Sister Snake A Novel
Sister Snake, a novel by Amanda Lee Koe, is published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2024 and spans 272 pages. This bold and darkly funny narrative follows two sisters, Su and Emerald, who are separated by distance but united by an ancient secret. Su lives a sheltered life as the wife of a conservative politician in Singapore, while Emerald navigates a chaotic existence as a nihilistic sugar baby in New York. Their shared history, rooted in a mystical past from Tang dynasty China, becomes a crucial element as they confront their complex relationship.
Readers will find a rich exploration of themes such as chosen family, queerness, and the struggle against societal norms. The novel delves into the sisters’ tenuous reconciliation after a violent incident prompts Su to travel to New York, where she urges Emerald to return to Singapore. As they navigate their contrasting lives, the story examines the pressures of conformity in a glittering city and the emotional turmoil that arises from their shared secret. Sister Snake reimagines the Chinese folktale “The Legend of the White Snake,” offering a narrative that challenges perceptions of identity and freedom.
Official synopsis Publisher
A glittering, bold, darkly funny novel about two sisters–one in New York, one in Singapore–who are bound by an ancient secret
Sisterhood is difficult for Su and Emerald. Su leads a sheltered, moneyed life as the picture-perfect wife of a conservative politician in Singapore. Emerald is a nihilistic sugar baby in New York, living from whim to whim and using her charms to make ends meet. But they share a secret: once, they were snakes, basking under a full moon in Tang dynasty China.
A thousand years later, their mysterious history is the only thing still binding them together. When Emerald experiences a violent encounter in Central Park and Su boards the next flight to New York, the two reach a tenuous reconciliation for the first time in decades. Su convinces Emerald to move to Singapore so she can keep an eye on her–but she soon begins to worry that Emerald’s irrepressible behavior will out them both, in a sparkling, affluent city where everything runs like clockwork and any deviation from the norm is automatically suspect.
Razor-sharp, hilarious, and raw in emotion, Sister Snake explores chosen family, queerness, passing, and the struggle against conformity. Reimagining the Chinese folktale “The Legend of the White Snake,” this is a novel about being seen for who you are–and, ultimately, how to live free.
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