The Immortal Woman

“Chang’s writing is powered by raw emotion, as she unflinchingly chronicles Lemei’s descent into madness and desperation to help Lin escape the horrors and privations she herself endured. It’s a cathartic account of a family buffeted by the winds of modern Chinese history.”

—Publishers’ Weekly

“Well realized family saga…This insightful and satisfying novel offers nuanced looks into the lives of contemporary Chinese families.”

—Booklist (American Library Association)

“Chinese-Canadian debut novelist Su Chang is defying limits with triumph and aplomb, first by fitting 70 years of contemporary Chinese history into 300-some pages through the story of one family…Chang's lyrical, spinning and dizzying prose creates a vivid sense of the ever-shifting ground beneath her characters' feet…Chang resists simple either/or comparisons between mother and daughter, two imperfect people; and China and the USA, two imperfect nations. Truth, as always, is a muddle and complicated, Chang determined to plot a way through that pushes back against the binary thinking which, as her characters and history show, it's all too easy to fall under.”

—49th Shelf (Association of Canadian Publishers)

“This novel was a great read, with delicate and engaging prose, well-researched, and mesmerizing in its depictions of the tragic and difficult choices the characters make throughout the novel.”

— The Seaboard Review

“Su Chang’s The Immortal Women traces the threads of women damaged by history, carrying their wounds forward across generations to unwittingly warp their most intimate bonds. This tender and heartbreaking excavation forms a portrait of a mother and daughter fractured first by their past, then again by the weight of dreams they could not live up to in the present. The Immortal Woman is a testament to the dangers of history, and the power of words to both wound and heal.”

— Tessa Hulls, Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence nominee and Kirkus Prize nominee

“In Su Chang’s hypnotic, transfixing novel, the reader shares in lemei’s fever dream of purges, kidnapping, and mob violence, followed by the waking horror that all of it is true. daring and astute, the immortal woman goes beyond asking what people will do to survive. How they will live, with themselves and with each other, once the surviving is done?”

— Thea Lim, Giller Prize nominee

“At once lush and heartbreaking, The Immortal Woman is a shimmering, exquisite story of two women finding freedom at the limit of ideological groupthink. A gorgeous, intelligent debut.”

— Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Giller Prize nominee

“Stunning, extraordinary, a major achievement…Few novels can give you the sense of the entirety of a time and place, but that is what Su Chang has accomplished in her debut novel. She captures the political and social world of two generations of women… and the real achievement of The Immortal Woman is not merely the social and political realities its author describes, but the depths of feeling she explores and articulates in response to these realities. This novel is a wonder to behold.”

— Joseph Kertes, Leacock Medal Winner and National Jewish Book Award Winner

“With vividly immersive, dreamlike prose, Su Chang unearths a dystopic period of one country’s history and its far-reaching echoes, revealing seeds of brutality that feel frighteningly familiar here, and in so much of the world today. Perceptive, mesmerizing, and open-hearted, The Immortal Woman is an urgent reminder that we must hold tight to our humanity, and our imaginations, at every turn.”

— Jessica Westhead, Canada Reads nominee

“The Immortal Woman reveals a woman’s experience of revolution… even a repressive regime cannot silence a woman’s emotional truth, and Su Chang tells it in this novel. It’s a book that makes our hearts bigger. Read it.”

— Kim Echlin, Giller Prize and International Dublin Literary Award nominee, Toronto Book Award Winner

“The Immortal Woman shocked me with its clarity and compassion. In this page-turning tale of a spirited mother and daughter, Su Chang illuminates a cruel chapter of recent history, exposing the generational scars inflicted by a dehumanizing regime. The result is a fierce, unforgettable debut.”

— Alissa York, Giller Prize nominee, Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award Winner

“Extraordinary…a sprawling and ambitious story, spanning seven decades and two continents. The Immortal Woman is a difficult but utterly riveting novel. It is violent, erotic and moving, brimming with colourful prose that is lyrical and urgent. It’s bold and controversial, and contains characters and politics that are complex and uncomfortable. As a reader, what more could you ask for?” 

— Richie Assaly, Toronto Star culture reporter and National Newspaper Award nominee

“An instant classic.”

— Antonio Michael Downing, CBC Radio host and Toronto Book Award nominee

Media:

Toronto Star: “The Immortal Woman” author Su Chang on her reading habits and what makes “Jane Eyre” so sexy

CBC Canada Reads: 8 books to read if you loved Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew

CBC: Spring 2025 Fiction Preview

CBC: The Immortal Woman by Su Chang

Publisher’s Weekly: The Immortal Woman

Booklist: The Immortal Woman Review

Electric Literature: “9 Books About the Chinese Immigrant Experience” (Su Chang’s Reading List)

Hamilton Review of Books: “Incongruent Hauntings: An Interview with Su Chang”

Writers’ Digest: “The Write to Remember: On Transnational Fear and the Inevitability of Breaking Silence”

The Seaboard Review: The Immortal Woman Review

49th Shelf (Association of Canadian Publishers): “Most Anticipated 2025 Spring Fiction”

OpenBook Ontario: “Su Chang’s New Novel is a Sweeping and Powerful Intergenerational Drama: an Interview”

New Books Network literature podcast with G.P. Gottlieb: The Immortal Woman Interview

49th Shelf: “On Our Radar” (Review)

The Miramichi Reader: The Su Chang Interview

49th Shelf: “Feminist Fiction: a recommended reading list by the author of The Immortal Woman”

New Books Network host CP Lesley: Interview with Su Chang

Campaign for the American Reader: My Book, The Movie

Stories from the Pink House by Rina Barone: My First Book with Su Chang

The Artsy Raven Podcast: How I Published a Debut Novel

Publication Coach: “Reflections on writing with Su Chang”