Excess Baggage is the acclaimed debut novel from author Karen Ma. The book chronicles two Chinese sisters, one raised in China during the tumultuous years of the Cultural Revolution; the other in Japan during the freewheeling years of bubble capitalism. They reunite as adults in Tokyo in the early 1990s and their family history soon catches up with them.
Zhang Peiyin, the "forgotten" sister left behind in China, is hell-bent on making up for lost time after growing up with little more than political slogans and has abandoned her children to join her family in Japan, imagining riches, fame, and comfort. Instead she receives a wary welcome from her estranged parents and insecure, competitive younger sister, Vivian, who not-so-secretly wants to drive her back to China.
As the sisters circle warily, navigating their mother's death and other setbacks, their distrust grows, fueled by family lies and secrets. Ultimately each must confront a fundamental question: what's the meaning of home when your roots aren't secure?
Karen Ma is the author of China's Millennial Digital Generation: Conversations with Balinghou Filmmakers.
