In her debut novel, Edge Case, YZ Chin uses the familiar trope of a marriage falling apart in unexpected ways to explore big questions of love, belonging, immigration and identity.
When Edwina returns home to her New York apartment to find her husband, Marlin, has disappeared, she's left to wonder: Is he missing, or has he simply left her? Should she proceed as though nothing has changed, or stop everything to save her marriage? Will she and Marlin be able to continue their applications for green cards without each other? These questions haunt her as she recounts to an unnamed therapist she met on a dating app the story of the days surrounding Marlin's disappearance.
The uncertainty of her marriage is paralyzing for Edwina, who wanders the city in search of signs of her missing husband between long missives to this Internet stranger. This paralysis never carries through to the pages of Edge Case, however, which is perfectly paced. The domestic suspense of Edwina's relationship status ultimately reaches well beyond the walls of her small, lonely apartment: to the small, unwelcoming room of U.S. Customs and Border patrol, who once held Marlin aside when re-entering the United States; to the equally unwelcoming home of Edwina's mother in Malaysia, who insists her daughter lose more weight; to the male-dominated start-up office where Edwina works, hoping her boss will someday sponsor her green card application. The result is a riveting and poignant tale, offering sharp insights into--and criticisms of--American culture and immigration policy, neatly packed in the story of one woman's transformational journey through solitude. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm