wondering if I'm losing my mind and this is what short stories have always been, or if we've entered into an era where this kind of story is more popular than it used to be. IDK. Not living/laughing/loving.

I have not seen this book get absolutely any attention on social media (or much of anywhere — it’s still under 100 reviews on Goodreads!) which is an absolute shame because it is simply exquisite — so let’s see if we can change that, because I need more people to read this immediately!!

it is no secret that I am extremely fond of short stories which teeter on the line between literary and speculative/magical, and the ones in this collection sit perfectly on that line. some stories are interconnected, revolving around recurring characters; some are perfect stand-alones; their moods vary beautifully, from hopeful to contemplative to tense and full of dread; each one is crafted with care, like a tiny and intricately carved object. the impression you come away with is that each story captures only one tiny Polaroid snapshot of a life, but that the life continues on around and after it. simply stunning! my favorites: “Power and Control,” “Wing and the Radio,” “Seagull Village.”

also, it is a testament to the clarity and craft of Qian’s writing that, despite my ARC being formatted in such a way that there were no marked breaks between stories (not the publisher or Netgalley’s fault, to be clear: the Kindle conversion process just works badly sometimes!), I was still easily and confidently able to see the separations between each story, and frankly didn’t feel like my reading experience was at all negatively impacted.

available now and enthusiastically recommended, especially if you loved these other short story collections: BLISS MONTAGE, FRUITING BODIES, GODS OF WANT, and LOT. Cleo Qian is a writer to watch, and I certainly will be. thanks so very much to Tin House and Netgalley for the ARC!

So many of my students are going to love Cleo Qian's LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO. I enjoyed the smart, unexpected short stories and can't wait to discuss them with my creative writing classes. Last year, I introduced many of them to Sayaka Murata and this year it will be Cleo Qian. What a fantastic pairing!

Cleo Qian's debut short story collection features stories mostly starring young Asian and Asian-American women. Lots of weird shit happens—I considered pitching a review (decided against it since I already have another review on my plate) since a good number of the stories are either 1) surreal or 2) freakin’ weird but possible. There's a Kpop star unlucky in love, a girl who gets double eyelid surgery and starts seeing ghosts, a horribly toxic sapphic relationship where alchemy also ends up involved, and all kinds of fun stuff in here. The title story of this collection, “LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO” (love the all caps title), is about two former high school friends reunited several years after college back in Tokyo, where they went to high school. The estranged friend Lily Bae ends up dragging the rest of them into a weird performance art group. My favorite story was the opening one, “Chicken. Film. Youth."

I loved this collection of stories that were surreal, but very steeped in reality- I've always been a fan of Cleo's writing, but to see it in collection form was something else. There is something entrancing about the world Qian creates through her stories: her employment of magical events only serves to deepen the sense of relation and intimacy between her characters and the world around them. I'd definitely reccomend this as a read!

LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO by Cleo Qian is her first book and I really enjoyed the quirky and smart collection of stories centering the experience of Asian and Asian American women. These characters really came to life for me. Each protagonist is struggling with navigating and accepting the harsh realities of today's modern world including but not limited to the pressures on woman to look a certain way, act a certain way, and fit in to society's idea of who they should be.

I love that in each to these stories the characters experience a reckoning of some kind that truly challenges them to become their most authentic self even at the expense of what it costs. This collection smashes stereotypes of what it means to be Asian and celebrates the multi-faceted ways that folx move through the world while still paying respect to the cultural nuances that inform what people value at their core.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!