Stages & Pages: Jade Circle

[Image description: Text per below. A stack of antique books in on the left against a mahogany background, with text in a pale yellow, and the GCTC and Octopus Books logos at bottom right.]

Sunday, May 3rd from 12:30 to 1:30 pm

presented by Jamie Chai Yun Liew

Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award winner: an Asian woman traces her mother's past journey in order to learn who she really is and where she belongs.

When Lily was eleven years old, her mother, Swee Hua, walked away from the family, never to be seen or heard from again. Now a new mother herself, Lily becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Swee Hua. She recalls the spring of 1987, growing up in a small British Columbia mining town where there were only a handful of Asian families; Lily's previously stateless father wanted to blend seamlessly into Canadian life, while her mother, alienated and isolated, longed to return to Brunei. Years later, still affected by Swee Hua's disappearance, Lily's family is stubbornly silent to her questioning. But eventually, an old family friend provides a clue that sends Lily to Southeast Asia to find out the truth.

Winner of the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award from the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop, Dandelion is a beautifully written and affecting novel about motherhood, family secrets, migration, isolation, and mental illness. With clarity and care, it delves into the many ways we define home, identity, and above all, belonging.

Jamie Chai Yun Liew is the recipient of the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award from the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop. She is a lawyer and law professor specializing in immigration, refugee, and citizenship law and the creator of the podcast Migration Conversations. Dandelion is her first novel. She lives in Ottawa with her family.

[Image description: Book cover for “Dandelion” by Jamie Chai Yun Liew . Yellow background with a white, stylized dandelion in full seed. at forefront we see an ink drawing of the back of a woman’s head, with long black hair.]

Buy the book from Octopus Books.

A book talk series hosted by Octopus Books, exploring themes from GCTC’s mainstage shows.

Join us on the first Sunday of the show run, where a local expert will present and lead a discussion on a selected book. Octopus Books staff, who have read our 25-26 scripts, have selected an accompanying book based on themes in the show. Whether you read the book in advance or pick up a copy while you are here, we aim to further enhance your experience of the show.

This presentation is free, and takes place before our Pay-What-You-Decide performance. We encourage you to stick around to watch the show.

Note: Books selected for the program further explore themes or subject matter in or inspired by the show. They do not necessarily reflect the plot of the show.