A deeply moving and often hilarious novel following a woman who becomes an internet folk hero in the most unexpected way, catapulting her into fame and influence just as she’s finally beginning to reckon with her complicated past
Lola Treasure Gold can’t figure out her life. She’s broke, unemployed, and back in her childhood home, a crumbling cottage in the Hollywood Hills. Worse—unspeakably worse—one of her closest friends has just died. So nobody is more surprised than Lola when a jackpot falls in her lap: she stars in a viral video, opening a surprising path for her to become a self-help guru.
With the encouragement of her other best friend, Celi—still alive, thank god—Lola embraces the public interest in her perceived message. But is she a scammer or a sage? Just as Lola is telling others to be their own guiding lights, she can’t seem to find hers: she’s grieving; she’s accused of using the notoriety of her friend’s death to fuel her rise; and she’s full of questions about the fate of her mother, who came to America pregnant, fleeing China’s one-child policy, got deported when Lola was eight, and now has totally disappeared.
Driven by an exuberant, searching spirit, Jade Chang’s kaleidoscopic new novel is a deep examination of the ways we commodify belief, the power and precarity of fame, and the delicious terror of being truly seen. What a Time to Be Alive asks if we can look honestly at the world and still love it; the answer is a brilliant, resounding yes.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Lola Treasure Gold can’t figure out her life. She’s broke, unemployed, and back in her childhood home, a crumbling cottage in the Hollywood Hills. Worse—unspeakably worse—one of her closest friends has just died. So nobody is more surprised than Lola when a jackpot falls in her lap: she stars in a viral video, opening a surprising path for her to become a self-help guru.
With the encouragement of her other best friend, Celi—still alive, thank god—Lola embraces the public interest in her perceived message. But is she a scammer or a sage? Just as Lola is telling others to be their own guiding lights, she can’t seem to find hers: she’s grieving; she’s accused of using the notoriety of her friend’s death to fuel her rise; and she’s full of questions about the fate of her mother, who came to America pregnant, fleeing China’s one-child policy, got deported when Lola was eight, and now has totally disappeared.
Driven by an exuberant, searching spirit, Jade Chang’s kaleidoscopic new novel is a deep examination of the ways we commodify belief, the power and precarity of fame, and the delicious terror of being truly seen. What a Time to Be Alive asks if we can look honestly at the world and still love it; the answer is a brilliant, resounding yes.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"What a Time to be Alive is a sly, sexy work of art. Jade Chang has captured the true essence of Los Angeles, in all of its motley, messy beauty, with humor and heart. This is a novel that you will devour, and share with your friends, and soon want to devour again." - Angela Flournoy
"Lola Treasure Gold, the irrepressible heroine of What a Time to Be Alive, lives up to her name and then some. Traumatized by a friend's senseless death, Lola trips through life attempting to grieve with authenticity. In the process, she becomes an accidental influencer, a lighting-rod guru, and a singular and hilarious guide through TED conferences, moon festivals, the underground LA music scene, online stans, hipster podcasts, debauched desert weekends, free love, familial love, and, let's not forget, a rabbit named Aristotle. Jade Chang has created a wise and provocative heroine sure to get people talking." - Maria Semple
"A generous satire of the spiritual wellness space that delivers true magic in the character of Lola Treasure Gold, a heroine so dazzling and bold and psychologically healthy that you will wind up rooting for her with your whole heart. I loved it." - Rufi Thorpe
"Lola Treasure Gold, the irrepressible heroine of What a Time to Be Alive, lives up to her name and then some. Traumatized by a friend's senseless death, Lola trips through life attempting to grieve with authenticity. In the process, she becomes an accidental influencer, a lighting-rod guru, and a singular and hilarious guide through TED conferences, moon festivals, the underground LA music scene, online stans, hipster podcasts, debauched desert weekends, free love, familial love, and, let's not forget, a rabbit named Aristotle. Jade Chang has created a wise and provocative heroine sure to get people talking." - Maria Semple
"A generous satire of the spiritual wellness space that delivers true magic in the character of Lola Treasure Gold, a heroine so dazzling and bold and psychologically healthy that you will wind up rooting for her with your whole heart. I loved it." - Rufi Thorpe
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