Evocative and tender, this story draws parallels between conflicts of imperialized and militarized Korea and Hawai'i, while still giving heart and humor.

Interesting premise that didn't unfold in a way that was compelling for me. I zoomed through the first 30%, but couldn't get myself to go any further. There was a lot of pointless dialogue that seemed like it would be distinctive for the book but instead left me feeling disconnected. Would definitely give the author another shot, but disappointed to see such an interesting summary fizzle out.

I wanted to like this one more that I was actually capable of at the time I picked it up. A second round purchase for most libraries.

While the book summary did not sound funny, Joseph Han packs this book with humor when dealing with a hard topics of immigration, sibling rivalries, mental health, etc. I laughed so loud at his description of Guy's epic quest to find Flavortown.

Nuclear Family is a quirky yet profound novel about a South Korean family living in Hawai’i, set in the months leading up to the infamous false missile alarm of 2018. The parents own a small chain of restaurants that is finally starting to make a profit after a visit from Guy Fieri. Their daughter, Grace, divides her time between helping out with the business and getting high, but it’s their son, Jacob, who turns their lives upside down by getting shot and detained while trying to cross Korean demilitarized zone. What no one knows is that Jacob is being possessed by the ghost of his grandfather, desperate to get to North Korea to find the family he left behind.

I was sucked into this story from the very beginning. It’s funny but not in a laugh out loud way - the humor is more subtle and rather satirical. Watching the way the characters deal with the fallout from Jacob’s actions was fascinating and I loved how Han approached the dynamics between them, and I also appreciated what he had to say about the broader subjects of colonization and how our past shapes up. It was a very original story, although I did feel slightly disoriented at times, especially when Jacob’s point of view merged with his grandfather’s. A fantastic read that deals with history and magical realism in a fresh, creative way.

TLDR: Nuclear Family is an engaging debut novel about family, generational trauma and identity. It marks Han as a rising literary star to watch.

An unusual story of a family that seems to have lost their place in their own world. When their son goes off to Korea, he also loses his place, so to speak. I had a little trouble getting into this one, but the writing is solid and the story should interest anyone with a desire to understand the Korean character.

Nuclear Family was not what I expected, and I mean this in the best way possible. It is a funny, sprawling, haunting novel that tells the story of several generations of a family, set in both Korea and Hawaii. I say haunting because there quite literally is a possession. Han's prose is sharp, prone to humorous turns. But it's the inventive story that does it for me. What a treat! Thanks so much to the publisher for an e-galley.

It’s easy to mistake stability for coasting and it’s pretty clear from the beginning of Joseph Han’s Nuclear Family that the Cho family is coasting. The elder Chos plan to expand their small Korean delicatessen but that dream has stalled in the face of competition. Neither of the younger Chos really want to carry on the family business. They don’t know what they want, really; they just know they don’t want to do that. When Jacob inexplicably decides to take a job in South Korea and even more inexplicably tries to run across the demilitarized zone to the North, everything falls apart for the family. This book, then, is a slow burn of directionless decline in which we can only hope that the four Chos can somehow find their paths forward.

Most of Nuclear Family is narrated by daughter Grace and son Jacob. There are brief passages narrated by their parents and grandparents that add a little more context to the family’s struggles in Korea during and after the war and, later, in Hawai’i. Of the two, Jacob’s story is much more interesting (to me, at least). His disorienting fall has a clear cause. You see, he’s being haunted (and sometimes possessed) by his long-lost grandfather, whose unfinished business has turned his spirit into a gwisin. His sister, on the other hand, is possessed by marijuana. The drug seems to be the only thing that keeps her from completely losing her grip, at the cost of detaching her from reality. I find reading from the point of view of inebriated characters difficult. It often strikes me as so much blather. This might be because I ran with a nerdy crowd in high school and college; we were all too busy reading to experiment with mind-altering substances.

While Jacob struggles to ditch his supernatural pest of a grandfather and Grace barely pauses between puffs from her vape pen, their parents find that their community—especially their fellow Korean emigrants—has turned on them. Their son’s bizarre run marks the Chos as traitors. The main branch of their delicatessen is the target of a thrown brick. The snubs and gossip are even worse. I felt for the elder Chos. To see their dream of financial independence and a future for their children evaporate in the face of public disapproval is heartbreaking. What was all that work for if it can disappear in an instant?

The ending of Nuclear Family offers some hope for the future but, like so many other works of literary fiction, there is still the possibility that something else will happen to send the family off the rails. It might not be a happily ever after and I appreciate that. The conclusion of this novel feels honest and satisfyingly hard-won.

The Cho family hopes to franchise their restaurants in Hawaii but run into unexpected work and life obstacles when their adult son tries to cross the DMZ into North Korea.