Real Americans is a true generations family drama, told in three parts by three different generations of the family. I loved Lily’s part, got a little bored in Nick’s, and then loved May’s at the end which tied everything together. In additional to the typical roots of family trauma, there is a sci-fi aspect to this one that honestly went a little over my head, but added a compelling element to the story.

The writing is incredible and I’ll keep picking up anything Khong writes.

I’m very torn about my thoughts on this book: on one hand, I thought it was beautiful and emotional, and on the other hand, I feel like I didn’t understand it.

The writing is phenomenal. We follow the lives of three relatives: Lily; her son, Nick; and her mother, May. We dive deeply into the lives of each, and I found myself so attached to every character, feeling tense when they were in trouble and happy when , they encountered luck. They are such well, rounded characters, you root for them because they are good people, but we are also privy to parts of them that are not entirely complementary. Especially the part about May, which leans well into historical fiction which is not my typical preferred genre, had me completely hooked.

And yet, there was a throughline of science and time that I just couldn’t grasp. There was a recurring theme about time standing still, and I struggled to understand whether it was real or some sort of science fiction. And the plot that related to genetics went completely over my head.

The book was masterfully written and highlights the question about what it means to be a real American – is there even one definition. Were any, or all, of our three protagonists real Americans? This was a beautiful multi generational story that raises so many questions about identity, family, and success, and I won’t soon forget it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy and exchange for my honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This started out strong - but I quickly grew frustrated.

-The first main character, Lily, is so immature, bland, and self sabotaging. I love an anti-hero, but she was just void of any personality, ambition, passion, or saving grace. I didn’t get a strong sense of her at all - she was fickle about her attitude about microaggressions and using Matthew’s wealth. Then she felt like a completely different character in the context of being Nick’s mom - yet another inconsistency. Both Lily and Mae were so unlikeable, it was hard to be empathetic toward their masochistic, whining cycles.

-The one-dimensional white saviors Matthew and Nick were unfortunately the heroes of the story - repeatedly offering grace, money, and forgiveness to the actual intended protagonists. Each plot point was pushed forward by the white men, which made me uncomfortable. It definitely felt like I was reading The Help. Isn’t this 2024? I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was written by a white guy.

This was a stunning multi-generational novel! I was completely captivated from the start and equally fascinated by all three storylines/POVs as well as the historical and scientific aspects. The writing was emotional, mesmerizing and thought-provoking; I didn’t want to put it down and I know I will thinking about it for a while! The questions it posed about identity, belonging, the choices we make, family, destiny, class (I could go on!!) were instantly relatable. Along with The Women, this one will likely end up in my top reads of 2024 list and highly recommend it for AANHPI month!

I really have some mixed feelings about this novel. While I find it to be quite riveting, somehow the story overall fell short of my expectations. Real Americans follows the story of 3 generations of a Chinese-American family starting with Lily, the daughter of Chinese parents who emigrate to the US. This was not only a story of race and family but one of genetics, too. Overall the story felt unfinished and what could have been a stellar book was just good.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this ARC.

How do you rate a book that doesn't quite deliver on its promise, and yet is still a riveting read?

Told through the perspectives of three generations of a family, Real Americans follows Lily as she finds the love of her life, Nick through his high school and college days as he gains independence, and Mei in her old age as she recounts what really happened all those years ago.

Of the three accounts, I feel like Lily's and Nick's boil down to coming-of-age stories, no matter how you try couch it in fancier, more racially-interesting terms. And I think that's where my mismatched expectations resulted in some disappointment. I was expecting more of a deep dive into what it means to grow up Chinese-American, but this only just scratches the surface.

The book tries to tackle so many worthwhile subjects—what it means to belong, a mother's love and expectations for her child, immigration and assimilation, having wealth and privilege, affirmative action, racism. You name it, it feels like it's in this book. If you're thinking to yourself, wow that's a lot, yes it is. And maybe that's the problem.

With so many topics, how do you achieve a meaningful look into any one of them? Well, I'm not sure you can. You can only superficially acknowledge them for a few pages, or even just a paragraph here and there, and that's about it. Every time I came across an interesting observation, I'd get excited, only to have the book immediately abandon it and move onto the next thing.

Throughout the whole story, there is this feeling that the good part is coming and I'm imminently about to stumble upon it. And this feeling propelled me through the book. I kept turning the pages, waiting with anticipation at what were sure to be astonishing revelations. But they never really materialized to my satisfaction.

I did find Mei's portion to be the most interesting and compelling. Hers was more than just a coming-of-age tale. She talks about what it's like to grow up during the Cultural Revolution, at a time of famine, when neighbor turned on neighbor, and every sort of intellectual aspiration was viewed as a punishable offense. I can't help but be drawn towards this part of Chinese history. It was the defining event of my parents' youth, yet they hardly ever talk about it.

The other interesting part of Mei's tale is the focus on the science that is central to this book, especially the ethics of gene editing and selection. But here again, it feels like the story got just close enough to tantalize, then immediately backed off, as if afraid to take anything other than a superficial stance on a potentially controversial topic.

I did want to mention the writing style. It came across as rather choppy at first, with lots of random observations and intense bursts of information, all the while keeping the reader at arm's length emotionally. It was a bit jarring initially, but then I hardly noticed anymore after a few chapters. So either I acclimated to it or the writing smoothed out. Either way, if you're having trouble at the start, don't let it prevent you from going a little further.

The entire time reading this book, I could feel the potential. There was this electric buzz that at any moment, this was going to become an amazing read. And it almost got there, but then somehow it didn't. Underneath this riveting story, there is a missed opportunity to really say something new and insightful about a host of worthwhile topics. Instead, this book skirts around them, giving brief nods to all but never more than that. It wasn't as good as Goodbye Vitamin, but I'm glad I read it.

Excellent excellent excellent. The alternating POCs kind of lost me and it lessened the suspense aspect of the book; I feel like it was too many POVs. I enjoyed how intricate this plot was and all the characters had so much going to. Mei was not just Lily’s mom but someone with demons to battle and living in a constant state of change: Mao Zedong in China, US, leaving the love of her life, working as a scientist and looking for answers when there seems to be none. I also really felt for Nick. He seemed so tortured and also the whole truth reveal is a helluva burden. Out of all parts, I feel like starting off with Lily was a smart choice bc after we heard from Mei and Nick, we see that there’s so much more than what Lily knows. I feel mixed feelings about the ending but it definitely gave me all the feels.

American-born Lily Chen was brought up in New York by her Chinese immigrant parents to be "real American" both culturally and in everyday life. When she meets and falls in love with Matthew, a Caucasian from a ultra wealthy pharmaceutical family, she is hesitant but marries him and they have a child, Nico. From there on, the real American Lily continues to face the stages of contemporary life - marriage, divorce, single motherhood, estrangement from family. Her aging scientist mother completes the cycle - widowhood, old age, family estrangement, 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, in detail., a past that precipitated their migration to the United States.

There is an element of fantasy in one part of the "real America" story of Lily's parents, who were chasing the scientist's dream of DNA research to eradicate flaws from humans in order to have human perfection. This again seems to fit the modern "real American" dream of 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 a "real American" can mean.

A beautiful and important multi-generational story. This book was told in three parts, spanning decades, focusing on three main characters; a mother, her son and his grandmother. The timelines jump around a bit and none of the stories are told in full, but this feels like a complete saga despite the gaps. I devoured Lily & Nick’s stories but admittedly got lost a bit in the science of Mei’s story. I’ve never been much of a science gal so forgive me! There is also a bit of a sci-fi/magic element that didn’t totally work for me but served to develop the story. Overall it was a beautiful read about family, ancestry, and humanism. It highlights the way our lives are shaped by the luck of our circumstances and I think opens up a lot of conversation topics

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

Such an important and unique novel that asks the very real question....What does it take to be a real American? Told through the complicated voices of Chinese American women and men, there is a mystery hiding in the telling. Hidden away and almost impossible to solve. I loved it.

- I hardly even know how to review REAL AMERICANS. It’s a multigenerational masterpiece that I could not put down.
- Khong guides us through three generations, back and forth in time and place as each POV character tries to sort out their place and purpose in the world.
- There are a few excellent plot twists as well as callbacks, items and motifs repeating through the generations, but never in an over the top way.
- There’s also a slight sprinkle of sci-fi/fantasy in the story, and it’s so satisfying when those threads come together.

Thank you to Knopf for the copy! Every time I come across something beautiful, albeit a movie or a flower or a book, I always wish I could go back in time and erase the memory of my first encounter with it — to understand how it feels to consume the beautiful thing all over again. Real Americans feels like all the wonderful things that I've begged to return to, all the rawness I'm running towards.

Rachel Khong threads together three generations' worth of stories: from Lily, the twenty-something daughter of Chinese immigrants whose life feels untethered at the seams, particularly in comparison with her opulent and eventual spouse, Matthew; to Nick, Lily and Matthew's teenage son who at this point has never had contact with his father due to his parents' separation; to Mei, Lily's mother, now at the tail-end of her life.

The narration alongside the differing timelines was effortlessly intertwined — every story was so tender in its own way and only made more compelling by its narrative placement. Nick's perspective specifically was so very touching. His character feels the most fleshed out (or perhaps we just see more of his development throughout high school to college), and it all feels very honest and grossly nostalgic as though I were looking through my own yearbook. Nick is terribly introverted and codependent on his best friend who's adversely a pure charmer and inevitably a social butterfly when they get to college. Through the years, Nick struggles with his placement in every corner of his life, with school and relationships and identity, blaming his mother even for his social incapacities and separation from his father. In a way, the sentiments of Nick's story reminded me of Connell from Normal People, especially with their similar arcs of reconciling with depression and scraping by to survive it. When Nick's part in the book came to an end, I felt sore with a sort of growing pain like a pulled tooth that wasn't ready yet to fall out. But to have this story of an American boy born from a highly powerful family come right before the backstory of a teenage girl in 1970s China — jarring and frankly perfect.

It would be remiss to talk at length about Nick's timeline without waxing on about Mei's. Like many immigrants, the stories of home are comprised of untenable struggles, but also of an intimacy that America could never come close to bridging. Mei's story is filled with a particular suffering that Asian daughters know closely, but her perseverance leads her to discovering her passion for science and education — which of course acts a backbone for this story's core: what makes someone a real American, a real anything?

At its heart, Real Americans illustrates the deep agony of having to endlessly prove our belonging in places that refuse us at every turn, which in itself is a sort of grief made inexorable by generational trauma.

5/5 - very beautiful

I adored Rachel Khong's 2017 debut, Goodbye, Vitamin and she's back with a sophomore novel that's more ambitious and even better than her debut (5 stars and will likely be one of my favorite books of 2024)! It's also very different than Goodbye, Vitamin. Real Americans is a sprawling, multi-generational family story which begins with Lily Chen around the time of Y2K. Lily is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who left China during the Cultural Revolution. Lily meets Matthew at a company party in New York and their relationship forms the center of this story, which also features their son and Lily's parents. Though this novel is big and covers a lot of ground, I flew through it in just a few days. In her Author's Note, Khong says this story is about fortune, but it's also about what it means to be an American, genetics, class, immigration, race, love, and family. And, this doesn't feel overwhelming because, first and foremost, Real Americans is just about Lily and Matthew and their family. The structure is really interesting and reminded me of Greenwood by Michael Christie. Each time period is covered from the perspective of a different family member and, through this, you learn the motivations for actions that have taken place earlier in the book. One caveat: there is a short Prologue (but it's not called a Prologue) titled "Beijing 1966" that feels totally different than the rest of the book. It does tie into the story thematically, but the vibe feels very different. So, keep reading even if you don't love that introductory chapter.

Wow. This book had a very slow start for me, but once I was able to connect all the characters, invest in their journeys, and emotionally tie myself to them, this book took me through an emotional roller coaster. Each character (I don’t want to use names and spoil) had their own demons that followed them until the very end, but watching Real Americans tie together made the payoff so worth it. I will highly recommend Real Americans to my friends.

Thanks NetGalley!

The first third was a 4, the middle section was a 3.25, and the last section was like, a 2.5 - it felt slow and I didn't love it. I enjoyed this overall but it started stronger than it finished, IMO. If you enjoy a multigenerational family saga, I'd still try it. 3.5ish stars

I tried really hard to get into this one, but I just wasn't able to. I am still really thankful to the publisher, author, and netgalley for granting me advanced access to this digital collection before publication day.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel as multi-generational, immigrant stories are very plentiful these days. Khong sets the last section in the near future and makes it the story of the first generation character. This clever layering, really allows the reader to grasp the whole development of gene therapy and the modern day ethical questions it raises. The story has its flaws-some big plot gaps and the ending is very abrupt, but all in all, a very entertaining and thought provoking story. I wish she had shed more light on the Matthew character.

Real Americans was different than I expected, and a bit too long, but overall, I enjoyed it. The book is structured as a three-part story, telling the experiences of three generations of a family. While it sometimes felt like it was tackling too many topics at once, making it a bit overwhelming, the narratives were compelling and thought-provoking. My favorite was Mei’s story at the end—it was beautifully written. A solid read that offers a rich and insightful perspective on family and heritage.

Told through the perspectives of three generations of an immigrant family, Real Americans follows Lily, navigating post-college life and finding the love of her life; Nick, trying to find his way and himself through high school and college; and Mei, recounting her escape from (and the aftermath of) Mao's Great Leap Forward.

I had a difficult time diving into Khong's writing: at times it felt especially choppy and jarring; why were these seemingly random observations necessary? As the narration progressed (about the time I reached Nick's story), it was no longer as distracting and I was more than happy to have stuck with the book. Similarly, I found that instead of focusing very well on a few subjects, Khong tried to speak to too many: of the many themes found throughout Real Americans, the most compelling was that of a mother's love and hope for their child.

That being said, Mei's was my favorite story of the three. Her account delves beyond mere coming-of-age, offering poignant reflections on growing up amidst the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. This period of history, often overlooked, provides a compelling backdrop that resonates deeply.

Throughout the book, there's a palpable sense of untapped potential. While Khong's story teases with moments of brilliance, it ultimately falls short of delivering the profound insights it promises. Real Americans flirts with significant themes but ultimately shies away from delving deeply into them, leaving readers longing for a more substantive exploration.

I am so torn on this book. The concept was great. The execution was… sloppy.

The multigenerational, multi-narrator structure felt backwards to me. I think the author told the most important story last as an attempt to build suspense and intrigue. If the third narrative arc had been first though, we would have gotten crucial history and details to make the whole story make sense. Instead, I felt lost (and a little bored) through scenes that should have felt more emotional.

There were some really beautiful lines throughout the book. And it shared such a unique, visceral view of growing up as an outsider in America (and then later in China). If you have the patience to navigate a meandering storyline (and the memory to retain important information over literal decades), then you should give this book a try.

Note that it’s very different from the author’s first book Goodbye, Vitamin.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy!