The Better Mother

From a master of family dynamics comes this vivid tale of 2 misfits who find each other while stumbling toward their own true identities.

In 1958, eight-year-old Danny Lim has been sent to buy cigarettes for his father, when he realizes that he has lost the money. Frantic, he rushes through Vancouver’s Chinatown & behind a nightclub, where he sees Miss Val, a long-time burlesque dancer. Danny is enraptured with her sequined garters & silk robe, & Val, touched by his fascination, gives him a pack of cigarettes & her silk belt.

Years later, Danny spends his days working as a wedding photographer & his nights cruising Stanley Park, far away from the home where his parents & sister live. He realizes that the key to understanding himself & his family lies in his connection to Miss Val, & he is determined to find her.

Before she became the Siamese Kitten, a major player on the North American circuit, Miss Val was Valerie Nealy, a feisty girl growing up in a rundown house beside the Fraser River. But to find the stardom she thought she wanted, she had to make a series of seemingly irrevocable decisions.

Set mostly during an unseasonably hot summer in Vancouver in 1982 when HIV/AIDS was spreading rapidly, The Better Mother brims with undeniable tragedy, but resounds with the power of friendship, change & truth. It will cement Jen Sookfong Lee’s reputation as 1 of this country’s finest young novelists.   

Jen Sookfong Lee was born & raised in Vancouver's Eastside, where she now lives with her husband & son. Her books include The End of East & Shelter, a novel for young adults. Her poetry, fiction & articles have appeared in a variety of magazines & anthologies, including TOK: Writing the New City, The Antigonish Review & Event. A popular radio personality, Jen is the voice behind “Westcoast Words,” a weekly writing column featured on CBC Radio One's On the Coast & All Points West.