The Collective
A Novel
30 July 2013
Territory Rights — Worldwide including Canada, but excluding the British Commonwealth.
Description
"Riveting, moving, and—most impressive—agile and resourceful in its approach to race. Don Lee explores that issue from every conceivable angle, raising a thousand questions and undercutting easy answers." —Jennifer Egan
Joshua Yoon, Eric Cho, and Jessica Tsai arrive at Macalester College with different baggage but a singular and overpowering ambition—to become artists. As the years progress, their resolve is tested first by an act of campus racism and later, while they’re living together as adults in Cambridge, by a set of real-world demands and distractions that ultimately drive them in vastly different directions. A dazzling exploration of racial identity and the queasy position of the artist in contemporary America, Don Lee’s latest is a landmark achievement—his most funny, tragic, and revealing book yet.
Winner of the 2013 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
Reviews
"Heartbreaking, sexy, and frequently funny." — Stephen Lee, Entertainment Weekly
"Hilarious and winning." — John Freeman, Boston Globe
"Don Lee is a phenomenal writer that you absolutely should know and The Collective is a book you absolutely should read." — Christian Science Monitor
"Offering strong characterizations and thought-provoking prose, Lee addresses the Asian American experience from various vantage points, realistically examining themes ranging from personal relationships to racism and artistic censorship. His novel has enough depth to spark uninhibited discussion in any book group and given its time frame, will have special meaning for Gen X readers." — Library Journal
"A fine prose stylist…he credibly addresses the political and social concerns of a specific demographic, while also rendering a work that will feel relatable to nearly everyone who reads it." — Time Out New York
Also By: Don Lee 
Wrack and Ruin: A Novel
Hardback, 2012
An exhilarating comic satire with the quirky energy of The Wonder Boys and Sideways.
Country of Origin: A Novel
E Book, 2012
A dazzling debut novel by the prize-winning author of Yellow, set in the unique and exotic nightworld of Tokyo.
Yellow: Stories
E Book, 2012
"Elegant and engrossing...[an] unusually complete portrait of contemporary Asian America."—Los Angeles Times..."A gem....Lee has captured this truth beautifully, wisely, and with winning economy."—...
Wrack and Ruin: A Novel
Paperback, 2009
"Lee has outdone himself here. His prose moves and sparkles." —Washington Post
Wrack and Ruin: A Novel
E Book, 2008
An exhilarating comic satire with the quirky energy of The Wonder Boys and Sideways.
