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Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar
A man and a woman walk into a restaurant. The woman expects a lovely night filled with endless plates of samosas. Instead, she finds out her husband is having an affair with a woman named Maggie.
A short while after, her chest starts to ache. She walks into an examination room, where she finds out the pain in her breast isn’t just heartbreak—it’s cancer. She decides to call the tumor Maggie.
Unfolding in fragments over the course of the ensuing months, Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar follows the narrator as she embarks on a journey of grief, healing, and reclamation. She starts talking to Maggie (the tumor), getting acquainted with her body’s new inhabitant. She overgenerously creates a “Guide to My Husband: A User’s Manual” for Maggie (the other woman), hoping to ease the process of discovering her ex-husband’s whims and quirks. She turns her children’s bedtime stories into retellings of Chinese folklore passed down by her own mother, in an attempt to make them fall in love with their shared culture—and to maybe save herself in the process.
In the style of Jenny Offill and the tradition of Nora Ephron’s hilarious and devastating writing on heartbreak and womanhood, Maggie is a master class in transforming personal tragedy into a form of defiant comedy.
A short while after, her chest starts to ache. She walks into an examination room, where she finds out the pain in her breast isn’t just heartbreak—it’s cancer. She decides to call the tumor Maggie.
Unfolding in fragments over the course of the ensuing months, Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar follows the narrator as she embarks on a journey of grief, healing, and reclamation. She starts talking to Maggie (the tumor), getting acquainted with her body’s new inhabitant. She overgenerously creates a “Guide to My Husband: A User’s Manual” for Maggie (the other woman), hoping to ease the process of discovering her ex-husband’s whims and quirks. She turns her children’s bedtime stories into retellings of Chinese folklore passed down by her own mother, in an attempt to make them fall in love with their shared culture—and to maybe save herself in the process.
In the style of Jenny Offill and the tradition of Nora Ephron’s hilarious and devastating writing on heartbreak and womanhood, Maggie is a master class in transforming personal tragedy into a form of defiant comedy.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published July 22, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 949 reviews
May 11, 2025
If you feel like all the divorce novels have been too angry and you'd like something more twee, well have I got a book for you. This book did not work for me at all, it never felt like real people going through real things. It all felt imagined, sanitized, empty of negative emotions. Which is really weird because this is a book where our protagonist finds out her husband cheated on her, that he's leaving her for the other woman, and that she has cancer.
This woman is not really that resentful of her husband. She is still in love with him. She imagines what this new woman loves about her husband. This woman also does not appear to have a job. And she does not appear to have any financial worries about this divorce. She just happily takes primary custody (he gets the kids every other weekend, which made my jaw drop, especially as they all seem to think this is a great arrangement where he will be a very involved parent) and just breezes on with her life. I got divorced, and over the decades many of my friends have been divorced, and nothing about this woman's story was recognizable at all.
The novel is also written in the fragmentary style I see more and more, but that rarely creates the kind of rich depth that you need for an actual capital-n Novel. Every now and then I find one that works, but it's rare.
I hate to say this, but I had only been reading this novel for a short time before I had a guess as to why this book didn't work. It took just a short bit of searching to discover that my hunch was right. The author is very young, younger than the protagonist she is writing about. It's certainly not against the rules. I have read plenty of novels by young writers where they so beautifully and poignantly write about life with such wisdom that it makes me angry. But here, I could feel how what was happening in the book was somehow beyond the experience of the writer.
You may be thinking, why did I bother to read this book when I disliked it so much. Because it is short. And because once I figure out why I dislike a book, there is something very satisfying about having my theory confirmed to me over and over again.
This woman is not really that resentful of her husband. She is still in love with him. She imagines what this new woman loves about her husband. This woman also does not appear to have a job. And she does not appear to have any financial worries about this divorce. She just happily takes primary custody (he gets the kids every other weekend, which made my jaw drop, especially as they all seem to think this is a great arrangement where he will be a very involved parent) and just breezes on with her life. I got divorced, and over the decades many of my friends have been divorced, and nothing about this woman's story was recognizable at all.
The novel is also written in the fragmentary style I see more and more, but that rarely creates the kind of rich depth that you need for an actual capital-n Novel. Every now and then I find one that works, but it's rare.
I hate to say this, but I had only been reading this novel for a short time before I had a guess as to why this book didn't work. It took just a short bit of searching to discover that my hunch was right. The author is very young, younger than the protagonist she is writing about. It's certainly not against the rules. I have read plenty of novels by young writers where they so beautifully and poignantly write about life with such wisdom that it makes me angry. But here, I could feel how what was happening in the book was somehow beyond the experience of the writer.
You may be thinking, why did I bother to read this book when I disliked it so much. Because it is short. And because once I figure out why I dislike a book, there is something very satisfying about having my theory confirmed to me over and over again.
August 27, 2025
2.75
This was very much a stream of consciousness. I enjoyed some of the thoughts and musings here, but wanted some more intense FEELINGS vs just thoughts!
This was very much a stream of consciousness. I enjoyed some of the thoughts and musings here, but wanted some more intense FEELINGS vs just thoughts!
November 25, 2024
Impeccable vibes. Hilarious, sad, strange, unhinged, and so well-observed. I highlighted so many lines because they described things I've felt and lived with such perfection, I was almost envious - how did the author come up with such a delicious, succinct framing! I read this book really quick with a mixture of loling and cringing and screaming - like I said, impeccable vibes. May we all have Darlenes in our life. Also f Sam!!!!!
February 10, 2025
I only give these coveted 5 stars to a book that captures my attention and evokes emotion (or a head-scratch) with unique/creative ideas or prose, creates characters and storylines that stay with me for a long time, and spurs me to tell all my friends to read it. Maggie hit all these marks for me! So impressed with this debut novel -- following Katie Yee from here on out.
Outside of the title (hoping it may change before publication to be less unwieldy?), I was a fan of everything else in this book. It handled really tough life gauntlets -- infidelity, divorce, cancer, raising bi-racial children, class inequalities -- so adeptly with sincerity and thoughtfulness but also humor and optimism. An untold number of times, observations from the main character hit spot on to things I'd witnessed or seen in my own life without giving a second thought to; I kept thinking, "Damn, how have I NEVER thought of that??" Each relationship had its own evolution with the simultaneously vulnerable and strong lead character be it with a cheating husband, ice-cold MIL, dear friend, a tree-obsessed son or inquisitive daughter.
My takeaway from this one: Life can come at you REAL hard all at once, but if you lean on yourself and those people who truly care about you, you can make it through better than you were -- even if it means reconstructing yourself or the life you thought you had ahead of you into something completely new and different. Also, F%&K Maggie.
****Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for advanced access to this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
Outside of the title (hoping it may change before publication to be less unwieldy?), I was a fan of everything else in this book. It handled really tough life gauntlets -- infidelity, divorce, cancer, raising bi-racial children, class inequalities -- so adeptly with sincerity and thoughtfulness but also humor and optimism. An untold number of times, observations from the main character hit spot on to things I'd witnessed or seen in my own life without giving a second thought to; I kept thinking, "Damn, how have I NEVER thought of that??" Each relationship had its own evolution with the simultaneously vulnerable and strong lead character be it with a cheating husband, ice-cold MIL, dear friend, a tree-obsessed son or inquisitive daughter.
My takeaway from this one: Life can come at you REAL hard all at once, but if you lean on yourself and those people who truly care about you, you can make it through better than you were -- even if it means reconstructing yourself or the life you thought you had ahead of you into something completely new and different. Also, F%&K Maggie.
****Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for advanced access to this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
June 12, 2025
2.5
nothing special
definitely gives debut novel, did not find to be a "defiant comedy"
2pm update: actually the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. I found this story to be emotionally dull and a waste of time. It was like reading the internal monologue of a commentary robot. this may be for some people but it's not for me. 2.3 stars.
might write an actual review later
nothing special
definitely gives debut novel, did not find to be a "defiant comedy"
2pm update: actually the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. I found this story to be emotionally dull and a waste of time. It was like reading the internal monologue of a commentary robot. this may be for some people but it's not for me. 2.3 stars.
might write an actual review later
August 8, 2025
I was initially really excited to read this book because it seemed to have a lot to offer. The promised dry humor and witty introspections felt right up my alley. The summary/description was hilarious, and Weike Wang, a favorite author of mine, blurbed it. The set up was perfect...but sadly the punch line didn't deliver.
Here are the things I didn't like about the book:
-After 200+ pages, you learn very little about the unnamed narrator.
-Also after 200+ pages, you learn a little *too* much about her bland and annoyingly privileged white husband who cheated on her. You read line after line about how he lived life without a care in the world, how he has a favorite fork, or how he dislikes mismatched socks. You hear a lot about this boring, boring man and he stays this way from beginning to end. Maybe this is the point? Idk, but I really don't understand why this couple got married in the first place.
-I can tell the author is trying to be pithy, but it doesn't work for me. Sometimes it feels like the book is really reaching for *something* but never quite gets there. It's also not funny. There are several times throughout the book where the narrator is setting up a joke for her kids or her friend and they don't laugh. The narrator considers this misunderstood dark humor. I consider myself as confused as those around her.
-The narrator is incredibly detached. Don't get me wrong, I love a detached and depressed character trying to process their emotions (see: Chemistry), but this narrator's detachment feels like it stems from a lack of depth? I'm not here to make any assumptions about what the author has and hasn't been through (and I think authors should be free to write about some experiences they haven't yet had), but the language she uses surrounding divorce and motherhood/children sounds so surface-level and cliche that I could never fully engage myself in the story.
I liked that this book was a character study and that it was short. I liked that it was sad. But I didn't find the narrator or the story to be all that funny, and it missed the mark in so many places for me.
Thank you to Summit Books / Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
Here are the things I didn't like about the book:
-After 200+ pages, you learn very little about the unnamed narrator.
-Also after 200+ pages, you learn a little *too* much about her bland and annoyingly privileged white husband who cheated on her. You read line after line about how he lived life without a care in the world, how he has a favorite fork, or how he dislikes mismatched socks. You hear a lot about this boring, boring man and he stays this way from beginning to end. Maybe this is the point? Idk, but I really don't understand why this couple got married in the first place.
-I can tell the author is trying to be pithy, but it doesn't work for me. Sometimes it feels like the book is really reaching for *something* but never quite gets there. It's also not funny. There are several times throughout the book where the narrator is setting up a joke for her kids or her friend and they don't laugh. The narrator considers this misunderstood dark humor. I consider myself as confused as those around her.
-The narrator is incredibly detached. Don't get me wrong, I love a detached and depressed character trying to process their emotions (see: Chemistry), but this narrator's detachment feels like it stems from a lack of depth? I'm not here to make any assumptions about what the author has and hasn't been through (and I think authors should be free to write about some experiences they haven't yet had), but the language she uses surrounding divorce and motherhood/children sounds so surface-level and cliche that I could never fully engage myself in the story.
I liked that this book was a character study and that it was short. I liked that it was sad. But I didn't find the narrator or the story to be all that funny, and it missed the mark in so many places for me.
Thank you to Summit Books / Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
July 23, 2025
4.25/5 ⭐
If My Husband by Maud Ventura had an antithesis, it would be this book. While My Husband disclosed all of the negative, inane, and paranoid musings the narrator had about herself and her husband, Maggie is the opposite. We see love and care, quiet reflection; all of it is said with wit and charm and razor sharp details similar to My Husband. The revelations and unassuming realizations slap you with a quiet force. You can't help but think of the gift this author has in being able to put into words all of the thoughts and feelings that are normally undefinable surrounding a divorce.
But it's not just a book about the divorce. The narrator is keyed into life in general. Through the narrator, Katie Yee gives voice to countless everyday musings that one has about innumerable subjects - waiting rooms, the PTA, the start of a relationship, being the camera holder and not the one in the photo, differences between fear and worry. The topics touched on are endless. There is so much life and vividness that she imbues on the banalities of the presumed inconsequential life. She does write all of this with so much simple poise and decorum, yet with just a touch of humor at exactly the right places. We are presented with an interpretation of grief over loss of a shared life and love.
Maggie; Or, A Man and A Woman Walk Into A Bar is a mouthful for the name of a book. That's just facts. However, once you read and delve into our narrator, you will understand what the title means. And honestly? I don't know how it could be titled anything else. The title is so layered with various meanings from our story, it in itself is like a mystery waiting to be unravelled. And isn't depth and layers what we all long for in an exceptional book?
The plot of Maggie is not complicated, it's quite simple in fact. Our narrator finds out that her husband is cheating on her with a woman named Maggie. Directly after this news is brought to light, the narrator also discovers she has breast cancer. The plot is fairly minimal after this, but so rife with anecdotes from the narrator, meaningful stories from her own childhood that she tells her children, and comical musings (she makes a list for "Maggie" her soon-to-be ex-husband's girlfriend about ways to take care of him) that it is hard to ignore the narrator's propensity to simply be a kind person. She has her moments yes, but we all do.
This is definitely one of those books that if given free reign I could have highlighted the majority of the book. How is this author so wise? How is she able to articulate this plethora of thoughts and feelings that accompany the ending of a relationship as well as the daily responsibilities and accompanying feelings of being a mother? Some reviews I read chastised the lack of anger and conflict that comes in a divorce. While I agree to a certain extent, I do believe it IS possible to have an amicable divorce. One can go through a breakup without yelling, screaming, and the sort. However, I can see that the narrator was possibly a little TOO lackadaisical about the divorce, both in its execution and in processing her feelings regarding it. Maybe this was the author's intention? How would one react if they found out their husband was leaving AND they were presented with a serious health diagnosis at the same time? I feel this would present with difficult thoughts, emotions, and feelings. One would certainly be presented with some inadvertent disassociating from the overstimulation of it all.
When it all came down to it, I was extremely impressed with this debut novel by author Katie Yee. She shows wisdom beyond her years. I especially feel that this book will appeal to women in their 30s-40s who have maybe already gone through divorce, as well as being pertinent for younger mothers who are struggling to find their place in the world after having their children.
Highly Recommended for lovers of : humorous fiction, a touch of literary fiction, books about marriage and divorce, female protagonists who seem to be floundering about a bit
If My Husband by Maud Ventura had an antithesis, it would be this book. While My Husband disclosed all of the negative, inane, and paranoid musings the narrator had about herself and her husband, Maggie is the opposite. We see love and care, quiet reflection; all of it is said with wit and charm and razor sharp details similar to My Husband. The revelations and unassuming realizations slap you with a quiet force. You can't help but think of the gift this author has in being able to put into words all of the thoughts and feelings that are normally undefinable surrounding a divorce.
But it's not just a book about the divorce. The narrator is keyed into life in general. Through the narrator, Katie Yee gives voice to countless everyday musings that one has about innumerable subjects - waiting rooms, the PTA, the start of a relationship, being the camera holder and not the one in the photo, differences between fear and worry. The topics touched on are endless. There is so much life and vividness that she imbues on the banalities of the presumed inconsequential life. She does write all of this with so much simple poise and decorum, yet with just a touch of humor at exactly the right places. We are presented with an interpretation of grief over loss of a shared life and love.
Maggie; Or, A Man and A Woman Walk Into A Bar is a mouthful for the name of a book. That's just facts. However, once you read and delve into our narrator, you will understand what the title means. And honestly? I don't know how it could be titled anything else. The title is so layered with various meanings from our story, it in itself is like a mystery waiting to be unravelled. And isn't depth and layers what we all long for in an exceptional book?
The plot of Maggie is not complicated, it's quite simple in fact. Our narrator finds out that her husband is cheating on her with a woman named Maggie. Directly after this news is brought to light, the narrator also discovers she has breast cancer. The plot is fairly minimal after this, but so rife with anecdotes from the narrator, meaningful stories from her own childhood that she tells her children, and comical musings (she makes a list for "Maggie" her soon-to-be ex-husband's girlfriend about ways to take care of him) that it is hard to ignore the narrator's propensity to simply be a kind person. She has her moments yes, but we all do.
This is definitely one of those books that if given free reign I could have highlighted the majority of the book. How is this author so wise? How is she able to articulate this plethora of thoughts and feelings that accompany the ending of a relationship as well as the daily responsibilities and accompanying feelings of being a mother? Some reviews I read chastised the lack of anger and conflict that comes in a divorce. While I agree to a certain extent, I do believe it IS possible to have an amicable divorce. One can go through a breakup without yelling, screaming, and the sort. However, I can see that the narrator was possibly a little TOO lackadaisical about the divorce, both in its execution and in processing her feelings regarding it. Maybe this was the author's intention? How would one react if they found out their husband was leaving AND they were presented with a serious health diagnosis at the same time? I feel this would present with difficult thoughts, emotions, and feelings. One would certainly be presented with some inadvertent disassociating from the overstimulation of it all.
When it all came down to it, I was extremely impressed with this debut novel by author Katie Yee. She shows wisdom beyond her years. I especially feel that this book will appeal to women in their 30s-40s who have maybe already gone through divorce, as well as being pertinent for younger mothers who are struggling to find their place in the world after having their children.
Highly Recommended for lovers of : humorous fiction, a touch of literary fiction, books about marriage and divorce, female protagonists who seem to be floundering about a bit
July 25, 2025
a bigger crime than the infidelity in this book was how bored it made me.
August 28, 2025
Bütün kötü durumlar üst üste geldi resmen. Ana karaktere üzülsem mi, bazı verdigi tepkiler yüzünden kızsam mı yoksa hayran mı olsam bilemedim.
April 3, 2025
3.5 stars ✨ I thought this was an engaging and poignant read, with some really powerful moments for reflection. I would have liked a bit more closure in parts, and it’s not a narrative style I usually would gravitate towards, but I’m glad I read it!
July 9, 2025
It's one of the best books I've read this year. It captures so many emotions in so little space.
August 4, 2025
Found this slim novel to be a delightful, wonderfully well-written debut despite the prominent and typically depressing themes of cancer and divorce. The main character's introspection and how she copes with what life throws at her was refreshingly honest and distinctive.
While other readers may have had issues with believing how the character dealt with and accepted her divorce, I had no problem and found it to be convincing. The character struck me as one who is an internaliser and she had her bestie Darlene for when she did need to do some externalising.
Recommend for readers who appreciate keen, beautiful writing. Hoping there will be more books from this author in the near future.
While other readers may have had issues with believing how the character dealt with and accepted her divorce, I had no problem and found it to be convincing. The character struck me as one who is an internaliser and she had her bestie Darlene for when she did need to do some externalising.
Recommend for readers who appreciate keen, beautiful writing. Hoping there will be more books from this author in the near future.
July 12, 2025
Thank you to Summit and Netgalley for the read.
A funny and tragic character driven novel. This tragicomedy lands through it's short sections and narrative POV pacing. The jokes never stay past their welcome nor are they forced when they come along. Here we have an well-crafted and edited story that turns toward the established and chosen families we have to get through the roughest of times. A charming debut that shows the wit and heart of Katie Yee's storytelling.
A funny and tragic character driven novel. This tragicomedy lands through it's short sections and narrative POV pacing. The jokes never stay past their welcome nor are they forced when they come along. Here we have an well-crafted and edited story that turns toward the established and chosen families we have to get through the roughest of times. A charming debut that shows the wit and heart of Katie Yee's storytelling.
July 16, 2025
A man and a woman walk into a restaurant. It sounds like the start of a joke. But that it is truly a boring read. I literally scrubbed walls to avoid reading another page but yet I got through it. To me this was a bunch of nonsense. To each thier own they say and I have to agree.
July 14, 2025
To be perfectly honest, I just wanted more out of this. I want more anger at her loser husband, more pain over the deconstruction of her carefully constructed life, more fear from her breast cancer diagnosis, more childhood flashbacks, more backstory just honestly crumbs of ANYTHING beyond what was given. On the other hand, I see and appreciate the beauty in the woman’s complete and absolute disassociation in the face of two unimaginable tragedies and how we see her slowly realize that she will have to confront them at some point. So I think overall this is certified banger, even if it didn’t completely satisfy the beast inside me that craves answers and a WHY for everything. All the stars for the absolutely filthy read on Barnes & Noble by calling their carpets “mildewy” - real as fuck 😔😔
June 4, 2025
Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar by Katie Yee is a blisteringly sharp and deeply moving debut that brims with wit, sorrow, and unexpected strength. It follows an unnamed Chinese American woman whose world suddenly unravels after what should have been a normal night out ends with the devastating discovery that her husband is having an affair with a woman named Maggie. As if that weren’t shattering enough, she is then diagnosed with breast cancer, which she also christens Maggie. That dual meaning hums through every page, a metaphor as haunting as it is clever.
Told in raw, fragmented snapshots over the course of several months, the novel maps her path through grief, anger, and the slow, stubborn work of putting herself back together. Yee’s writing crackles with feeling, sharp with pain but also laced with surprising humour. I found myself completely drawn in by the narrator’s odd but oddly perfect ways of coping, like drafting a painfully funny “Guide to My Husband: A User’s Manual” for the other Maggie, to weaving Chinese myths into her children’s bedtime stories. These moments are not just clever; they are intimate and beautifully human. I loved them.
The voice throughout is clear eyed and unsentimental, yet full of warmth. It never gives in to self pity, instead using humour like a form of armour. Themes of motherhood, cultural identity, and the messy beauty of female friendship run through the book, giving it both weight and heart.
This is quite open-ended, so if you prefer a neatly wrapped-up story, it might not be your cup of tea. Personally, I really enjoyed it.
Maggie is not just a novel about heartbreak or illness; it is a fierce and funny celebration of survival. Yee’s debut does not look away from life’s hardest moments but somehow finds laughter and grace in the middle of it all. I cannot recommend it enough.
Thank you so much @brazen.books for the advanced copy.
Told in raw, fragmented snapshots over the course of several months, the novel maps her path through grief, anger, and the slow, stubborn work of putting herself back together. Yee’s writing crackles with feeling, sharp with pain but also laced with surprising humour. I found myself completely drawn in by the narrator’s odd but oddly perfect ways of coping, like drafting a painfully funny “Guide to My Husband: A User’s Manual” for the other Maggie, to weaving Chinese myths into her children’s bedtime stories. These moments are not just clever; they are intimate and beautifully human. I loved them.
The voice throughout is clear eyed and unsentimental, yet full of warmth. It never gives in to self pity, instead using humour like a form of armour. Themes of motherhood, cultural identity, and the messy beauty of female friendship run through the book, giving it both weight and heart.
This is quite open-ended, so if you prefer a neatly wrapped-up story, it might not be your cup of tea. Personally, I really enjoyed it.
Maggie is not just a novel about heartbreak or illness; it is a fierce and funny celebration of survival. Yee’s debut does not look away from life’s hardest moments but somehow finds laughter and grace in the middle of it all. I cannot recommend it enough.
Thank you so much @brazen.books for the advanced copy.
March 10, 2025
Absolutely everything I want in a book. This was so good!
You follow a FMC figuring out her stand in life through divorce, motherhood, health issues, friends & so on. The way the author sucks you into each line is impeccable. 💖 I loved seeing the little folktales told in between the main story when she is putting her children to bed. It encouraged me to start adding my own flavor to bedtime stories w my kiddo!
If this FMC was a real person, I would whole heartedly try being her friend, she’s 1000% my vibe.
Thank you NetGalley, the author, & publishers for this ARC!
You follow a FMC figuring out her stand in life through divorce, motherhood, health issues, friends & so on. The way the author sucks you into each line is impeccable. 💖 I loved seeing the little folktales told in between the main story when she is putting her children to bed. It encouraged me to start adding my own flavor to bedtime stories w my kiddo!
If this FMC was a real person, I would whole heartedly try being her friend, she’s 1000% my vibe.
Thank you NetGalley, the author, & publishers for this ARC!
April 9, 2025
(3.5 Stars)
“Maggie; Or, A Man and Woman Walk Into a Bar” is a darkly funny yet bitterly melancholic debut that is perfect to add to your “Sad Girl Summer” TBR list.
The novel follows a Chinese American mother as she grapples with the news that her husband is having an affair AND that she has breast cancer.
The story is told primarily in quick bits and bite-sized chunks, making it a breezy read, however I found myself slowing down from the relatable tragicness that follows our unnamed protagonist. While the “quick bits” showed how disjointed and fragmented our protagonist’s life had become (it almost felt like she was struggling to find something to hold and grasp onto in the whirlwind), it occasionally had me just wishing there was more development between the bits. There were tons of beautiful and poetic anecdotes, but I was wishing to see some moments more fleshed out. Sometimes the quickness and rehashing of events felt repetitive, however I think that is just the cost of obsession and processing that the protagonist is going through.
I absolutely adored the references to folktales and mythological stories, even ones that are familiar feel new, as Yee tells them as they were told to her by her Mother, and we have the privilege of her passing them on to us!
It was fascinating to see the protagonist attempt to cope with everything, she begins by just fully surrendering, but overtime takes control of her own narrative.
This was a delightful debut with an incredibly dry-wit but I bet it’ll leave several people without dry eyes.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the free advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review (special thanks as it is my first ever ARC! AHHHH!)
Congrats to Katie Yee on her debut novel!
“Maggie; Or, A Man and Woman Walk Into a Bar” is a darkly funny yet bitterly melancholic debut that is perfect to add to your “Sad Girl Summer” TBR list.
The novel follows a Chinese American mother as she grapples with the news that her husband is having an affair AND that she has breast cancer.
The story is told primarily in quick bits and bite-sized chunks, making it a breezy read, however I found myself slowing down from the relatable tragicness that follows our unnamed protagonist. While the “quick bits” showed how disjointed and fragmented our protagonist’s life had become (it almost felt like she was struggling to find something to hold and grasp onto in the whirlwind), it occasionally had me just wishing there was more development between the bits. There were tons of beautiful and poetic anecdotes, but I was wishing to see some moments more fleshed out. Sometimes the quickness and rehashing of events felt repetitive, however I think that is just the cost of obsession and processing that the protagonist is going through.
I absolutely adored the references to folktales and mythological stories, even ones that are familiar feel new, as Yee tells them as they were told to her by her Mother, and we have the privilege of her passing them on to us!
It was fascinating to see the protagonist attempt to cope with everything, she begins by just fully surrendering, but overtime takes control of her own narrative.
This was a delightful debut with an incredibly dry-wit but I bet it’ll leave several people without dry eyes.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the free advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review (special thanks as it is my first ever ARC! AHHHH!)
Congrats to Katie Yee on her debut novel!
May 14, 2025
The early blurbs compared Katie’s writing to Weike Wang and Nora Ephron, and I equally see shades of Sigrid Nunez and Deborah Levy. If you love any of these writers - you must put this at the top of your summer TBR. It’s incredible how her writing finds new ways to describe how devastating it can be when your person , with whom you share the most intimate of secrets with - is no longer yours. How does one learn to navigate the pain of betrayal and come out of it unscathed? I loved Maggie with my whole heart, and I think you will too.
August 2, 2025
Our unnamed main character is going through it. Her husband, Sam, decides to end their marriage because he wants to commit to the new bae in his extramarital affair. As the “unnamed Chinese American woman” (I read this description somewhere) sorts through sharing custody over their two kids, Noah and Lily, processing the unfolding events with her best friend, Darlene, the narrator goes in for a biopsy and learns of the existing breast cancer cells. He’s a little bit entitled; she grapples with her identity.
The narration is shared completely from one perspective, largely in the form of a fictionalized memoir. Yee moves the story along as the mostly detached MC tells her children Chinese folk stories as a pedagogical device and to reveal her introspection. During her flashbacks to her childhood and meeting her husband, she shares how her elementary school teacher insists on scrubbing her of her Chinese name and choosing an American one instead. She recalls how her distant mother also had breast cancer, emphasizing the idea of what we pass down and receive from our ancestors—the intensity and complexity of our emotions, stories for our kids, and diseases.
Yee infuses her writing with dark, wry humor. The author impressively showcases a mother’s fear for her children’s well-being with precision. The novel can be strengthened if she sustained the critique of race, which seems to be one of the book’s goals, to a higher degree. I wasn’t always convinced this was one of Yee’s central themes, even though the publisher markets Maggie this way. As uninhibited as I expected Yee’s novel to be, given the cover design and words such as “defiant comedy” in the book’s description, she shows an evenhanded, mature restraint in constructing a character who grieves her upbringing and walks into her redefined home and cancer treatments.
My thanks to S&S/Summit Books and NetGalley for an ARC.
The narration is shared completely from one perspective, largely in the form of a fictionalized memoir. Yee moves the story along as the mostly detached MC tells her children Chinese folk stories as a pedagogical device and to reveal her introspection. During her flashbacks to her childhood and meeting her husband, she shares how her elementary school teacher insists on scrubbing her of her Chinese name and choosing an American one instead. She recalls how her distant mother also had breast cancer, emphasizing the idea of what we pass down and receive from our ancestors—the intensity and complexity of our emotions, stories for our kids, and diseases.
Yee infuses her writing with dark, wry humor. The author impressively showcases a mother’s fear for her children’s well-being with precision. The novel can be strengthened if she sustained the critique of race, which seems to be one of the book’s goals, to a higher degree. I wasn’t always convinced this was one of Yee’s central themes, even though the publisher markets Maggie this way. As uninhibited as I expected Yee’s novel to be, given the cover design and words such as “defiant comedy” in the book’s description, she shows an evenhanded, mature restraint in constructing a character who grieves her upbringing and walks into her redefined home and cancer treatments.
My thanks to S&S/Summit Books and NetGalley for an ARC.
August 28, 2025
The pro is that I enjoyed the style of writing.
The con is that it didn’t work for *this* story. I needed more anger and emotional devastation. The main character just did not come across like a person who was just told by her husband and father of her children that he was having an affair, leaving her, and then she gets cancer. She was so utterly passive throughout, and seemed to totally accept everything that happened. Where was the anger?? And the fear that she might be leaving her kids motherless if she dies from cancer? Any growth she experienced at the end felt unearned because she didn’t go to the depths of devastation (which you would expect from what happened) to come back out again.
The con is that it didn’t work for *this* story. I needed more anger and emotional devastation. The main character just did not come across like a person who was just told by her husband and father of her children that he was having an affair, leaving her, and then she gets cancer. She was so utterly passive throughout, and seemed to totally accept everything that happened. Where was the anger?? And the fear that she might be leaving her kids motherless if she dies from cancer? Any growth she experienced at the end felt unearned because she didn’t go to the depths of devastation (which you would expect from what happened) to come back out again.
July 30, 2025
@simon.audio | #partner There’s a lot going in 𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗜𝗘; 𝗢𝗥, 𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗥 by Katie Yee. It begins with just that. The unnamed, Chinese American narrator and her husband walk into a bar. Between what happens there and what soon follows, her life is in tatters, but this brave woman fights on. What other choice is there with two young children?
While I appreciated the set up and the main character herself, I wasn’t wild about the telling which verged on being a stream-of-consciousness. This is a style that rarely works for me, but I did say it “verged” on it. There was a loose plot that moved along slowly, interrupted by lots of thoughts on just about everything. I know that makes sense for where this woman was in her life. I do understand that. I just didn’t love being on her journey.
Before I end, I want to make clear that all my comments so far refer to the book itself, its narrator. The audiobook’s narrator was Emily Woo Zeller and though new to me, I thought she did a stellar job. I highly recommend the audio for 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘦!
While I appreciated the set up and the main character herself, I wasn’t wild about the telling which verged on being a stream-of-consciousness. This is a style that rarely works for me, but I did say it “verged” on it. There was a loose plot that moved along slowly, interrupted by lots of thoughts on just about everything. I know that makes sense for where this woman was in her life. I do understand that. I just didn’t love being on her journey.
Before I end, I want to make clear that all my comments so far refer to the book itself, its narrator. The audiobook’s narrator was Emily Woo Zeller and though new to me, I thought she did a stellar job. I highly recommend the audio for 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘦!
August 21, 2025
This book was a drag and I almost DNF’ed it, which should say a lot considering it was just over 200 pages. The premise sounds like it could be a really good, messy drama, but it was exactly the opposite. For a woman going through cancer, a divorce from her husband cheating on her and meeting ex’s new girlfriend you would think there’s a lot of emotion going on, but I felt nothing. Scattered internal monologue thoughts, very dull & lack of any character development. Not really sure what the point of this was supposed to be.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 6, 2025
I didn’t like any of these people. I gave it an extra star than I initially wanted because the authors style was interesting even if I didn’t like it.
July 24, 2025
The main topics of this short novel are divorce and breast cancer--neither of these topics is usually humorous, but Katie Yee makes it so. Warm-hearted and insightful.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc off this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc off this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
September 4, 2025
my only qualm is that the ending was a little bit too ~wrapped in a bow~ but otherwise heartwarming and hard hitting
August 3, 2025
This story follows a Chinese American woman's journey to rebuild her identity and find resilience after her husband leaves her for another woman and she receives a breast cancer diagnosis, both of which she names Maggie.
While not a memoir, if you liked Crying in H Mart, you’d likely be into this book. For me, it was a good book but I read it at the wrong time - a solid 3.5 ⭐️
PS - Also, why did it take me almost a month to read less than 200 pages? No clue…
While not a memoir, if you liked Crying in H Mart, you’d likely be into this book. For me, it was a good book but I read it at the wrong time - a solid 3.5 ⭐️
PS - Also, why did it take me almost a month to read less than 200 pages? No clue…
August 5, 2025
This book is a gem. Katie Yee has such a fresh storytelling voice. It’s at once articulate, direct, raw, vulnerable and the kind of hilariously funny about borderline inappropriate topics that you’re not sure whether you’re supposed to laugh, especially as they’re conveyed with a straight face. Then again, it’s that if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry, kind of humor that gets you through these kinds of things in life.
What kinds of things, exactly? Well, Katie and Sam had had a lovely life together, with two young children, when one day Sam takes her out for her favorite dinner and drops that he’s been having an affair. He’s going to be moving out, they informally agree on custody arrangements and that she can stay in the house with the majority of their possessions, and it’s all so disarmingly civil.
She begins wondering about Maggie, the other woman, and her best friend Darlene is a fantastic support system as Katie does things like stalk Maggie online. Is the fact that Maggie is white significant, should it make Katie feel less than? Has Maggie been in her house and judged her cleaning skills? Should she write down the things Maggie might want to know about Sam, like a reference guide to the quirks she might not find out for a while?
Just soon enough after this to feel thoroughly kicked while she’s down, a lump she’s found turns out to be breast cancer. Darlene thinks they should give it a name. You guessed it, Katie now gets her very own personal Maggie whom she regularly speaks to like the tumor is animate and they’re in this together rather than sworn enemies.
This book is incredibly relatable on so many deeply human, vulnerable levels, especially if you’ve ever gone through any of the deeply human, vulnerable challenges Yee is going through here. She tells her stories in a way that never feels like complaining or positioning herself as a victim. It’s all just matter of fact, full of observations, insights and wicked humor that made this, for me, a pretty perfect read.
What kinds of things, exactly? Well, Katie and Sam had had a lovely life together, with two young children, when one day Sam takes her out for her favorite dinner and drops that he’s been having an affair. He’s going to be moving out, they informally agree on custody arrangements and that she can stay in the house with the majority of their possessions, and it’s all so disarmingly civil.
She begins wondering about Maggie, the other woman, and her best friend Darlene is a fantastic support system as Katie does things like stalk Maggie online. Is the fact that Maggie is white significant, should it make Katie feel less than? Has Maggie been in her house and judged her cleaning skills? Should she write down the things Maggie might want to know about Sam, like a reference guide to the quirks she might not find out for a while?
Just soon enough after this to feel thoroughly kicked while she’s down, a lump she’s found turns out to be breast cancer. Darlene thinks they should give it a name. You guessed it, Katie now gets her very own personal Maggie whom she regularly speaks to like the tumor is animate and they’re in this together rather than sworn enemies.
This book is incredibly relatable on so many deeply human, vulnerable levels, especially if you’ve ever gone through any of the deeply human, vulnerable challenges Yee is going through here. She tells her stories in a way that never feels like complaining or positioning herself as a victim. It’s all just matter of fact, full of observations, insights and wicked humor that made this, for me, a pretty perfect read.
dnf
July 31, 202560 pages and a dnf. No chapters and stream of consciousness that feels disjointed and without direction. I grew very impatient and felt no emotional connection.
January 5, 2025
pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed this! this kind of fragmented storytelling does not always work for me but the inner thoughts of this narrator really drew me in, i felt her pain and laughter on every page
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