Official Version:
Yangsze Choo is a NYTimes bestselling novelist and a fourth generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Due to a childhood spent in various countries, she can eavesdrop (badly) in several languages. After graduating from Harvard University, she worked in various corporate jobs and had a briefcase, while writing fiction on a coffee table at home in her spare time.
Her first novel, THE GHOST BRIDE (2013), was a Goodreads Choice finalist, CILIP Carnegie nominee, Oprah.com’s best book of the week, and now a Netflix Original series which was released Jan 23, 2020. Her second novel, THE NIGHT TIGER (2019), was Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick, Amazon’s Spotlight Pick, and a Book of the Month Club selection, as well as one of the best books of the year for Amazon, The Washington Review of Books, Bookpage, Chicago Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, Parade, Real Simple, and Self Magazine.
Yangsze loves to eat and read, and often does both at the same time. Neither of her books would have been possible without large quantities of dark chocolate. Yangsze is represented by literary agent Jenny Bent.
Unofficial Version:
Actually, I just like food a lot. This candid shot is from a lovely party where you can see everybody else is interacting with other people. I am interacting with a piece of cake…
Yangsze Choo 
142 responses to “About Yangsze”
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everybody else experiencing problems with your
blog. It appears as if some of the written text within your posts are
running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and
let me know if this is happening to them too?
This might be a issue with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Thank you
really enjoyed this book I hope there is a sequel.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!❤️
Hi, I am Alex Choo Malaysian. I have a pretty written story line (my personal opinion and these are true story). I don have knowledge in this industry. I looking forward to connect any party who interested to work together in my written work. I am not a scammer. I am 63 years old (retiree).I can be contacted : alex.choo.k.f@gmail.com. H/p 60122895966. Please do contact me and feedback with advise. Thanks and have a nice day
Sorry spelling mistake in my name- on earlier post it should be Choo koon fook (Alex Choo).
I just saw on Netflix there is a new series called the Ghost Bride and seems to be based on your book since the main character is Li Lan! Can you tell more about this? Since the first season is shown as Volume 1, does that mean we will finally have a second book coming?
Yes, the series is indeed based on my book (though it will have a slightly different storyline)! I’m so excited about it and can’t wait to watch it. In fact, I’m heading to Taipei next week for the Netflix premiere! As for a sequel to The Ghost Bride, I’m afraid there isn’t one yet… I’ve currently working on a different novel, which I hope you’ll also enjoy, and am open to writing a sequel in the future! 🥰
please write a sequel!!! i am heart sick for er lang. hahahahaha. how could you not write about their life together 😭 😦
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the book! One day I would certainly love to write about their life together and their further adventures!❤️
Having lived for several years in Malaysia, Your charm for capturing the food, architecture, culture and colonial history made me nostalgic. Thanks for writing this beautiful story. I really enjoyed how you managed to subvert the “Sherlock” style genre. It really is a universal tale which offers a critique of the social mores and gender norms of women in South East Asia while cleverly paying homage to Confucian values. I also liked the witty humor that is woven well throughout the story. Looking forward to more historical fiction like this with strong intelligent heroines.
Jeremy
How lovely to hear that it brought back memories for you! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the book, as I’m a big fan of Sherlock Holmes myself (and have longed to write a mystery since I was a child)! I will try my best to keep writing 😊
[…] The Night Tiger, Choo chose three characters to tell her enchanting tale: Ren, Ji Lin, and Dr. William Acton. We […]
[…] novia fantasma es una serie basada en la novela homónima de Yangsze Choo. Una serie multigénero que mezcla el thriller, suspense psicológico y las dosis de […]
[…] novia fantasma es una serie basada en la novela homónima de Yangsze Choo. Una serie multigénero que mezcla el thriller, suspense psicológico y las dosis de […]
Thank you for posting
I just love love and absolutely love your books.. when’s the next one coming out?? I can’t wait😭
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you enjoyed my books and am currently working on a third novel. 🥰❤️
Can you tell us broadly what’s this book is about.?
Can’t wait to read….
I’m afraid I’m just muddling my way through it, not having an outline (as usual!). 😅I had the hardest time describing The Night Tiger to folks when I was writing it “ummm, it’s about tigers, and dancehalls, oh, and a train that goes to the world of the dead”, and am also having the same issue with my third book. Right now it’s set in Manchuria (northeast China) and Japan in 1908, but that may all change depending on where my research goes. I hope you’ll enjoy it too!
Wow… Yayyyyyy.. I’m happy.. fightoooo ohhh..
Wow… Sounds exciting 😁
[…] Yangsze Choo was born in the Philippines to a family of Malaysian descent. Her father worked as a diplomat, so the family lived in many different countries as she grew up. Yangsze graduated from Harvard University in 1995 before becoming a published author. She currently lives in the United States with her husband, but makes frequent trips back to Malaysia to visit her parents and other family members. […]
I loved both of your books! Actually I listened to them as audiobooks and your voice and the way you read were absolutely delightful! I’m so excited that you’re working on a third book and anxiously await it.
I’m so honoured and delighted that you enjoyed the audiobooks! It was very fun to read them aloud. Thank you very much for listening! 😍
I’m writing a supernatural family drama and came across Ghost Bride in my research. I’m so glad I did! I loved it so very much. Thank you for writing about this rich mythical world. I loved your protagonist’s transformation — how having seen the afterlife she couldn’t quite go back to the world of the living. A beautiful depiction of how grief and trauma can change us, preparing us for some greater challenge than we could have imagined before. Looking forward to reading the Night Tiger. Congratulations on the Hello Sunshine selection!
Hi Melissa, I’m so glad you enjoyed The Ghost Bride! I wish you all the best in your research and writing —happy reading and hope The Night Tiger is fun for you too!😊
Dear Yangsze Choo,
I have so enjoyed your stories— Your writing is so beautiful, delicious, intriguing, I can’t say how wonderful—- I love what you’ve created and look forward to more💗 Thank you
~Mary
Dear Yangsze Choo,
I have so enjoyed your stories— Your writing is so beautiful, delicious, intriguing, I can’t say how wonderful—- I love what you’ve created and look forward to more💗 Thank you
~Mary
Hi Mary, thank you for your kind words! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed my books and will try my very best to keep writing (aided by lots of chocolate!) 🥰
You have a beautiful mind/heart/soul – so no doubt more good things will come— be it stories or whatever your creative endeavor may be. ❤️!! 🌼
Dear Yangsze,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Night Tiger! In the last 12 months I’ve developed an interest in Malaysian historical fiction, and I’m so happy to have come across your book. It strongly captured the zeitgeist of colonial Malaya in the 1930s, and the intersecting plots in Ren and Ji Lin’s lives are utterly fascinating. I could not put the book down and finished it in two days.
Also, super cool to see we share a common faith and corporate background in consulting 🙂 Looking forward to reading your other/future works (and very much hoping there will be a sequel to The Night Tiger!)
Best,
Mickey
Hi Mickey, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed The Night Tiger! I’m currently working on a different novel, though I’m certainly open to writing a sequel in future. Thank you so much for your kind words. 😊
Dear Yangsze,
I absolutely love, love, LOVE your books! They’re so mesmerizing and incredibly hard to put down once started. Your choice of words and characters is impeccable. Every page just flows into the other so gracefully and the descriptions are so vivid that I feel like a fly on the wall. You have an amazing gift- thank you for sharing it with the world! Wishing you all the best! 🤗
Warmest regards,
Justyna : ))
Hi Justyna, thank you very much! How wonderful to hear that you enjoyed my books—I am at this moment working on a third novel (and just happened to be taking a tea + biscuit +chocolate break when I saw your comment), and will try my best to keep chugging along! Wishing you the best for the upcoming holiday season.
[…] Ghost Bride, romanzo di esordio di Yangsze Choo, mentre racconta le vicende fantastiche e ultraterrene di Li Lan, dipinge un interessante quadro […]
Dear Yangsze Choo,
I absolutely love your book! I never read a English fiction book based on Malaysian history and it is really a good book that I’ve read numerous times! I hope you work more on amazing books in the future and also a sequel to ghost bride!
-KR
Hi KR, thank you for your kind words! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and even reread it several times—what an honour! I’m currently working on a third novel and will try my best to finish it. Happy Chinese New Year!🥰
The story in The Night Tiger was absolutely thrilling. As someone born in the Kinta Valley, I was delighted to read the book !
I did not stop reading til 3am when I reached the last page !!!
Please write a sequel.
How wonderful to hear from an Ipoh girl! I’m so delighted you enjoyed it (I also enjoyed going back to Ipoh to do some makan “research” when I was writing the book!). And yes, I would love to write a sequel to their story one day. Best wishes! 😍
Dear Yangsze,
Looking forward to the sequel to The Night Tiger ! C;
I’m reading The Night Tiger and enjoying learning about old Malaysia.
I’m curious to learn more about your background. What did you study at Harvard? Where you born and raised in the USA?
Dear Yangsze,
I read both your books in 2019 within a span of a few months and have been hoping to read another book of yours soon. Really love old Malaya stories, especially I am also half an Ipoh girl myself. Whenever I pass thru Batu Gajah, I can’t help but think of your book. I wish you well and REALLY looking forward to your next story.
Hi Yenli, thank you for reading my books—and how lovely to hear that you think about them when you pass through Batu Gajah! I’m currently trying to finish the first draft of my third novel (fingers crossed!), and I hope you’ll enjoy it as well! 🥰
Hi Yangsze,
What’s the adventure that you are bringing to us in your 3rd book? (Share please 🧐 … peekaboo …) looking for to reading it.
Hi Ann, the new novel I’m working on is set in northern China in 1908, and it’s a detective story about women who turn into foxes! I hope it will be a fun read 🙂
Just wanted to say how much I adore your writing. Thank you for giving me so much pleasure through your artistry! It’s been a while since I’ve recaptured the feeling of being a young girl hidden under the bedcovers past bedtime, tearing through a novel.
Hi MJ, awww… that’s so lovely to hear! I too have felt that guilty thrill of reading late, and am so honored you enjoyed my book! Thank you very much 🙂
I really, really love the Night Tiger! Probably my favorite amongst all I’ve ever read! First time I am re-reading a book. It has inspired me to buy more books with Asian and SEA settings. I do wish (though it was hinted) for a sequel. Would love to know what happens next in Singapore!
More power to you! The Ghost Bride is on queue.
Hi Jude, what an honour to hear that! I’m delighted that you enjoyed The Night Tiger and yes, when I was writing it, I did have a sequel in mind… I’m currently working on a different third novel, but would love to write more adventures for Ren and Jilin in future. 🥰
Congrats Yangsze!!!
Just read that “Night Tiger” is one of 70 listed in the Big Jubilee Read, a campaign to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
It is certainly an OUTSTANDING piece of work.
Can’t wait to read your third book…quite sure similar to the “Night Tiger” I will be reading all night …
C;
Thank you so much—I was thrilled and so honoured to be part of the Big Jubilee Read! Am working away on my new book and hopefully will finish it soon!😍