CanLit Rewind: The Wondrous Woo by Carrianne Leung

This year marks forty years of supporting and celebrating some of Canada’s finest literary presses for our parent organization, the Literary Press Group of Canada. To help celebrate, for the entire month of October All Lit Up will be highlighting books from our publishers that either helped launch a new voice in CanLit or made an impact at the press it was published with. Go on a CanLit Rewind with us to rediscover some backlist gems!Carrianne Leung’s The Wondrous Woo introduced readers to Miramar Woo, a heroine in her heart but shaken by the tragic and fantastical events befalling her family. After her beloved father passes away and her twin sisters suddenly develop “the Gifts” – genius abilities that grant them instant celebrity and attention – Miramar is left picking up the pieces of herself and her family, unsure of where to turn next. Novelist Farzana Doctor says of her experience reading this 2014 Toronto Book Award finalist: “I cringed and giggled and cried as I followed Miramar Woo in her struggle to grow up in the ‘burbs, deal with her family and find her own extraordinary gifts.”* * *

Publisher Inanna Publications chose The Wondrous Woo as their Rewind title because it is the debut novel by an important new and diverse voice in Canadian literature, which deftly tackles identity issues and the inter- and multicultural experiences that are so common not only in Canada, but also globally. As such, this title stands out for us as a prime example of the diverse literary work that they are committed to publishing.The amazing reception of The Wondrous Woo inspired Inanna to create a Young Feminists imprint (their version of YA) focused specifically on young women’s voices and experiences in a range of genres – fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. In addition, they have enjoyed a surge of increased media coverage of this and their many other titles written by and for women, which is a rare accomplishment for small presses in general and, even more so, for feminist presses.Within the CanLit canon, The Wondrous Woo articulates a new voice that is at once displaced, but still squarely located in the centre of western and Chinese pop culture and everyday diasporic life. This novel joins other established novels in the increasingly popular genre of Chinese Canadian literature.Check out TV personality Elaine “Lainey” Lui championing The Wondrous Woo, who agrees that the book is a strong new voice for the Chinese-Canadian population, telling their stories and imploring those who read it: “don’t mess with Scarborough.”* * *Want to “rewind” on our series? Check out the full list of Rewind books here.