Wendy Chin-Tanner

Wendy Chin-TannerWendy Chin-TannerWendy Chin-Tanner

Wendy Chin-Tanner

Wendy Chin-TannerWendy Chin-TannerWendy Chin-Tanner
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Books
    • King of the Armadillos
    • Embodied
    • Anyone Will Tell You
    • Turn
    • American Terrorist
  • Publications
    • Selected Anthologies
    • Selected Essays
    • Selected Interviews
    • Selected Poetry
  • About
    • Bio
    • Contact
  • More
    • Home
    • Latest
    • Books
      • King of the Armadillos
      • Embodied
      • Anyone Will Tell You
      • Turn
      • American Terrorist
    • Publications
      • Selected Anthologies
      • Selected Essays
      • Selected Interviews
      • Selected Poetry
    • About
      • Bio
      • Contact
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Books
    • King of the Armadillos
    • Embodied
    • Anyone Will Tell You
    • Turn
    • American Terrorist
  • Publications
    • Selected Anthologies
    • Selected Essays
    • Selected Interviews
    • Selected Poetry
  • About
    • Bio
    • Contact

Books

King of the Armadillos

Top 20 Best of Year 2023: BookBrowse


BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2023: The Boston Globe, Deep South Magazine, Ms. Magazine, BookRiot


"Brilliant, absorbing, and powerfully moving." —Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild


“A gripping and tenderly executed drama. A lambent and poignant debut." —The New York Times


A novel about family, love, and belonging, set against the backdrops of 1950s New York City and Louisiana, following one young man’s quest to survive an often misunderstood disease, and find love, music, and himself, in the process.


Victor Chin’s life is turned upside down at the tender age of 15. Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease, otherwise known as leprosy, he’s forced to leave the familiar confines of his father’s laundry business in the Bronx – the only home he’s known since emigrating from China with his older brother – to quarantine alongside patients from all over the country at a federal institution in Carville.


At first, Victor is scared not only of the disease, but of the confinement, and wants nothing more than to flee. Between treatments he dreams of escape and imagines his life as a fugitive. But soon he finds a new sense of freedom far from home – one without the pull of obligations to his family, the laundry business, or his mother back in China. Here, in the company of an unforgettable cast of characters, Victor finds refuge in music and experiences first love, jealousy, betrayal, and even tragedy. But with the promise of a life-changing cure on the horizon, Victor’s time at Carville is running out, and he has some difficult choices to make.


A page turning work of historical fiction, King of the Armadillos announces Wendy Chin-Tanner as an extraordinary new voice. Inspired by her father’s experience as a young patient at Carville, this tender novel is a captivating and lyrical exploration of the power of art.


Published by Flatiron Books, an imprint of MacMillan Publishers.


Additional formats:

• Digital Audio

• e-Book


Also available from:

• Audible
• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

Purchase Hardcover Edition

INTERVIEWS

ABC News Live Prime

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Wendy shares the inspiration behind "King of The Armadillos" with host Linsey Davis.

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Wendy joins Brad Listi's weekly literary podcast for an in-depth interview.

Access Audio-only Version

Books Are Magic

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Books Are Magic

Live on-site at Books Are Magic Montague, Wendy joins host and moderator Alex Segura in conversation.

Additional Interviews

Orange, white, and yellow logo of books and a boba drink with text "Books & Boba".
Yellow, red, orange, and black accented logo for "Asian American History 101" with Gen & Ted.
Susan Larson pictured on the logo for The Reading Life.
Logo for HiLoBrow.com.
Black and white portrait of Cheryl Strayed for "Dear Sugar".
  • Logo for HiLoBrow.com.
  • Black and white portrait of Cheryl Strayed for "Dear Sugar".
  • Orange, white, and yellow logo of books and a boba drink with text "Books & Boba".
  • Yellow, red, orange, and black accented logo for "Asian American History 101" with Gen & Ted.
  • Susan Larson pictured on the logo for The Reading Life.
  • Logo for HiLoBrow.com.
  • Black and white portrait of Cheryl Strayed for "Dear Sugar".
  • Orange, white, and yellow logo of books and a boba drink with text "Books & Boba".
  • Yellow, red, orange, and black accented logo for "Asian American History 101" with Gen & Ted.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"A lush drama about belonging." —Good Housekeeping


“King of the Armadillos offers a window into a world I didn’t know existed, with relatable characters and a nuanced plot…an engrossing, enjoyable read.” —Book Reporter


"You’ll find you are holding your breath at many points of this story." —Amy Loewy, Southern Bookseller Review


"Chin-Tanner’s exacting details render little-known medical history, deftly interwoven with the Chinese American experience, from paper sons to debilitating racism to bifurcated identity, to create a satisfying, polyphonic narrative about the intricate relationships within families by birth and circumstance..." —Booklist


“The historical perspective, empathy across cultures and centuries, vivid sensory insight and unremitting though forgiving honesty, all entwined with the book’s sheer riveting romance, family tragedy, humble epic sweep, and coming-of-age storytelling, is phenomenal… Wendy Chin-Tanner has reached high and deep among the shelves of family and community experience, and retrieved a masterwork.” —HiLobrow Magazine

ESSAYS

The Burden of Truth: Fictionalizing My Father’s Years at a Federal Leprosy Treatment Center

My father's bittersweet homecoming: A family visit to the institution that treated him for leprosy

My father's bittersweet homecoming: A family visit to the institution that treated him for leprosy

Literary Hub: Wendy Chin-Tanner on the Dual Gaze Required to Write a Novel Inspired by True Events 

My father's bittersweet homecoming: A family visit to the institution that treated him for leprosy

My father's bittersweet homecoming: A family visit to the institution that treated him for leprosy

My father's bittersweet homecoming: A family visit to the institution that treated him for leprosy

Salon: Carville looked more like a prep school than a leprosarium — but it was surrounded by a barbed wire fence

King of the Armadillos Reading Group Guide

View & Download

PRAISE

"Wendy Chin-Tanner’s King of the Armadillos is both a moving coming-of-age story and a fiercely intelligent love letter to the author’s father. It is beautifully written and entertaining, but doesn’t shy away from questions of race, class, and belonging. A fantastic debut."


—Cari Luna, author of The Revolution of Every Day 

Black magnolias from the cover of "King of the Armadillos".

"King of the Armadillos pulses with the miraculous: the power of art and heart to heal a body from the inside-out. Excavating a history that comes at an important moment in the present tense, the novel asks: how do we want to treat each other in the face of dangerous tensions around otherness and illness? Wendy Chin-Tanner answers with her art. A triumph." 


—Lidia Yuknavitch, bestselling and acclaimed author of The Book of Joan

"This remarkable, brilliant book shows us the power of exile—and the dreams of freedom. Wendy Chin-Tanner pulls back the veil on a federal leprosarium in the 1950s, with a rich cast of characters who find refuge in art and love. Inspired by her own family history, it rings with authenticity and delight, finding great joy even in sorrow. An absolute treasure of a book."

— Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder  

Black magnolias from the cover of "King of the Armadillos".

"A beautifully written story of a young man struggling with Hansen’s disease that captures both the tragedy and triumph of Carville."


—Pam Fessler, author of Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice

“I’ve never experienced a debut novel like this - engrossing, loaded with emotion, introducing unforgettable characters, and crafted with the touch and confident style of a savvy veteran. KING OF THE ARMADILLOS is a mesmerizing work of historical fiction that serves as a perfect launching pad for what’s sure to be a long and storied career for Wendy Chin-Tanner.”


—Alex Segura, bestselling and acclaimed author of Secret Identity


Black magnolias from the cover of "King of the Armadillos".

"Victor Chin will take you back in time to the 1950s to live with him at Carville, an institution that houses those with Hanson’s disease, better known as leprosy. Only 15 years old and contending with a more than complicated family situation, Victor now has to deal with a rare medical condition—alongside the racism he’s dealt with his entire life. A heartbreaking, compelling novel."


—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse

Copyright © 2025 Wendy Chin-Tanner - All Rights Reserved.

Website Design by daikou ☽ 

Powered by

  • Home
  • Latest
  • Contact

Would You Like a Cookie?

Cookies are used to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept