Review: Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar

Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar

Author: Katie Yee

Summit Books/Simon & Schuster, 2025

ISBN: 9781668084212 (hardcover)
9781668084236 (eBook)

$34.99 CAD (hardcover)
$17.99 CAD (eBook)

208 pages

Ages: Adult

Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar, follows a woman as she experiences two life-altering conversations one after another: her husband tells her he is leaving her for his affair partner, his coworker Maggie, and her doctor tells her she has breast cancer. Told in a beautiful first-person prose that reads like journal entries, the narrator adjusts to her new reality while reflecting on her life and relationships as a friend, daughter, partner, Asian woman, (ex)wife and mother. The relationships between the narrator and her kids, as well as with her best friend Darlene, are particularly special, highlighting the power and importance of non-romantic, unconditional love. Vulnerable, reflexive, with gut-wrenching and heartwarming moments alike, Katie Yee’s debut novel is a deeply moving exploration of devastation and rebuilding that readers are sure to continue thinking about long after finishing the last page.