Book Review: The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang

 

The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang

Published February 1st 2022 by W. W. Norton Company

Genre: Cultural heritage fiction, mystery, literary fiction 
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's amazing that a chance encounter with a stranger, Zhang Fujian, carrying a small fortune in his bag would lead to the downfall of the Chao family patriarch, owner of the Chao restaurant, and lead to suspicion falling on the three sons. James, the youngest son, helping an old Chinese man at the train station began the turmoil of events. Little did anyone know that the man's blue bag, forgotten in the back of a car, would be removed and transported to different places and cause a major problem for the Chao family.

How the three brothers - master chef Dagou, industrious and ambitious Ming, and college student James - stick together, facing the insults and disdain of their overbearing father during the illness and the death of their mother, and how they rally in each other's defense is admirable. Family secrets also prove fatal in this story.

I enjoyed the characterization of each son, so different from one another, and the denouement of the plot in this domestic drama. There is a murder mystery to be solved, also, but I liked that the brothers join together in the face of being children of immigrants in a small American town, and in the face of possible, pending tragedy.

Critics have called The Family Chao a reimagining of  The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky.

View all my reviews

Book beginning: 

For thirty-five years everybody supported Leo Chao's restaurant. Introducing choosy newcomers by showing off some real Chinese food in Haven, Wisconsin. 

At 56% of ebook: 

Then after Winnie died, someone - one of his brothers, or even one of this parents' friends -would have carried the blue blag out of the hospital and loaded it into a car. And then what? 

 

Memes: The Friday 56. Find any sentence that grabs you on page 56 of your book. Post it, and add your URL to Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.

Sunday Salon: The Punjab and Charleston

 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

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Published April 30, 2019, William Morrow

Genre and setting: England and India; family drama, travel novel, women's fiction

Source: ARC

The Shergill sisters - Rajni, Jezmeen, and Shirina - are on a journey or pilgrimage to the Punjab, fulfilling the dying wishes of their now deceased mother, Sita. Born in England, they are westernized to a large degree, but know about their heritage and culture from their mother.

The eldest sister Rajni and the youngest, Shirina, both have secrets they carry on their trip. As they travel to the Sikh shrines and holy places outlined by their mother as places they must visit in the Punjab, the three very different sisters clash and reconcile in turn and finally help each other. 

This is family drama as well as a travel novel, rich in detail of places and people, with unexpected stories behind each of their lives. 

I am three-quarters of the way through and enjoying the book more than I had expected at the beginning. 

Haunted Hibiscus (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs

Publication: March 2, 2021, Berkley

Genre and setting: Charleston, cozy mystery

Source: ARC, ebook

Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, solve another mystery in fashionable Charleston, while serving tea, scones, and other goodies in their elegant tea shop. 

I am looking forward to reading this one, lighter fare in between heavier books. 

What books do you plan to read ? 

Sunday Salon: International Fiction, Thrillers

 A few books have begun to arrive this year! I was pleased to receive two new books for feature/review.

The Foreign Girls by Sergio Olguin, translated from the Spanish, ARC copy

Setting: Argentina

Genre: thriller, crime fiction

Expected publication: March 23rd, 2021 by Bitter Lemon Press (first published April 1st 2014)

 A young journalist from Buenos Aires, Veronica Rosenthal, takes a vacation in the north of Argentina, traveling to smaller towns through more scenic areas. She meets two tourists, girls from Scandinavia and the other from Italy. Veronica befriends them, they stay for a few days at Veronica's cousin's house in the hills and they decide to travel together in the area. But the foreign girls, innocent of the locals and the region, become targets in a game in which they come out for the worst. 

The journalist is determined to stay in northern Argentina to find the truth about what happened to the girls, even if it might involve people she and her family know. 

Veronica is a complex character, but a determined one who isn't afraid of danger or taking risks to achieve her goals. The relationship between herself, the locals, and the foreign girls take the novel to a level that explain the lengths she will go to resolve the issue of her newfound friends. 

The plot, the setting, and character development made this an intriguing mystery novel. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang, review copy

Setting: Silicon Valley, New York

Genre: contemporary fiction, Asian American fiction, multicultural

Published March 31, 2020 by HarperCollins

When the narrator's longtime boyfriend, J, decides to move to upstate New York for grad school, she leaves her job as staff writer at a publication in Silicon Valley to follow him.

But in the process, she finds herself facing misgivings about her role in an interracial relationship. Captivated by the stories of her ancestors and other Asian Americans in history, she must confront a question at the core of her identity: What does it mean to exist in a society that does not notice or understand you? (publisher)

Two other books recently finished:

Three O'Clock in the Morning by Gianrico Carofiglio, ARC copy

Setting: Marseilles

Genre: family drama, coming-of-age novel, international fiction

Publication March 16, 2021 by HarperVia 

A coming-of-age, literary novel about a young Italian teen, an epilectic, who discovers more about himself and his estranged father while both are on a trip to a clinic in Marseilles. They explore the city together and get to know each other while waiting for his treatment at the clinic. Heartfelt story told in the teen's words. Very moving at times. Excellent writing.

My rating: 5/5

The Quiet Girl by S.F. Kosa, personal copy

Setting: Provincetown, Boston

Genre: mystery, psychological thriller

Publication: August 11, 2020, Sourcebooks

Alex is happily married to his new wife, Mina, a romance writer. At least until they have an argument and she disappears, leaving her engagement and wedding rings on her desk. 

Alex reaches out to Mina's parents and to her best friend, but they have no clue as to what happened to her.  Only when he is given a copy of Mina's newest manuscript, as yet unpublished, does he begin to put the pieces together and try to find his wife. The manuscript is not a romance but a novel based on her horrific life story. 

Secrets, family dynamics, psychological disorders, amnesia, are all important themes in this thriller. There are surprises and suspense at the ending, as the writer skillfully leads the reader toward the final revelations.

My rating: 4/5 stars

Reading for Book Club:

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer

Setting: 1776, Washington

Genre: historical fiction based on true events

In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washington’s bodyguards. Washington trusted them; relied on them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan.

 

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

Book Review: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms, May 1, 2019, Amazon Digital Services

Source: Amazon Unlimited

For moms, single or otherwise, who need a life of their own on top of being a super parent. An inspiring read for moms, and single parents, everywhere! Amy Byler's husband left her permanently for Hong Kong three years earlier, left her with two kids in grammar school whom she had to support financially and physically. After John comes home unexpectedly for one summer and decides to bond with the kids for a brief while, Amy gets a chance to spend a week on her own in New York City to attend a librarian's conference. How she finds herself in her new surroundings, among new friends and acquaintances, and even with the prospect of new loves and a boost in her career, is the theme of the story. A thumbs up novel for overworked moms. A novel meant to inspire parents , especially women and single mothers.

For moms, single or otherwise, who need a life of their own on top of being a super parent. An inspiring read for moms, and single parents, everywhere!

Amy Byler's husband left her permanently for Hong Kong three years earlier, left her with two kids in grammar school whom she had to support financially and physically. After John comes home unexpectedly for one summer and decides to bond with the kids for a brief while, Amy gets a chance to spend a week on her own in New York City to attend a librarian's conference.

How she finds herself in her new surroundings, among new friends and acquaintances, and even with the prospect of new loves and a boost in her career, is the theme of the story.

A thumbs up novel for overworked moms. A novel meant to inspire parents , especially women and single mothers.