The Immortal Woman

How does The Immortal Woman tell a different story about Chinese and Chinese immigrant identity than you have read before?

We see Lemei undergo many trials, tribulations, and transformations, from adolescence to her early 60s. What is your assessment of this complex character?

In Lin’s own words, she has an “inferiority complex” about her Chinese identity. How is it linked to the political trauma of Lemei’s generation? How does the unresolved trauma and “collective amnesia” of history lead to internalized racism?

How would you characterize Lin’s attraction to Sasha? Can you unpack the myriad feelings she has for him? The Immortal Woman by Su Chang BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

Lin’s postpartum behaviors and feelings suggest a postpartum mood disorder, but despite some intervention from the medical profession, she traverses a long and lonely road to recovery. How can our society improve postpartum mental health care, especially for marginalized and/or immigrant mothers who often carry hidden cultural and political trauma?

Discuss the push and pull between the pressure of assimilation and the allure of Chinese nationalism that new Chinese immigrants often face. How do Lemei, Lin, and Dali each deal with those competing forces?

Do you find Dali a villain or a sympathetic character? What internal and external factors have contributed to his life choices and his tragedy? Discuss how class-based discrimination erodes societal bonds and can lead to conflict among those who share the same national identity, not only in China but around the world.

Lin has ambivalent feelings at the end of the novel. Can you unpack her feelings? What do you think of the ending?