“With her astounding new work, Marilyn Yu reminds us why, for so much of history, images and words were considered inextricable. Yu pushes the boundaries of narrative with her story of Eva Prim, a vampire and the “Femme Fatale” of the title. LA FEMME FATALE’s layered and complex presentation–inspired by tarot cards and illuminated manuscripts–touches both the reader’s intellect and emotions. As an object of beauty itself, LA FEMME FATALE –which demands to be held, shuffled and examined–shows us why digital books will never be an adequate replacement for the sensory wonder of a real, physical book.”
Shawna Yang Ryan is the author of Water Ghosts (originally published in 2007 as Locke 1928) and was a finalist for the 2008 Northern California Book Award.
Born in Sacramento, California, the child of parents who met during the Vietnam War when her father was stationed in Taiwan, Shawna Yang Ryan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and received an M.A. from the University of California, Davis. In 2002, she was a Fulbright scholar in Taiwan. She currently lives in Berkeley, California.