image of person or book cover 5201275809169096843.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon But the Girl single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 But the Girl
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'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)

Exhibitions

28712475
28169622

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Hamish Hamilton , 2023 .
      image of person or book cover 5201275809169096843.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 224p.
      Note/s:
      •  Published August 2023

      ISBN: 9781761046148
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Jonathan Cape ,
      2023 .
      image of person or book cover 5686901219321543929.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 224p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 10 August 2023.
      ISBN: 9781787333925 (hbk)
    • Los Angeles, California,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      The Unnamed Press ,
      2024 .
      image of person or book cover 2212499025640198983.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 5 March 2024.
      ISBN: 9781951213985
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Vintage UK ,
      2024 .
      image of person or book cover 832809590946083229.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 224p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 13 June 2024.
      ISBN: 9781529922837
Form: audiobook

Works about this Work

Holden Walker Reviews But The Girl by Jessica Zhan Mei Yu Holden Walker , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , no. 30 2024;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 2023 single work novel

'Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s novel But The Girl (2023) is the story of protagonist and narrator “Girl”, as she embarks on a study abroad experience in the UK while immersing herself in British culture, contemplating her thesis, attempting to write her novel, and sharing her innermost thoughts with the reader. Yu’s novel possesses intimate autofictional narration, inspired by the oeuvre of Sylvia Plath and animated by intertextual allusions to her work. But The Girl explores various other subjects, from the creative process to the Malaysian-Australian experience; however, Yu brings personality and uniqueness to this novel by examining femininity in the postmodern and postcolonial context while commenting on the Australian “cultural cringe”.' (Introduction)

Jessica Zhan Mei Yu : But the Girl Ann Skea , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , January 2024;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 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.'
Book Review : But the Girl, Jessica Zhan Mei Yu Nanci Nott , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , September 2023;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 2023 single work novel

'This delightful debut is a literary coming-of-age story.'

Shelf Reflection : Jessica Zhan Mei Yu 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 Roanna Gonsalves , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 August 2023;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 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 Roanna Gonsalves , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 August 2023;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 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 Ann Skea , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , January 2024;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 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.'
Book Review : But the Girl, Jessica Zhan Mei Yu Nanci Nott , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , September 2023;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 2023 single work novel

'This delightful debut is a literary coming-of-age story.'

Holden Walker Reviews But The Girl by Jessica Zhan Mei Yu Holden Walker , 2024 single work review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , no. 30 2024;

— Review of But the Girl Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 2023 single work novel

'Jessica Zhan Mei Yu’s novel But The Girl (2023) is the story of protagonist and narrator “Girl”, as she embarks on a study abroad experience in the UK while immersing herself in British culture, contemplating her thesis, attempting to write her novel, and sharing her innermost thoughts with the reader. Yu’s novel possesses intimate autofictional narration, inspired by the oeuvre of Sylvia Plath and animated by intertextual allusions to her work. But The Girl explores various other subjects, from the creative process to the Malaysian-Australian experience; however, Yu brings personality and uniqueness to this novel by examining femininity in the postmodern and postcolonial context while commenting on the Australian “cultural cringe”.' (Introduction)

Shelf Reflection : Jessica Zhan Mei Yu Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , August 2023;
Last amended 20 Jun 2024 14:33:53
Subjects:
  • London,
    c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    Scotland,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
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