Inheritance

A Novel

Written by: Park, Jane

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A Most Anticipated Book of Spring according to Bustle, The Millions, Book Riot, Debutiful, Parade, Christian Science Monitor, Electric Literature, Ms. Magazine, CBC, and 49th Shelf Indigo Best Books of 2026 (so far) The Booksellers' List Spring 2026 Selection A Korean Canadian woman returns to the prairies, where she revisits her childhood and confronts her haunting guilt. Anne Kim is a New York lawyer whose success is built on forgetting the past. When her father dies and she returns to Edmonton for the funeral, she is shocked to discover that he was from North Korea and that he left his brother behind. As Anne reads the undelivered letters her father wrote to his brother about life in Canada, she is transported back to her childhood during the 1980s and 90s. She recalls the struggles her parents faced as immigrants who ran a grocery store in a rural prairie town. Anne and her brother, Charles, felt the weight of their father’s expectations: whereas Anne was driven to excel and became an overachiever, Charles rebelled, determined to pursue his own dreams. His rebellion created a rift that culminated in a devastating act, irrevocably shattering the family and leaving Anne overwhelmed by inescapable guilt. Inheritance explores the immigrant experience, the sacrifices made by both parents and children, and the way trauma is transferred to the next generation. As Anne completes her journey to the past, she emerges to finally define life on her own terms.

Published By	House of Anansi Press Inc — Apr 7, 2026 Apr 7, 2026
Specifications	352 pages \| 5.25 in x 8 in
Keywords	Western Canada Lit; CanLit; Korean Literature; Jaeoe Gungmin; New Canadian; Second Generation; Intergenerational; Family Secrets; Grief; Book Club; Women's Fiction; Woman Author; Female Author; The Immortal Woman; Su Chang; Self-Discovery; Kay's Lucky Coin Variety; Crying in H Mart;
Supporting Resources (select item to download)	Excerpt

Written By

JANE PARK is a second-generation Korean Canadian writer. She is a MacDowell Fellow, and was a participant in the Banff Centre’s Writing Studio, and Diaspora Dialogues. She was born in Edmonton, Alberta, lived in New York City for over a decade, and now lives in Calgary, Alberta. Currently, she is pursuing an MFA at the University of British Columbia. Inheritance is her debut novel.

Written By

“Jane Park's gorgeous debut novel achingly encapsulates an immigrant family coming to terms with their closest, yet least empathic, relationships: with each other."—Shelf Awareness, STARRED review

“Human and raw.” — Parade

“Satisfying, with strong pacing and plotting and well-developed characters.” —Library Journal

“An affecting story of honor, tradition, and expectations sometimes buoying – but nearly burying – one immigrant family.” —Christian Science Monitor

“Park has an expansive understanding of acculturation ... The novel abounds with such quandaries, without offering easy solutions.” —Literary Review of Canada

“Inheritance is an important novel.” —Winnipeg Free Press

“Park’s ambitious debut … broadens the literary map and reminds us that immigrant stories unfold just as powerfully, and often more precariously, in the quietest corners of North America.” —Asian Review of Books

“A brilliant story of immigration ... Inheritance’s message about independence and being true to one’s self will feel like a manifesto for self-love and self-reclamation.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

“A beautifully written and quintessentially Albertan book with a propulsive and realistic family drama at its heart.” —Alberta Views

“A thoughtful and timely delight.” —The British Columbia Review

“A wide-ranging meditation on the Korean immigrant experience that explores family, ambition, longing and belonging.”—Suji Kwock Kim, Walt Whitman Award winner for Notes from the Divided Country

“Jane Park has written a well-crafted, nuanced story about a family aching to present well, expressing love through duty, and atoning for past sins. Inheritance is a must-read for all children of immigrants, doubly so if you’re Korean in North America.”—Ins Choi, playwright of Kim’s Convenience

“Brilliantly paced and beautifully told, Inheritance is above all about family and how, despite our best intentions, we so often do damage to the ones we most love.” —Nino Ricci, Governor General's Literary Award–winning author of Lives of the Saints and The Origin of Species

“A searching and devastating portrait of a family reckoning with historical trauma, and the cost of migration and assimilation.”—Su Chang, author of The Immortal Woman

“An authentic and layered exploration of identity, sacrifice, and healing.” —Ann Y. K. Choi, author of All Things Under the Moon and Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety

“A powerful and gripping novel.” —Edward Y. C. Lee, author of The Laundryman’s Boy

“Propulsive … intimate and unforgettable.” —Jenny Heijun Wills, award-winning author of Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. and Everything and Nothing at All

“Sparsely written and deeply affecting, Inheritance lingers long after the final page.” —Rachel Phan, author of Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging

“With her beautifully written novel, Park reminds us that hope is precious, redemption is possible, and forgiveness is always within reach.” —Helena Rho, author of Stone Angels

Inheritance

A Novel

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