Bestiary
A Novel
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FOR FICTION
FINALIST FOR THE 2021 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FOR LESBIAN FICTION
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE
LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
Three generations of Taiwanese American women are haunted by the myths of their homeland in this blazing debut of one family's queer desires, violent impulses, and buried secrets.
One evening, Mother tells Daughter a story about a tiger spirit who lived in a woman's body. She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterwards, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in…