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'Irreverent, witty and wise, But the Girl is a campus novel set off campus, and a coming-of-age story about not wanting to leave your family behind
'I used to have this line I saved and brought out for grant applications and writers festivals - that having been Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina and Esther Greenwood all my life, my writing was an opportunity for the reader to have to be me
'Girl was born on the very day her parents and grandmother immigrated from Malaysia to Australia. The story goes that her mother held on tight to her pelvic muscles in an effort to gift her the privilege of an Australian passport. But it's hard to be the embodiment of all your family's hopes and dreams, especially in a country that's hostile to your very existence.
'When Girl receives a scholarship to travel to the UK, she is finally free for the first time. In the gilded rooms of London and then Scotland she is meant to be working on a PhD on Sylvia Plath and writing a postcolonial novel. But Girl can't stop thinking about her upbringing and the stories of the people who raised her. How can she reconcile their expectations with her lived reality? Did Sylvia Plath have this problem? What even is a 'postcolonial novel'? And what if the story of becoming yourself is not about carving out a new identity, but learning to understand the people who made you who you are?' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Jessica Zhan Mei Yu : But the Girl
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , January 2024;
— Review of But the Girl 2023 single work novel 'The protagonist of Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s debut novel is meant to be writing about Sylvia Plath and race, but finds herself in Scotland with writer’s block.' -
Shelf Reflection : Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , August 2023; -
‘I Had a Sadomasochistic Fascination with English’ : A Vivid, Playful Debut Disrupts Clichés of Docile Asian Womanhood
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 August 2023;
— Review of But the Girl 2023 single work novel'Many contemporary novels adamantly refuse readers a pleasurable reading experience – with clunky prose and a cloying earnestness. But life’s too short for boring books.' (Introduction)
-
‘I Had a Sadomasochistic Fascination with English’ : A Vivid, Playful Debut Disrupts Clichés of Docile Asian Womanhood
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 August 2023;
— Review of But the Girl 2023 single work novel'Many contemporary novels adamantly refuse readers a pleasurable reading experience – with clunky prose and a cloying earnestness. But life’s too short for boring books.' (Introduction)
-
Jessica Zhan Mei Yu : But the Girl
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , January 2024;
— Review of But the Girl 2023 single work novel 'The protagonist of Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s debut novel is meant to be writing about Sylvia Plath and race, but finds herself in Scotland with writer’s block.' -
Shelf Reflection : Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , August 2023;
Awards
- 2024 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Book of the Year
- 2024 longlisted APA Book Design Awards — Best Designed Literary Fiction / Poetry Cover designed by Sandy Cull.
- 2024 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for Fiction
- 2021 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer
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London,
cEngland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,
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cScotland,ccUnited Kingdom (UK),cWestern Europe, Europe,