This is The Writer's Voice, new fiction from The New Yorker.

I'm Debra Treesman, fiction editor at The New Yorker.

On this episode of The Writer's Voice, we'll hear Giz Jen read her story Detective Dog

from the November 22nd, 2021 issue of the magazine.

Jen has published five novels, including World in Town and The Resisters

which came out last year, and the short story collection, Who's Irish.

A new story collection, Thank You Mr. Nixon, will come out in January.

Now here's Giz Jen.

Detective Dog

No politics just make money, Betty's mother Tina, like to say.

And when it came to China, see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing.

Do you hear me?

I hear nothing, Betty had wanted to say sometimes, or well, many times really,

but instead she'd said nothing and as directed, made a lot of money.

After all, she was the good daughter.

And that was how it was that when umbrellas took over Hong Kong,

she had a nice place in Vancouver.

And that was how it was too that when racism took over Vancouver,

she could up and move to New York.

It was convenient to be rich, you had to say.

In New York, she didn't even have to buy an apartment.

She and her husband and the boys just moved into her sister's old place,

...