The Forest for the Trees - Paperback

by Leslie Li (Author)

A clash of cultures, generations, and secrets in 1950s suburban New York.

When Chinese businessman Leo Lin loses his livelihood, his American wife Margaret steps in as the breadwinner, triggering a series of domestic crises that mirror the Cold War. Their daughter Prudence elopes, Denise escapes into French literature, and Lorraine finds solace in the Catholic Church. But the arrival of Leo's mother, Nai-nai, and a shocking revelation from his father, Guoxin, threaten to shatter the family. Can the Lins overcome their inherited trauma and find personal fulfillment?

The Forest for the Trees offers a hybrid experience, blending novel chapters with screenplay scenes. This darkly funny story explores family duty, personal desire, and the secrets that bind and break us.

Author Biography

Leslie Li is the author of the novel Bittersweet, the culinary memoir Daughter of Heaven, and Just Us Girls. Her awards include a Tennessee Williams Scholarship in Fiction, and grants from the Freeman Foundation, New York State Council for the Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Chinese Heritage Foundation. Her personal essays and feature articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Gourmet, Saveur, Travel & Leisure, Garden Design, Modern Maturity, Dorothy Parker's Ashes, and other print and online publications.