Ingrid Yang

Ingrid Yang is the main character of the novel. She is 29 years old. Her parents are Bo and Jean Yang, Taiwanese immigrants with whom she does not have a close relationship. She is engaged to a white man named Stephen, who she considers ideal because of his predictability and dependability.

In the narrative present, Ingrid is in the final year of her doctoral program at Barnes University. Although she has been in the East Asian Studies department for some time, she feels detached from her work. At the start of the novel, she is feeling particularly insecure about her dissertation. She is researching and writing about renowned Chinese American poet Xiao-Wen Chou, but feels she has nothing new to say about him. The more research she does, the more discouraged she feels about her work.

When an anonymous individual writes a note on her dissertation papers, Ingrid...