Last of Her Name

by Mimi Lok

200pp | October 2019 | Paperback | ISBN 978-1-885030-61-0

Last of Her Name is an eye-opening story collection about the intimate, interconnected lives of diasporic women and the histories they are born into. Set in a wide range of time periods and locales, including 80s UK suburbia, WWII Hong Kong and urban California, Last of Her Name features an eclectic cast of outsiders: among them, an elderly housebreaker, wounded lovers, and kung-fu fighting teenage girls.

In the novella “The Woman In The Closet,” a homeless woman finds refuge in the unlikeliest of places, while in “I Have Never Put My Hope in Any Other But Thee,” a teenage girl navigates art and emotional allegiances with her ex-opera singer stepmother. In “The Wrong Dave,” a soon-to-be-married architect takes up a covert correspondence with a grief-stricken woman who may or may not be writing to the right person. “Wedding Night” centers on an unconventional romance threatened by societal mores. The title story follows the parallel, interweaving journeys of a mother and daughter as they grapple with their respective foes, taking us from the suburbs of England to a Chinese village on the eve of World War II, and exploring the hidden lives and secret histories within an immigrant family. Collectively, LAST OF HER NAME offers a unique exploration of love, longing, and endurance.

praise

“Lok’s literary debut is among the strongest of the year. . . . Lok writes with the self-assuredness of a literary veteran and the insight of someone who’s spent a lifetime studying how humans interact. It’s a gorgeous collection that urges us to do our best to connect with one another.” —NPR

“Lok has written the kind of understated book you catch yourself thinking about weeks after you finish it. Absorbing and deeply human, these characters — who either live in China or are of the Chinese diaspora — feel more like people you might’ve known than like fictitious renderings of Lok’s imagination.” —NY Times Book Review

“Her stories are insightful, painfully honest and deeply unsettling — a dynamite combination in a new writer on the scene.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Through eight provocative stories, Lok’s sharp gaze transforms disconnection and longing with compelling results.” —Booklist

“Lok’s attention to detail and reflective connections make for an intimate and layered experience, for the characters and their readers.” —Ms. Magazine

“Last of Her Name is a mesmerizing and deeply felt debut that affirms all that is great about short fiction. ‘The Woman in the Closet’… has to be considered a new classic. Lok’s collection brings startling intimacy to her characters, all of them struggling with dislocation and belonging. I can’t think of a collection that better speaks to this moment of global movement and collective rupture from homes and history, and the struggle to find meaning despite it all.” —DAVE EGGERS, author of The Parade

“What a basket of jewels! Each of these stories is elegant, poignant and multi-faceted. A true pleasure.” —GISH JEN, author of The Girl at the Baggage Claim

“A truly beautiful and wide ranging collection. From the gut punch of the opening story to the wonderful novella that anchors the book, not a word is wasted. A book to stay up with, a book that will make you not want to sleep.” —PETER ORNER, author of Maggie Brown & Others

“A collection of assured and keenly observed stories about the devastations—large and small—that transpire between people. No-nonsense, darkly funny, and lovely all at once, it makes you wonder, as good books should, what on earth is going on in each of our brains.” —RACHEL KHONG, author of Goodbye, Vitamin