A Debut Novel About Knowing Everything and Nothing

For several years, I’ve enjoyed Stacey Yu’s videos about literary fiction on TikTok. On a particularly cozy, intellectual corner of the platform, she spotlights forgotten classics, works in translation, and contemporary novels—particularly those with elegant, careful prose. So when Yu announced that she would be releasing her debut novel, Kitten, this summer, I had no doubt that it would be skillfully crafted, steeped in the influence of all the literature she raves about online.

I was right: Kitten was a j...