{"product_id":"livonia-chow-mein-9781668075234","title":"Livonia Chow Mein","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Abigail Savitch-Lew opens up doors to a Brooklyn world that most of us will never see. She reveals the convergence of cultures that is the real New York to life with flair and grace that make this an utterly enjoyable read.\" --\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames McBride, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Heaven \u0026amp; Earth Grocery Store\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eIn the vein of \u003ci\u003eHappiness Falls\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFamily Lore\u003c\/i\u003e, a gripping story of family history and political upheaval centered around a Chinese family-owned restaurant in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and its impact on the neighborhood's Jewish and Black residents over the course of a century.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1978, two tenements on Livonia Avenue in Brownsville burn to the ground, killing one resident and displacing dozens of others. It remains unclear who set the buildings ablaze, but the survivors are convinced the culprit is Mr. Wong. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWho exactly is Mr. Wong, and what allegedly drove him to this extraordinary act of violence, is the question that consumes this novel as it plunges into four generations of Wong family history. First is Koon Lai, an immigrant who runs a Chinese restaurant on Livonia Avenue; second, his son Richard, a man desperate for his own chance at the American Dream; and third, Jason, a poet who seeks his escape in the bohemian counterculture of the 1970s, but finds himself an unwitting participant in Brooklyn's gentrification. In the 21st century, Jason's daughter Sadie returns to Brownsville as a journalist, determined to unravel the mystery of what happened decades earlier on the night the buildings blazed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJoining together the present and the past is the community organizer Lina Rodriguez Armstrong, who was also displaced by that fire and who has spent the intervening years fighting for the rights of Brownsville's residents and organizing a Livonia Avenue community land trust. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA stunning debut from a new talent, \u003ci\u003eLivonia Chow Mein\u003c\/i\u003e contemplates how the American pursuit of freedom relies on a collective amnesia and challenges us to consider what it would take for us to truly live in harmony.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Abigail Savitch-Lew\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781668075234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/16\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAbigail Savitch-Lew is a writer of fiction and nonfiction and an American of Jewish and Chinese (Ashkenazi and Toisanese) descent. She has a BA in literary arts from Brown University and an MFA in fiction from Rutgers University-Newark. She is the author of the novel \u003ci\u003eLivonia Chow Mein\u003c\/i\u003e, and her short stories have been published in \u003ci\u003eThe Round\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePost Road\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Best Teen Writing of 2010\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Apprentice Writer\u003c\/i\u003e. Previously, she was a staff reporter for \u003ci\u003eCity Limits\u003c\/i\u003e, an Asian American Writers' Workshop Margins Fellow, and an adjunct professor of creative writing at Rutgers. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the artist Emmanuel Knight, her sister-in-law, and their cat.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Abigail Savitch-Lew \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47876575920285,"sku":"9781668075234","price":49.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_5022fe04-6d40-4aee-8410-1bf5d2e4c4d5.jpg?v=1777382295","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/livonia-chow-mein-9781668075234","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}