Fixer Chao (Paperback)

Paperback. THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE A cult classic and Los Angeles Times Book of the Year, this sharp, insightful novel by New Yorker contributor Han Ong explores racial and social hierarchy, personal identity, and alienation.William Paulinhaa resourceful gay Filipino sex worker barely getting by in New Yorkis determined to turn his life around when he crosses paths with Shem C., an on-the-rise author now disgraced and exiled from both his marriage and the citys literary inner circle. Furious at the world that cast him out, Shem finds in the intelligent and pliable William the perfect accomplice for his plans.Under Shems tutelage, William reinvents himself as Master Chao, an enigmatic Feng Shui consultant catering to New Yorks wealthiest and most self-satisfied classes. As doors swing open and fortunes are arranged and rearranged, William is pulled ever deeper into the private anxieties and secret desires of the powerful, discovering just how much people will pay to believe that even their moral rot can be purified and saved.Blending razor-sharp satire with tenderness and psychological insight, Fixer Chao traces a dazzling ascent built on illusion and audacious transformation. By turns funny, devastating, and electrifying, Ongs writing asks what it takes to remake oneself in Americaand what, if anything, remains when the performance finally ends. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…