OVER THE SHOULDER OVER THE SHOULDER
Over the Shoulder. New York, NY: Ecco/HarperCollins (Spring 2001).
Also appearing in France (Editions du Seuil), Korea (Munhak Segyesa
Publishing Company), and Japan (Artist's House).
In the aftermath of his partner's murder, Korean American bodyguard--and reluctant investigator--Allen Choice follows an intricate and twisting trail that leads him back to the death of his father twenty years earlier and, ultimately, to the true meaning of the American dream. This extraordinary hybrid of crime and literary novel offers a new direction for noir fiction. Slowly unraveling the past and present, long-simmering familial tensions and buried betrayals, Over the Shoulder is a compelling story about one man whose personal journey is as much of a mystery as the killing he sets out to solve.
Check out the print-ready Reader's Guide.
Sample a short excerpt of Over the Shoulder.
Read the L.A. Daily News profile of Leonard and Over the Shoulder, as well as this thoughtful Korea Times essay on the novel and Korean American families (note: there is a plot spoiler in the review, so if you haven't read the novel, you might want to avoid this essay).
Check here for Leonard's bookstore Reading Schedule.
Praise for Over the Shoulder:
"A truly impressive achievement. Over the Shoulder is a rich and engrossing novel, a thriller with the head and the heart of a fine work of literature."
-- Gary Krist, author of Chaos Theory
"Leonard Chang's Over the Shoulder is a fascinating novel. Lyrical and thoughtful at the same time, it is as intense and unpredictable as a ricochetting bullet; it is a gripping tale that explores the neverending mysteries that link the past and the present in all of us."
-- Michael Connelly, author of A Darkness More Than Night
"Leonard Chang's new novel is a riveting noir thriller, with something more to offer: a well-informed look at the culture of Korean assimilation on the West Coast. Over the Shoulder is a strong and serious work, as well as being excellent entertainment."
-- Madison Smartt Bell, author of Master of the Crossroads
"Readers...will be delighted with the speed, intensity and worldly wisdom of this story, from which none of Chang's accustomed subtlety of insight has been lost. Over the Shoulder is at the one time obsessively readable and intellectually satisfying, and Chang's highest achievement to this point."
-- Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List
"Sitting here these past years like Whitman's noiseless, patient spider, I've watched a number of new writers...make their way out onto the web. Now I welcome Leonard Chang, another fine one. Dig in heels, spurs and silk and hang on, readers: winds are blowing, the web's thrumming, it's a hell of a ride."
-- James Sallis, author of Eye of the Cricket
Reviews for Over the Shoulder:
"Engrossing and fast-paced...Mr. Chang...creates characters who earn our quick attention and sympathies; and he describes events and emotions with equal grace."
-- The Wall Street Journal
"Every once in a while, a reader is introduced to an unfamiliar author and is overjoyed by the discovery. Chang's third book is dark and complicated, with a Hitchcockian flair...Realistic racial and family tensions make this a winner."
-- USA Today
"It is Chang's most sophisticated and best novel to date. His prose has never been tighter or more precise, the dialogue snapping into place as snugly as a revolver in a shoulder holster. With this work, Chang has broken new ground, and it may prove why he is considered to be one of the most audaciously independent and intriguing writers in Korean American fiction today."
"Over the Shoulder has the perfect balance of intrigue and literary refinement."
-- AsianWeek
"This is a novel of intrigue by an author who appears to have read Marcel Proust...Chang handles his material with a sense of pace that keeps the reader fully engaged even when Choice is wandering among his memories. This is a different sort of crime novel, with some legitimate pretentions to literature...It's an unusual and unusually good novel."
"Chang succeeds brilliantly. Over the Shoulder is one of the most exciting and innovative works to come out of Asian American and noir fiction in a long time."
-- KoreAm
"Chang's intricately constructed plot moves easily from the minutiae of protecting a client to the cultural rootlessness affecting his hero. Choice's dual journey--of self-discovery and the uncovering of his partner's killer--makes for an absorbing blend of literary novel and crime thriller."
"Chang's novel works on several levels. It's good intrigue, it's skillfully written, and it's highly readable. Allen's search for the truth ultimately takes him on a compelling journey aimed at understanding himself, his family, his past, and his future."
-- Booklist
"Chang unfurls a thriller that's content to grab you by the neck and shake hard.... A smoking Korean-American Presumed Innocent..."
Available at your bookstore, or order from Amazon.com
Also available from the independent bookseller's site, Booksense