Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month: Four Novels

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), I'm posting my book reviews by several Asian American novelists. The first, Real Americans, is new. The other three reviews were originally posted in April 2023. 

The authors are from China, Taiwan, and Korea

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Published April 30, 2024; Knopf

Genre: immigrant literature, contemporary fiction, speculative fiction

American-born Lily Chen was brought up in New York by her Chinese immigrant parents to be a "real American" culturally and socially. When she meets and falls in love with Matthew, a Caucasian from a ultra wealthy pharmaceutical family, she is hesitant but marries him anyway, and has a child, Nico. From there on, the real American Lily continues to live her contemporary life - divorce, single motherhood, raising a biracial child, family estrangement. Her aging scientist mother in America seems to complete the cycle - widowhood, old age, alienation from family, loneliness.

The third part of the book I think strayed from the "real American" theme, delving into Lily's parents' turbulent past in Mao's China, a past that precipitated their migration to the United States. 

There is an element of fantasy in another part of the "real American" story of Lily's scientist parents, who were chasing the dream of DNA research to eradicate genetic flaws and guarantee longevity.

This is a complex book with complex themes that invite speculation and would make a great book club choice because of the many questions it brings up about what the term "real American" can mean.

Returning home:

I 've been reading books about young women abandoning their job after a breakup with a boyfriend, and returning to their parents' home. This seems to be a popular trope as I've seen it in several  contemporary novels.

However, the stories vary widely once the main character moves back to family, depending on their circumstances and family dynamics. This makes them interesting regardless of the trope.

A Quitter's Paradise: A Novel by Elysha Chang

Publication: June 6, 2023' SJP Lit
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel deals with two generations of a family impacting each other - the story of Rita and Jing from Taipei, who emigrate to the U.S. and the stories of their daughters, Narisa and Eleanor, born and raised in New York.

The adult Eleanor, on her own, quits her PhD program in neuroscience; her older sister Narisa disappeared for good while a teen, after one too many fights with her harsh and disapproving parents. And only Eleanor and her mother Rita are left in the family after the father Jing leaves home and forms a new family in Taipei.

After Rita's death, Eleanor has to face the truth of both her parents' lives and her own.

I was left amazed and dismayed at the family dynamics in this novel, especially that created by the parents. I wondered how Eleanor would cope with the history of people leaving/quitting and with the story of her mother Rita, left alone to raise the girls in the U.S. when Jing left the family.

The novel follows two separate story lines, a complex one of the parents and their extended family in NY and that of the girls raised in the U.S. I found both stories fascinating.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Published: July 11, 2017; Henry Holt and Co.

Genre: literary fiction, contemporary, family drama, adult fiction

Ruth used to go to Charleston with her boyfriend Joel for the holidays, but no more. After they broke up, Ruth is left with the prospect of going home to her parents in LA, parents she hasn't seen in a while.

While there, Ruth decides to stay and help out as her father is developing dementia and losing coping skills. The novel centers around Ruth and their mother and her brother Linus's attempts to ease their father and themselves into a new reality. 

Written with a lot of humor and pathos, Goodbye, Vitamin tells a story of a family support of a loved one whose personality is slowly changing. I gave this novel five stars.

Sea Change by Gina Chung

Publication: March 28, 2023, Vintage

Genre: family drama, speculative fiction, animal story, contemporary

The story of Ro's friendship with Dolores, the giant Pacific octopus, is a heartwarming one, especially since it's Ro's only connection with her missing scientist father, who had discovered and captured the octopus which now lives in the local aquarium.

I was a little disappointed when the story veers away from Ro's father never returning and her boyfriend leaving, perhaps forever, on a space exploration trip to Mars.

The novel includes Ro's friends and other young Korean Americans and their lives in the U.S. Their stories don't quite mesh with the story of Dolores, the giant Pacific Northwest octopus and the sadness of Ro's missing father.

The information about the octopus, its personality and its importance to Ro are the key parts of the novel although at least half of the book is devoted to Ro's other friendships.

What are you reading this week?  Which Asian authors have you read ?

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves     

AAPI Heritage Month: Memoir, Two Novels Reviewed

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I'm posting reviews of memoirs and novels I've read and reviewed. Here are a few.

 

Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong

Published: May 16, 2023; Tin House Books

Genre: memoir 

I liked the poetic prose that Jane Wong uses for much of this memoir. She has a poet's acute and perceptive reaction to life experiences.

I think of the book as a very personal account of her agonies in growing up among those who didn't understand or accept her - in school, university, in Atlantic City, where her parents ran a restaurant until her father deserted the family. Of having to field stereotyping, microaggressions, outright hostility, and more.

Her mother is the force that bolsters her as she goes through one heartbreak after another in her life and even in her failed relationships with boyfriends. The author does not dwell as much on her rise as a poet and on her academic career as an associate professor of creative writing. But I recall betrayals on her road to that position as well.

In this very honest memoir, the heartache comes through, as does her remarkably resilient mother who sees Jane through all her stages of despair and grief.

I was heartened to see that the author is a successful writer and teacher because of or in spite of all she went through.

About: Jane Wong is the author of How to Not Be Afraid of Everything from Alice James Books (2021) and Overpour from Action Books (2016). Her debut memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, is being published May 16, 2023. She holds an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Western Washington University.  

A Quitter's Paradise by Elysha Chang

Publication: June 6, 2023; SJP Lit

Genre: contemporary, literary fiction

Setting: New York City and Taipei, Taiwan

I enjoyed the two different stories of two generations in this novel and how they impact one another - the story of Rita and Jing from Taipei, who emigrate to the U.S; and the stories of their daughters, Narisa and Eleanor, who grow up in New York.

Eleanor quits her PhD program in neuroscience; Narisa disappears for good while a teen, after one too many fights with her disapproving parents. Only Eleanor and her mother Rita are left after her father Jing leaves the U.S. and forms a new family in Taipei.

I am left with amazement and dismay at the family dynamics, especially that created by the parents. I wondered how Eleanor would cope with that history of people leaving and with her mother Rita, who is left alone with the girls in the U.S. when Jing leaves.

The novel tells two stories - the history of the parents and their extended family in NY, and that of the girls raised in the U.S. I found both stories fascinating.

About: Elysha Chang lives in Brooklyn, and has taught creative writing at Blue Stoop Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, and Villanova University. A graduate of Columbia's MFA Program, she has published in Center for Fiction Magazine, Fence, GQ, The Rumpus, and others. This is her first novel. 

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Publication: September 5, 2023; Hogarth

Genre: mystery, thriller, literary fiction

Setting: Virginia, USA

A most unusual novel about a missing father of an autistic, verbally challenged 14-year-old, Eugene, who cannot explain in words or actions what happened to his father on that fateful day at the park when Alan disappeared.

I was interested in the description of Eugene's inability to speak coupled with his lack of fine motor skills to use sign language. I enjoyed the mystery - a disappearance that may have been an accident or a murder - and a story that explains that a non-speaking individual that can't control their own movements could still understand speech and even be able to read.

Eugene's older siblings, the twins John and Mia, are intriguing characters, intellectually gifted; the contrast between them and Eugene stands out, especially as the twins try to understand how their dad, Adam, was testing and training Eugene in ways to communicate.

Using technical theories and examples re communication and speech therapies made made the novel more interesting. It was not a problem for me to have a mystery, complex family dynamics, and a novel about a severe disability be all rolled into one in the same book.

I did however, find it unusual and unrealistic for the family to emphasize only verbal communication from Eugene and not the use of simple hand signs for even a Yes or No answer, especially regarding his father's disappearance in the park. Perhaps the topic was too stressful for him to respond in that way. 

A thought provoking book re autistic and non verbal persons, and a suspenseful mystery plot. 

About: Angie Kim moved from South Korea as a preteen. She studied at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her debut novel, Miracle Creek, won several awards and was named one of the best books of the year. Angie has written for numerous literary journals. Happiness Falls is her second novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for these ebooks

What are you reading this week?

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: Modern Trope of Loss and Returning Home

 Returning home:

I 've been reading books about young women abandoning their job after a breakup with a boyfriend, and returning to their parents' home. This seems to be a popular trope as I've seen it in several  contemporary novels.

However, the stories vary widely once the main character moves back to family, depending on their circumstances and family dynamics. This makes them interesting regardless of the trope.

A Quitter's Paradise: A Novel by Elysha Chang

Publication: June 6, 2023' SJP Lit
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel deals with two generations of a family impacting each other - the story of Rita and Jing from Taipei, who emigrate to the U.S. and the stories of their daughters, Narisa and Eleanor, born and raised in New York.

The adult Eleanor, on her own, quits her PhD program in neuroscience; her older sister Narisa disappeared for good while a teen, after one too many fights with her harsh and disapproving parents. And only Eleanor and her mother Rita are left in the family after the father Jing leaves home and forms a new family in Taipei.

After Rita's death, Eleanor has to face the truth of both her parents' lives and her own.

I was left amazed and dismayed at the family dynamics in this novel, especially that created by the parents. I wondered how Eleanor would cope with the history of people leaving/quitting and with the story of her mother Rita, left alone to raise the girls in the U.S. when Jing left the family.

The novel follows two separate story lines, a complex one of the parents and their extended family in NY and that of the girls raised in the U.S. I found both stories fascinating.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Published:July 11, 2017; Henry Holt and Co.

Genre: literary fiction, contemporary, family drama, adult fiction

Ruth used to go to Charleston with her boyfriend Joel for the holidays, but no more. After they broke up, Ruth is left with the prospect of going home to her parents in LA, parents she hasn't seen in a while.

While there, Ruth decides to stay and help out as her father is developing dementia and losing coping skills. The novel centers around Ruth and their mother and her brother Linus's attempts to ease their father and themselves into a new reality. 

Written with a lot of humor and pathos, Goodbye, Vitamin tells a story of a family support of a loved one whose personality is slowly changing. I gave this novel five stars.

Sea Change by Gina Chung

Publication: March 28, 2023, Vintage

Genre: family drama, speculative fiction, animal story, contemporary

The story of Ro's friendship with Dolores, the giant Pacific octopus, is a heartwarming one, especially since it's her only connection with her missing science father, who had discovered and captured the octopus which now resides in the local aquarium.

I was a little disappointed when the story veers away from Ro's father never returning and her boyfriend leaving, perhaps forever, on a space exploration trip to Mars.

The novel includes Ro's friends and other young Korean Americans and their lives in the U.S. Their stories don't mesh with the story of Dolores, the giant Pacific Northwest octopus and the sadness of Ro's missing father.

The information about the octopus, its personality and its importance to Ro are the key parts of the novel although at least half of the book is devoted to Ro's other friends. 

What are you reading this week?

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday