Fiona and Jane

By: Jean Chen Ho

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

A TIME, NPR, VOGUE, OPRAH DAILY, AND VULTURE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)

One of TIME’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022

“Ho's debut work is the perfect modern example of great American fiction. . . . You will love it.” —Jake Tapper

“Intimate, cinematic. . . . The world Ho creates between the two women feels like one friend reading the other’s story, wishing she were there.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“[Fiona and Jane] is about an incredible lifelong friendship between two Asian American women growing up in Southern California—absolutely adored that book.” —Ailsa Chang, NPR’s “All Things Considered”

“Intricately rendered. . . . Fiona and Jane celebrates a woman’s ability to be late, to show up in their own lives when and where they want to, to change their minds, to be lonely and to be in love, and to be respected regardless.” —The Washington Post

A witty, warm, and irreverent book that traces the lives of two young Taiwanese American women as they navigate friendship, sexuality, identity, and heartbreak over two decades.

Best friends since second grade, Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts. Fiona was always destined to leave, her effortless beauty burnished by fierce ambition—qualities that Jane admired and feared in equal measure. When Fiona moves to New York and cares for a sick friend through a breakup with an opportunistic boyfriend, Jane remains in California and grieves her estranged father's sudden death, in the process alienating an overzealous girlfriend. Strained by distance and unintended betrayals, the women float in and out of each other's lives, their friendship both a beacon of home and a reminder of all they've lost.

In stories told in alternating voices, Jean Chen Ho's debut collection peels back the layers of female friendship—the intensity, resentment, and boundless love—to probe the beating hearts of young women coming to terms with themselves, and each other, in light of the insecurities and shame that holds them back.

Spanning countries and selves, Fiona and Jane is an intimate portrait of a friendship, a deep dive into the universal perplexities of being young and alive, and a bracingly honest account of two Asian women who dare to stake a claim on joy in a changing, contemporary America.

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY VOGUE * USA TODAY * TIME * OPRAH DAILY * PARADE * THE WASHINGTON POST * BUZZFEED * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING * MARIE CLAIRE * FORTUNE * GLAMOUR * W MAGAZINE * NYLON * BUSTLE * POPSUGAR * ELECTRIC LITERATURE * THE RUMPUS * DEBUTIFUL * AND MORE!©2021 Jean Chen Ho (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

LONGLISTED FOR THE STORY PRIZE

A BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB PICK

“Ho's debut work is the perfect modern example of great American fiction. It's a brilliant series of stories about the lives of two Taiwanese American women and their friendship over 20 years as they explore identity, sexuality, heartbreak and family secrets...What a great read! I feel like Fiona and Jane are friends of mine. I cannot wait to see what Ho writes next. Fiona and Jane brings you into the lives of these women in a relatable, authentic way. You will love it.”—Jake Tapper

“Over the course of the book Fiona and Jane become real and electric and precious people. The stories move through intimate, cinematic scenes. . . . The world Ho creates between the two women feels like one friend reading the other’s story, wishing she were there. . . . [E]ven to those not from Los Angeles, Ho’s debut collection feels like a shared experience.”—Tammy Tarng, The New York Times Book Review

“An engaging first book. . . . Secrets and betrayals resound through many of the stories. . . . There’s also an endearing sexual boldness in Fiona and Jane. These are Western women who grew up in the Nineties. . . . It’s a vibrant, sexually active world these friendships are acted out in. . . . Emotional accuracy lights up the work. . . . Ho’s writing evokes youthful folly, ever glorious and stupid, with a shadow of later awareness in the prose.” —Joan Silber, The New York Review of Books

I wish it was less corny

Cartoonish narrator, Fiona’s voice was such a joke it was hard to read. I wish it had a less corny ending and the short stories were less random and more linear

Nice book about friends

I enjoy this book. It shows all the twists and turns true friendships take over the years. If you’re really friends you can miss ten years and pickup where you left off.

Solid short stories

A lovely and thought provoking collection of short stories. I loved the narrator and the characters would stick with me

Favorite book of 2022 ya’ll!!!

An amazing book that can be read like a novel of sorts but it’s a set of linked stories that focus on two friends and their evolving friendship 🥺 truly inspired by it all and how well done it speaks on the many topics it tackles like love, family, home, and of course friendship! 🥰 pick up the audiobook and a hard copy like I did!! It’ll be your best decision guaranteed!

Was skeptical

Then I hung on through the end. No twist, no big ending. For me, I found it relatable and ultimately moving. Worth it if you tend to see how all things tie together in some way and that forgiveness of self is crucial to self acceptance.

Pure tedium!

I could not get into this book as hard as I tried. It was painful. I cannot rate the performance because I couldn’t get into any part of it - and I have listened to - and finished - some bad books.

No plot

A waste of time. I really wanted to like it, but it just felt like there was no point. It just ended and that was that. Disappointing.

A uninteresting plot that goes nowhere

I was waiting for a story of a lifelong, life-sustaining friendship between two women. I’m still waiting. It was simply a random collection of uninteresting stories from two unlikable characters. It was a pain to finish.