Biography of gish jen

For someone whose first novel was just published in , Gish Jen has already made quite a mark on the literary scene. Her first novel, Typical American, was a finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle award, and her second novel, Mona in the Promised Land, was listed as one of the ten best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times. In addition, both novels made the New York Times "Notable Books of the Year" list.

Jen's latest work, a collection of short stories entitled Who's Irish, has also been largely acclaimed, putting Jen's name once again on the New York Times "Notable Books of the Year" list, while one of the short stories in the collection, "Birthmates," was chosen for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories of the Century. Jen's work has been canonized via inclusion in the Heath Anthology of American Literature, discussions of her work appear in various studies of American—and particularly Asian-American—literature, a