Miss Chopsticks - Xinran, aka Xuē Xīnrán (薛欣然) [Vintage, 2008]; novel
This has been lying around in my room for like, I don't even know how long. A long time. I was put off because somebody I know talked about an author called 'Xinran' with a smugness that made me avoid reading it lest it be on their boringly sycophantic recommendation. Like Xinran was THE authority on China and, by proxy, this person I know became THE authority, too. Stuff like this is annoying - don't pretend it's not.