''Wednesday's Child'' is a 2023

short story collection A short story collection is a book of short stories and/or novellas by a single author. A short story collection is distinguished from an anthology of fiction, which would contain work by several authors (e.g., '' Les Soirées de Médan''). Th ...

by Chinese writer

Yiyun Li Yiyun Li (Chinese: 李翊雲 - ''Li Yiyun'') (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor who has lived and worked in the United States since entering graduate school. She writes exclusively in English. Her short stories and no ...

, published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

. It includes 11 stories Li had written over the course of 14 years, all of which originally appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', '' Zoetrope: All-Story'', and ''Esquire''. The book was a finalist for the 2024

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

Stories

Critical reception

In addition to being a finalist for the 2024

, the book was a finalist for the

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first ...

, the

Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction, established in 1980, is a category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize curren ...

, and the

Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award The Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award is a literary prize given annually by the Mark Twain House. It celebrates writing that represents "modern voices that define our current America," similarly to how ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ...

. In a starred review, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called the stories "Quiet, beautiful accounts of journeys through hell." Also in a starred review, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called it a "splendid and elegantly observed collection" and wrote that "these stories find Li at the top of her game." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the book a "triumphant, if more oblique, excavation of aging." ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' observed the collection's "themes of care-taking and loss" and wrote it "may be full of woe, but it is also full of wonder." ''The Asian Review of Books'' called it "perhaps the most compelling yet" of Li's short story collections. One reviewer in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' called the stories "bruising, beautiful tales"; another observed Li's approach to themes of grief. ''

The Chicago Review of Books The ''Chicago Review of Books'' is an online literary publication of StoryStudio Chicago that reviews recent books covering diverse genres, presses, voices, and media. The magazine was started in 2016 by founding editor Adam Morgan. It is consi ...

'' lauded Li's consistent writing of her subject matter, stating that "she’s once again shown us why she’s remained such a treasured guide to the lands of grief over the past twenty-plus years." ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' noted that "compassion, coupled with Li's gorgeous prose and painstaking attention to detail, is what makes these stories so beautiful, so accomplished." ''

'', ''Esquire'', and ''Vulture'' included the book on their respective Best Books of 2023 lists. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' considered it an anticipated read for fall and later placed it on their Best Novels of 2023 list. ''

'' placed it on their Books We Love list for 2023.

References

{{reflist 2023 short story collections Asian-American short story collections Chinese short story collections Asian-American literature Chinese-American literature