<![CDATA[The Dissident: A Novel]]>

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From the PEN/Malamud Award-winning author of Lucky Girls comes a bold, intricately woven first novel about an enigmatic stranger who disrupts the life of one American family. Yuan Zhao, a celebrated Chinese performance artist and political dissident, has accepted a one year's artist's residency in Los Angeles. He is to be a Visiting Scholar at the St. Anselm's School for Girls, teaching advanced art, and hosted by one of the school's most devoted families: the wealthy if dysfunctional Traverses. But when their guest arrives, the Traverses are preoccupied with their own problems. Cece—devoted mother and contemporary art enthusiast—worries about the recent arrest of her son, Max. Unable to communicate with her husband, Gordon, a psychiatrist distracted by his passion for genealogical research, she turns to Gordon's wayward brother, Phil. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Olivia Travers is just relieved that her classmates seem to be ignoring the weird Chinese art teacher living in her pool house—at least until a brilliant but troublesome new student appears in his class. The dissident, for his part, is delighted to be left alone. His relationship to the 1989 Democracy Movement and his past in a Beijing underground artists' community together give him reason for not wanting to be scrutinized too carefully. The trouble starts when he and his American hosts begin to see one another with clearer eyes. A novel about secrets, love, and the shining chaos of everyday American life, The Dissident is a remarkable and surprising group portrait, done with a light, sure hand. Reviewing Lucky Girls, the Seattle Times praised Freudenberger's "merciless and often hilarious eye for family dynamics, and her equally sharp eye for cultures in collision." These talents and others are on full display here, as the author captures her characters in their struggles with art, with identity—and with one another. As the New York Times Book Review observed, "Young writers as ambitious—and as good—as Nell Freudenberger give us a reason for hope."

1182305

2006

The Dissident: A Novel

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1 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 25 19:02:07 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 27 05:35:22 -0800 2007
I think the author was maybe a bit too ambitious with the number of characters. All of them were...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 03 09:04:39 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 04 14:24:41 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 14:21:43 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 14:22:00 -0700 2007
(Today's review is chock-full of spoilers, for reasons that will become obvious; those who are planning on reading the book themselves would be well-advised to skip this essa...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Feb 19 17:00:07 -0800 2008 Thu May 01 18:08:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Jul 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 08:13:44 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 08:25:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 26 12:13:51 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 12:36:56 -0800 2009
It's obvious F...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 03 12:04:12 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 12:10:57 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Apr 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 00:30:03 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 09:52:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Dec 05 11:53:50 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 05 12:47:18 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 24 12:09:38 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 24 12:17:54 -0700 2007
I really liked this novel, partially because the plot is not easily summarized at all (as I realized by trying to begin this review with a summary). Here's an attempt: The story focuses on a Chinese artist/political dissident who comes to Cali...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 25 20:17:26 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 30 09:00:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 true false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 22:38:15 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 22:41:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 18:45:26 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 06:26:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Feb 05 12:46:21 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 15 19:30:27 -0700 2008
That being said, I don't recommend it to anyone and would probably sell the book. (I never part with books.) Did anyone else notice that some parts of the story you were supposed to be emotionally invested in just e...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 09 01:27:48 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 09 01:58:38 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 16 20:35:41 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 09:21:56 -0700 2008
when i finished it was hard to believe that the protagonist would pull such a risky stunt. i guess he was still unformed as a person and al...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Feb 10 07:41:19 -0800 2007 Mon Feb 19 14:45:44 -0800 2007
This book is so good. It's such a good example of fantastic contemporary fiction. It reminded me slightly (in terms of prose) of Francine Prose's A Changed Man or Jay McInery's The Good Life - two modern books I love. (If you don't like those novels, you might not like this one.) Wha...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 26 15:05:38 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 26 15:05:38 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 09:26:33 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 09:36:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 10 22:55:51 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 18 21:52:28 -0800 2008 more...]]>