What We All Long For: A Novel

Gripping at times, heartrending at others, What We All Long For is an ode to a generation of longing and identity, and to the rhythms and pulses of a city and its burgeoning, questioning youth.Dionne Brands multicultural infusion follows the stories of a close circle of twentysomething secondgenerations living in downtown Torontoand the secrets they hide from their families.Tuyen is a lesbian avantgarde artist and the daughter of Vietnamese parents whove never recovered from losing one of their children while in the rush to flee Vietnam in the 1970s. She rejects her immigrant familys hardwon lifestyle, and instead lives in a rundown apartment with friendseach of whom is grappling with their own familial complexities and heartache.Tuyen is love with her best friend Carla, a biracial bicycle courier. Oku is a jazzloving poet who, unbeknowst to his Jamaicanborn parents, has dropped out of college. He is tormented by his unrequited love for Jackie, a gorgeous black woman who runs a hiphop clothing store.Meanwhile, Tuyens lost brother, Quynow a criminal in the Thai underworldsets out for Toronto to find his longlost family.Gripping at times, heartwrenching at others, Dionne Brands What We all Long For is a story of identity, love and lossthe universal experience of being human, and discovering the nature of our longing.