American Han

“I am Tom Cruise-on-Oprah’s-couch crazy about American Han, Lisa Lee’s debut novel … one of the best things I’ve read in ages… . I realize that describing a novel as having a soulful yet screwball sensibility sounds close to insane, but it’s the truth; American Han has a fierce emotional intelligence that also feels hard-won.”–Joumana Khatib, New York Times Book Review“The novel asks a question for the ages–what happens to love when it is pushed, prodded, squeezed and weighed on from all angles? Lisa Lee’s debut [is] a powerfully complex, moving take on one family’s answer.”–Sydney Hankin, Bookpage“Lisa Lee’s debut novel … thrums with intelligence and heart as she chronicles the unruly lives of a Korean American family grasping for an American dream that keeps making them crazy.”–Kate Tuttle, The Boston Globe“The real art of American Han lies in the circuitous path this narrative follows, as though Jane is learning to trust us just as we’re learning to trust her … Jane knows the scarring endpoint of her confession, but watching her arrive at it and extract some wisdom from it is the novel’s quiet power.”–Ron Charles

“Debut novelist Lee presents a hypnotic exposé of immigrant identity; cultural, racial, and generational divides; and the myriad ways in which family can (and will) distance and destroy, encourage and (maybe) heal.”

–Booklist“A 20-something Korean American woman chafes at her immigrant parents’ expectations in this emotive and incisive debut novel… . Lee’s character work is top notch, especially as she shows how each family member struggles with the Korean notion of han, an amalgamation of anger, grief, and regret over one’s decisions. It’s a remarkable achievement.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review“Lee’s heartrending debut … captures the culture of the Korean diaspora both with small details–a jar of kimchi buried in the yard for more than 10 years, dug up only when the house is sold–and with broader brush strokes … Lee’s self-aware, relentlessly honest narrator feels absolutely real, and her story cuts deep.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review“In her debut novel, Pushcart Prize-winning writer Lisa Lee upends the myth of the American Dream with this compelling character study of a deeply flawed family.” –Harper’s Bazaar, Twenty-Five Most Anticipated Books Coming Out This Spring“A haunting, sad, yet now and again funny look at Korean American family life. Recommended for discussion groups that enjoy novels that focus on culture and parenting.”–Library Journal“American Han is the best debut I’ve read in years. This unafraid novel is as full of mystery, humor, and hard-won knowledge as family life itself.”–Lisa Locascio Nighthawk, author of Open Me“American Han is often hilarious, often gutting, and always deeply humane. These unforgettable characters will echo in my mind long after I’ve become a prickly immigrant elder myself.”–Ruth Madievsky, author of All-Night Pharmacy“American Han shook me to my core. Gutting in its quietest moments and heartbreakingly familiar in its loudest conflicts, this book is a gripping portrait of the cost of assimilation into American life. Lisa Lee expertly holds us to this tense reckoning, forcing us to confront the brutality that shapes the racial fabric of the U.S. and the uncertain future in which we all play a part, however unsettling and true.”–Muriel Leung, Lambda award-winning author of How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster“I was captivated by this voice– so funny, blunt, probing, wrenching, moving. Lee’s searchingly honest portrayal of each character here means no one is spared, and it means no one is dropped, either. What a powerful examination of family, society, self.”–Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake“Narrated with such an assured voice that the complexities of racism, grief, class striving, violent love, and generational trauma appear with a stunning clarity. Only a magician could create from these topics such a wildly pleasurable, funny, and frightening novel. American Han is an unforgettable portrait of a family in crisis, and I loved every minute of it.”–Shruti Swamy, author of The Archer“AMERICAN HAN is a pulsating signal from the liminal zone where the American dream meets the American nightmare. It’s an SOS from the so-called good immigrants, dwelling in this zone where only their successes are visible but not their distresses. In this deeply perceptive novel, Lisa Lee excels at rolling up the sleeves of those immigrants and revealing the cuts and wounds, inflicted by others…and by themselves.”–Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer“Tone perfect. To say that this book is smart is an understatement. The whole performs as a fantastic sleight-of-hand. Lee makes us look one way while all sorts of stuff comes into focus around us. This is a novel about a singular and eccentric family but yields understanding about so much more. Large issues abound here. This is a beautiful, important novel that will leave a mark.”–Percival Everett, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of James

Lisa Lee is the recipient of the 2023 Marianne Russo Emerging Writer Award from the Key West Literary Seminar, an Emerging Writer Fellowship from the Center for Fiction, and a Pushcart Prize. She has received fellowships and awards from Kundiman, Millay Arts, Hedgebrook, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, Tin House, Jentel Artist Residency, and the Korea Foundation.

Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, VIDA, North American Review, Sycamore Review, Gulf Coast, and elsewhere.

Lee holds an MFA from the University of Houston and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles and grew up in Napa, California.