The Sisters K

In Sun’s inspired debut, three Korean American sisters and their half brother reunite in the present day after learning that their widowed father is terminally ill. The story begins three decades earlier in Los Angeles, where Eugene Kim physically and psychologically abuses his second wife, Jeonghee, and his three daughters, Minah, Sarah, and Esther. Though neighbors frequently call the police, Eugene faces no consequences for the beatings, prompting Minah to realize that his first wife, her birth mother, was also “desperate to escape” when she left years earlier. Now a 34-year-old lawyer who has dedicated her life to upholding the justice that eluded her as a child, Minah hasn’t seen Eugene since she left home at 17. Though literature professor Sarah is Eugene’s favorite, it’s Esther who’s the first of the sisters to respond to their father’s invitation to visit him in New Jersey after he’s diagnosed with cancer. When Edwin, a son Eugene had out of wedlock, makes a surprise arrival, the sisters learn that because of the state’s inheritance laws, he may stand to inherit everything. The revelations and reconciliations that ensue make for a fascinating update on the age-old theme of filial piety. Sun marks herself as a writer to watch. Agent: Amelia Atlas, CAA. (June)