“Chang draws characters with quick mastery, and writes Lola as a mille-feuille of sophistication, delighted lust, and self-doubt. The dialogue snaps and sparks, and Chang dispenses observations about race, class, feminism, sex, and influencer and tech-founder culture with panache. . . It braids satire of rich people searching for their souls and a practicum on how to find closure, with both our living and our dead. . . . Nails the emotional contradictions, absurdities, and cathartic surprises of modern life.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Award-winning Chang's alluring hot-button tale will entice many curious readers looking for something fresh.” — Booklist
“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 lightning-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, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Today Will Be Different
“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, author of The Wilderness and The Turner House
“What a Time to Be Alive is a consummate coming-of-age tale for our uncanny, screen-mediated era. It’s part madcap journey of self-actualization, part love song to Los Angeles, part ode to friendship, and part meditation on grief—entirely witty and vibrantly alive.” — Rachel Khong, author of Real Americans
“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, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles
“There is joy to be had in this world of distortions and faux profundity; there are pockets of depth even among the shallows; and what seems to be sleight of hand may yet reveal the truest glimpse of our upside-down world. Jade Chang, with deadly humor and immense talent, has written an absolute romp of a novel about our ever-stumbling quest for sublimity and grace. I laughed, I cringed, I held on tight. What a Time to Be Alive is a triumph.” — Justin Torres, author of Blackouts