Joan Is Okay
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- Create Date：2022-03-08 06:52:08
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Weike Wang
- ISBN：0525654836
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Summary
A witty， moving， piercingly insightful new novel about a marvelously complicated woman who can’t be anyone but herself， from the award-winning author of Chemistry
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital。 The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children， Joan is intensely devoted to her work， happily solitary， successful。 She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital， where her white coat makes her feel needed， or with her family， who try to shape her life by their own cultural and social expectations。
Once Joan and her brother， Fang， were established in their careers， her parents moved back to China， hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland。 But when Joan’s father suddenly dies and her mother returns to America to reconnect with her children， a series of events sends Joan spiraling out of her comfort zone just as her hospital， her city， and the world are forced to reckon with a health crisis more devastating than anyone could have imagined。
Deceptively spare yet quietly powerful， laced with sharp humor， Joan Is Okay touches on matters that feel deeply resonant: being Chinese-American right now; working in medicine at a high-stakes time; finding one’s voice within a dominant culture; being a woman in a male-dominated workplace; and staying independent within a tight-knit family。 But above all， it’s a portrait of one remarkable woman so surprising that you can’t get her out of your head。
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital。 The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children， Joan is intensely devoted to her work， happily solitary， successful。 She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital， where her white coat makes her feel needed， or with her family， who try to shape her life by their own cultural and social expectations。
Once Joan and her brother， Fang， were established in their careers， her parents moved back to China， hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland。 But when Joan’s father suddenly dies and her mother returns to America to reconnect with her children， a series of events sends Joan spiraling out of her comfort zone just as her hospital， her city， and the world are forced to reckon with a health crisis more devastating than anyone could have imagined。
Deceptively spare yet quietly powerful， laced with sharp humor， Joan Is Okay touches on matters that feel deeply resonant: being Chinese-American right now; working in medicine at a high-stakes time; finding one’s voice within a dominant culture; being a woman in a male-dominated workplace; and staying independent within a tight-knit family。 But above all， it’s a portrait of one remarkable woman so surprising that you can’t get her out of your head。
Reviews
Susan Coster
，
Joan is a motivated young woman from China who immigrated to the United States with her family。 She is a Harvard graduate and a physician at a New York City hospital。 She doesn't want or need time off; she doesn't associate with friends and wants as little to do as possible with her brother's affluent lifestyle。 Joan is finally forced to take a leave from the hospital UNTIL Covid hits and then she is back to her home， the hospital！ Joan is a motivated young woman from China who immigrated to the United States with her family。 She is a Harvard graduate and a physician at a New York City hospital。 She doesn't want or need time off; she doesn't associate with friends and wants as little to do as possible with her brother's affluent lifestyle。 Joan is finally forced to take a leave from the hospital UNTIL Covid hits and then she is back to her home， the hospital！ 。。。more
Liz （Quirky Cat）
，
tJoan Is Okay is the latest novel by Weike Wang， and as her Chemistry novel is still stuck in my mind， I wanted to give this one a go。 It's a contemporary fiction novel addressing complicated women。tJoan is an ICU doctor in one of the busiest cities in the world – New York City。 She's struggling to define her idea of a dream and isn't entirely sure if her current career matches whatever ephemeral definition may come to mind。tHer life is thrown into chaos when every element in her life moves at o tJoan Is Okay is the latest novel by Weike Wang， and as her Chemistry novel is still stuck in my mind， I wanted to give this one a go。 It's a contemporary fiction novel addressing complicated women。tJoan is an ICU doctor in one of the busiest cities in the world – New York City。 She's struggling to define her idea of a dream and isn't entirely sure if her current career matches whatever ephemeral definition may come to mind。tHer life is thrown into chaos when every element in her life moves at once。 Her father passes away， her mother leaves China for America in hopes of reconnecting with her children， and the pandemic strikes。 Any one of these would have spelled a crisis for Joan， but together？t“The surgical ICU had its surgeons and anesthesiologists， doctors who wrote the shortest and most indecipherable notes。 The notes reminded me of haikus， and because I wasn’t a literary person， I called my time in this unit difficult poetry。” tJoan Is Okay is a relevant and heavy-hitting novel。 One that lends a voice to many people at once。 Through Joan， we see the plight of medical personnel around the world。 We also see more personal struggles as Joan copes with her life and family changes。 It's so painfully real and beautifully human all at once。tI seem to be in an unintentional streak of reading novels pulling real-world events and elements， such as the pandemic， into their stories。 It isn't surprising that this is happening， given that it is all on our mind and writing/reading is how many people process it。 But it did make Joan Is Okay feel heavier at times for this reason。tJoan Is Okay is a book that truly packs a punch。 It's the perfect follow-up for Chemistry， so I highly recommend it to all Weike Wang's fans – old and new。tThanks to Random House and #NetGalley for making this book available for review。 All opinions expressed are my own。 Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks 。。。more
Cyndi Ries
，
Boring！ Reads like a memoir， but there is nothing interesting or enlightening about Joan-na or her life as an ICU doctor or as an American-Chinese woman。 Joan is a hard character to buy into， or like—she’s smart， but indifferent to everyone/everything around her including friends， family， colleagues， society， or norms。 A backdrop of COVID 19 seems thrown in at the last moment。
fatima
，
took me a while to get through but i thought this was brilliantly written - an honest reflection of so many of our lives today。
Katie
，
I don't think I'm ready for Covid books。 I don't think I'm ready for Covid books。 。。。more
Susan Black
，
3。5 stars - ticks many of my favourites reading/fiction boxes。 Quirky， contemporary， prosaic 。。。I listened to the audio book。
Cook Memorial Public Library
，
Recommended by Jean。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 Recommended by Jean。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 。。。more
Yvette
，
this book was a hard read bc of how relatable it is， immigrant child vibes。 really excellent depiction of the determination/discipline drive that gets instilled in you at the expense of other things。 if ppl don't get this book or find it boring they may be racist lmfao this book was a hard read bc of how relatable it is， immigrant child vibes。 really excellent depiction of the determination/discipline drive that gets instilled in you at the expense of other things。 if ppl don't get this book or find it boring they may be racist lmfao 。。。more
Carol Cross
，
At times I felt as if this was a "nothing" book。 At other times， it was giving me inside information about COVID 19。 At other times， I was relating to the lead character。 I am not sure about the ending。 At times I felt as if this was a "nothing" book。 At other times， it was giving me inside information about COVID 19。 At other times， I was relating to the lead character。 I am not sure about the ending。 。。。more
Nicky
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Bright， funny， smart， witty， insightful， heartbreaking- what else can you ask for？ Loved this story。
Delia
，
Excellent！ Great read。
Libriar
，
3。5 stars。 I can appreciate the character Joan in this book， a daughter of Chinese immigrants who is now a doctor in New York City at the infancy of the Covid-19 pandemic， without liking her。 The book explores her relationship with her family。 This is a pretty quick book but I felt bored reading it at times （but I did appreciate her discovering TV shows about crazy neighbors while simultaneously becoming friends with her neighbor。）
Kaitlin
，
They really bury the lede in this one with that flip about halfway through！This is an interesting read -- be warned it is a continuous stream of thought with no chapters， though there are page breaks -- and I really liked the character of Joan and her mother。Still processing a bit on this one and also thinking of the future of Joan and her family。
Megan
，
Won this book through a Random House giveaway here on Goodreads and am very thankful。 This book is wry， written in tense and sparse language- a style that seems to mimic its protagonist， Joan。 The love of Joan’s life seems to be her job as an ICU doctor and she struggles valiantly against the pressures as a woman， as the child of immigrants， as a Chinese-American， as a sister， as a friend to live life on her own terms- as literal as they may be and I loved that about her。 I thoroughly enjoyed th Won this book through a Random House giveaway here on Goodreads and am very thankful。 This book is wry， written in tense and sparse language- a style that seems to mimic its protagonist， Joan。 The love of Joan’s life seems to be her job as an ICU doctor and she struggles valiantly against the pressures as a woman， as the child of immigrants， as a Chinese-American， as a sister， as a friend to live life on her own terms- as literal as they may be and I loved that about her。 I thoroughly enjoyed the the journey of this book along with her as the Covid pandemic mounts and she finds a degree of peace about her most complex of personal relationships。 。。。more
Pamela
，
An interesting book， amusing and an affirmation that there are all different kinds of people who fit all kinds of needs。 Joan fits her profession perfectly and needs no revision。
erin
，
so sharp so witty so funny so sad i cried
Kathy
，
Wang creates a character （alone but not lonely Chinese-American ICU attending physician in NYC in the months leading up to March 2020） who is more realistic， more compelling， and more thoughtful than the characters an actual doctor tried to create in “Doctors and Friends，” the only other medical novel regarding Covid I’ve read。
Liz Cettina
，
First book I’ve read where Covid is a part of the setting…Joan is a great character
Scott Stelter
，
4。5 stars。 Reminded me of Ottessa Moshfegh or Samantha Hunt， but as extreme。 Such a fun and odd character。
Ellen
，
2。5
jenny✨
，
Was it harder to be a woman？ Or an immigrant？ Or a Chinese person outside of China？ And why did being a good any of the above require you to edit yourself down so you could become someone else？i'm gonna be honest: i was bored for a lot of this novel， listening to its swathes of mundane details and musings。 （i don't think it's the book， probably more my difficulty getting settled into literary fiction in general。） but what kept me reading was the fact that these swathes of mundaneness were pu Was it harder to be a woman？ Or an immigrant？ Or a Chinese person outside of China？ And why did being a good any of the above require you to edit yourself down so you could become someone else？i'm gonna be honest: i was bored for a lot of this novel， listening to its swathes of mundane details and musings。 （i don't think it's the book， probably more my difficulty getting settled into literary fiction in general。） but what kept me reading was the fact that these swathes of mundaneness were punctuated by moments of stunning cleverness， all delivered in the narrator's signature deadpan。 it endeared me to her within just a few chapters。 i also appreciated how this story was by， for， and about chinese women。 it's not an educational opportunity or sermon about being （east） asian in america， but rather just a story of one woman's life， told with nuance and without fanfare。 。。。more
Sara Goldenberg
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Interesting and timely。 Looking forward to more from her！
Tricia Tysiak
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Not great！ Felt like I was reading a long run on sentence？！ The end of the book talked about Covid 19
Schmimmerock
，
This character-driven novel centers around a workaholic doctor who， in her mid-30s， is feeling pressure on all sides to change。 Lots of suggestions from well-meaning friends， family， colleagues， and acquaintances on how to improve her quality of life。 But Joan's perfectly content with how things are right now。 Joan is okay！ Joan IS okay。。。right？Ah， I think this was a good book。 I do。 I just think that it is the third or fourth in a line of character-driven novels I've been reading， and it was th This character-driven novel centers around a workaholic doctor who， in her mid-30s， is feeling pressure on all sides to change。 Lots of suggestions from well-meaning friends， family， colleagues， and acquaintances on how to improve her quality of life。 But Joan's perfectly content with how things are right now。 Joan is okay！ Joan IS okay。。。right？Ah， I think this was a good book。 I do。 I just think that it is the third or fourth in a line of character-driven novels I've been reading， and it was the weakest of the lot for me。 I liked Joan， for sure。 And I felt like her struggle to balance all the expectations on her was relatable。 She's nice to read， but we didn't have long enough with her。 To be honest， I was bored through a bit of it。But again， I think that it's death by comparison。 I do like Joan。 She's quirky， a little weird in ways both good and。。。not bad， but definitely in a way that makes social interactions awkward。 It lends her to imperfection that I like in my characters， so it definitely worked。 Maybe it was just too short？ I was just getting into things when it ended！ I'm not sure。Still， I'll be keeping an eye out for Weike Wang's work in the future。 Fingers crossed for more Joan， I think！Thank you very muchly to NetGalley， Weike Wang， and Random House for this arc in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Heather
，
The second half of this book occurs during the Dec-Feb Wuhan surge and the March 2020 covid surge in NYC。 I think it is a well written representation of how we all felt in the early days of the pandemic - narrated by a Chinese American ICU Dr as the protagonist。 But， more broadly the book is about the immigrant and first generation experience in modern America。
Kory Keller
，
I didn’t love the writing style but the protagonist was interesting， a Chinese female ER doctor who was quite socially awkward。
Maddie
，
4。5/5 Quirky main characters with smart and snappy inner dialogues are a sweet spot for me， and in the same vein as A Room Called Earth and Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead， I really enjoyed Joan is Okay。 Joan is a sharp and aloof ICU doctor who loves to work， loves to be needed at work， and who is really good at her job。 After her father dies in China， her mother comes to visit Joan and her brother in the NYC area in late 2019。 Weike Wang explore what is means to be the daughter of Ch 4。5/5 Quirky main characters with smart and snappy inner dialogues are a sweet spot for me， and in the same vein as A Room Called Earth and Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead， I really enjoyed Joan is Okay。 Joan is a sharp and aloof ICU doctor who loves to work， loves to be needed at work， and who is really good at her job。 After her father dies in China， her mother comes to visit Joan and her brother in the NYC area in late 2019。 Weike Wang explore what is means to be the daughter of Chinese immigrants， a woman in medicine， an introvert who enjoys spending time alone and doesn’t understand why people keep trying to invite themselves into her life， a woman who doesn’t necessarily want to be a mother and doesn’t think motherhood is what makes a woman a woman， the healthcare system in the US， office （and HR！） politics … all this while COVID begins to spread in the US， and what that means for a Chinese-born doctor。 。。。more
Deej Dambrauskas
，
Joan Is Okay is okay。
Tracey
，
"And like that we were arguing。 From the sorry state of my hair to when I would be getting married and have my first child。。。Tami asked why I wasn't more worried about these practical matters when people who never marry became outcasts， and a woman isn't a real woman until she has a child。 Some words will take years to forgive。 Or never。" Wang's writing is quirky and taut and poetic。 Relationships are always fraught with tension。 While I think I enjoyed Chemistry more than this novel， this one i "And like that we were arguing。 From the sorry state of my hair to when I would be getting married and have my first child。。。Tami asked why I wasn't more worried about these practical matters when people who never marry became outcasts， and a woman isn't a real woman until she has a child。 Some words will take years to forgive。 Or never。" Wang's writing is quirky and taut and poetic。 Relationships are always fraught with tension。 While I think I enjoyed Chemistry more than this novel， this one is very similar in its pacing， be-bopping around， eventually landing in a place that leaves the reader unsettled but satisfied that Joan will be okay。 I really am grateful Wang leaves the novel mid-pandemic and doesn't write her way through it all， given we aren't quite out of the thick of it yet。 。。。more
Jill
，
Only wish this could be at least double the page length。 Not really a pandemic book as it is sorta marketed as， but how Covid creeps in to the forefront is nauseatingly accurate to the experience of early 2020。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Joan Is Okay
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Joan Is Okay&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Joan Is Okay&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0