"Real Americans" by Rachel Khong follows Lily Chen, a young woman attempting to carve a path for herself in New York City during the Y2K era. When Lily meets Matthew, whose father runs a pharmaceutical empire, their vastly different upbringings seem to fade away as they fall deeply in love. Their narrative takes a jarring turn as the story jumps forward to 2021, where we meet Lily’s son Nick, who is determined to uncover the truth about the father he has no memory of. Nick delves into his mother’s secretive history, seeking answers to why she’s chosen to live an isolated life with just the two of them.

The reader is able to explore themes of privilege, race, and autonomy through the lens of Lily and Nick’s experiences. The contrast between Lily's humble upbringing and Matthew's life of luxury highlights the disparities between the haves and have-nots in society, while Nick's quest for self-discovery underscores the importance of understanding one's identity and heritage.

This was one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve given in quite some time. If you love books that explore identity, family dynamics, and a little bit of magical realism…this one is for you, too!

4.5 stars

It’s hard to define REAL AMERICANS. It’s a family drama, a romance, a coming-of-age story, and an exploration of the ethics of epigenetics, told within three distinct yet intertwined perspectives across time, in which the concept of time itself is a construct.

See what I mean?

I loved the narrative structure of this novel. The first part of the story is from Lily’s perspective and is from the late 90s/early 00s, the second part of the story is from her and Matthew’s son Nick about fifteen years in the future, and the third part of the story is told from Lily’s mother, Mei, and is both a flashback to Mei’s upbringing in communism China and a flashforward to her as an elderly widow.

The main characters were flawed, their internal struggles felt real, and their relationships were heartbreaking, infuriating, and endearing.

I was not expecting an element of magical realism in the construct of time, but somehow it fit. Just as the gaps within certain plotlines didn’t detract from the overall story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read Khong’s next story.

I loved this book! It was family saga but also mysterious in how all the characters were related to one another! It has a little bit of everything and I could not put this down!

This is one I’m going to have to sit with. I didn’t grip me as much as I thought it would, but I’ll definitely have to reread in a better mood. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you very much @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Real Americans by Rachel Khong. The story follows three generations of a Chinese American family, and goes back and forth in time. It starts out with Lily, raised by Chinese immigrant scientists, who marries Matthew, who comes from a rich and stuffy family. They have a son, who looks just like Matthew. Lily discovers some secrets, and leaves Matthew, taking Sam with her.
The story switches over to Sam as a teenager and young adult, who reconnects with his father after all the years. And finally, we learn about Lily’s parents and their history, and some family secrets.
It was a good family story, multigenerational and well developed characters. Some of the story lines were very unexpected! #therealamericans #rachelkhong #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

Real Americans is khongs much anticipated follow-up to goodbye vitamin and it does not disappoint. The story is told in three perspectives and traces a Chinese (and eventually chinese-American) family. Part 1 is told through lilys perspective at the dawn of the new millennium. Lily is the first generation child of Chinese immigrants and meets an American heir to a pharmaceutical fortune at a y2k. The two begin a love affair and end up welcoming a baby boy in the years following 9/11 in NYC.

We jump to part 2, told from lilys son, nick’s perspective during the covid pandemic. Nick is about to graduate high school and struggling with his mother and not knowing his father. Nick feels like he doesn’t fit with his mother and begins a mission to find his father. Nick eventually finds his dad, Matthew, who opens doors for him to a life of privilege in the Ivy Leagues, but still leaves him unfilled.

The third perspective is in the future and is told through lilys mother, Mays eyes in her last days, May reminisces on her abuse and poverty in china and what the American dream meant for her when she fled from china. May is filled with regret and spends her last days trying to reunite with lily and mend the family broken by the pursuit of the American dream in various ways.

This is a deceptively deep read. It is easy to follow and the characters are easy to root for and empathize with. However, the themes of movement, identity, family, Americanism, upward mobility, and race resonate much deeper than engrossing writing will initially lead the reader to believe. While I loved this book, it will take a re-read to truly grasp all the nuances of the message and meaning of the journeys the characters find themselves!
This deserves the praise and buzz it is receiving and will be one of the books of the summer!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the eARC!

This is my first exposure to Rachel's storytelling/writing and I was blown away. I immediately got sucked into reading this book, with not knowing what was going to happen next! It was such an intense and entertaining novel about one family's story spanning generations. It was original, intriguing, and left a lot to think about when it comes to what it means to be American if you're a BIPOC. I loved it and I can't wait to read more from Rachel. Highly recommend this!

Rachel Khong’s debut, “Goodbye, Vitamin,” was a breakout literary hit in 2017, and her latest novel, a sweeping, multi-generational tale, does not disappoint. The novel, told in three parts, opens in 1999 in New York City. Lily Chen, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, is graduating college in the spring and is adrift, lacking the passion that she believes would give her life meaning. She attends a holiday party at the online magazine where she interns and there she meets Matthew, who wins a flat screen television in a raffle. He insists that Lily take the television, and he delivers it to her apartment. On their first date, Matthew whisks Lily to Paris, and she learns that the handsome Columbia graduate is the heir to a pharmaceutical fortune. Lily is convinced that the relationship cannot last. “We weren’t right together; anyone could see that. What was the point of pursuing what didn’t make sense?” After a two year separation, Lily and Matthew resume their relationship. But, Lily is embarrassed that she and her Asian friends, all “hung off the arms of white men.” Despite her reservations, Lily and Matthew marry and, at the end of the section, welcome a baby boy.

The second section, which opens in 2021, focuses on Lily and Matthew’s son, Nick, who lives with his mother on a 37 square foot island off of Washington State, and who lacks the Internet or a cellphone. Nick, who looks just like the handsome rich White father he never knew, is trying to figure out what kind of a person to be. Because Nick’s best friend Timothy is a straight A student and a National Merit Scholar, so is Nick. When Nick broaches the subject of his father with his mother, Lily claims that “he didn’t want to come with us” and “he didn’t want you to go looking for him.” Nick surreptitiously makes contact with Matthew after he locates him through a DNA test. Nick enjoys the privileges of unlimited credit and a recognizable name, and is accepted to every Ivy to which he applies. He attends Yale, has typical struggles with friends and relationships, and becomes estranged from Lily.

The final part in the triptych is set in 2030 as the elderly May, Lily’s mother and Nick’s grandmother, reflects back on her life. She escaped abject poverty and sexual abuse in rural China through education. May is a scientist who survived Mao’s anti-intellectual campaigns and pursued a career in genetics in the United States. Although both of Lily’s parents were geneticists, her mother was a scientist “wholly and obsessively.” Her difficulty communicating with her American child “would always be insurmountable.”

May’s genetic tinkering — the concern for how we turn out the way we do — animates the book. The novel addresses issues of power, identity and how our lives are shaped by chance and by choice. Khong writes about class disparity, racism, and family dynamics. Her characters are doing the best that they can, but they often misunderstand one another and unintentionally harm other people in the process. Despite tackling these vast subjects as she seeks to uncover the “Real American,” Khong’s writing is so clear and engaging that it almost seems effortless. Thank you Knopf and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this propulsive and affecting novel.

Real Americans is part family saga and part historical fiction that follows three generations of Chinese Americans. We start off with Lily who works as an unpaid intern in NY in the late 90s and falls in love with Matthew, a wealthy heir to a pharmaceutical empire. Fast forward to 2021 to Lily’s son, Nick, who has grown up without knowing the identity of his father. Lastly, we jump to 2030 to follow Lily’s mother and Nick’s grandmother, May, a geneticist who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

This is a captivating family saga that plays with magical realism, which I thought was a brilliant addition. Khong moves between the perspectives of the three family members, weaving together the secrets they hold close and examining the betrayals and misunderstandings that led to their family being torn apart. I thought Lily’s storyline was the strongest and I could’ve read another 300 pages from her POV. Khong has a talent for creating a feeling of unease throughout the story and planting seeds for later revelations. A gripping and nuanced exploration of inheritance, race, class, identity, and forgiveness. Highly recommend!!

3.5/5 A story of family and how different generations struggle through issues of race, identity, and being American. This is a novel split into thirds, each from a different POV. I found the first section to be incredibly engaging and could have stayed with this story for the whole book. The second section has a completely different tone, and while not bad, it didn't completely keep my attention like the first section. There is a huge time jump and the protagonist from the first section loses her charm, which seems like a strange way to leave her. With the third section and POV change, I had mostly become disengaged from the story. It seemed to drag and I wanted to know what had happened to our other two characters. Overall, an interesting concept for a book, but with such a richly drawn first protagonist, it was hard to disengage and move on to the other two.

Happy pub day to Real Americans! And, if you’re interested in picking up a copy, it was just named a May BOTM pick - exciting!

My advice if you are interested in reading this is to stick with it. Real Americans is one of those long, sweeping generational stories, and, for me, the structure it used made it drag a bit. I actually almost DNFed it early on. But I’m glad I didn’t and you shouldn’t either! Even with my slight issue with the pace, the writing is strong throughout. And when it hooks you (and it will - it got me about 30% in), you will FLY through the rest of it because the story is unique and fascinating. Plus all the different characters’ timelines come together in a satisfying way.

All in all, I wasn’t sold immediately on this but I’m happy that I pushed through because this book is something special. Definitely give it a shot!

Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for this ARC

I could not put this book down. All of the characters are interesting and there are several surprising twists. Lily Chen is the only child of scientists who fled Mao's Cultural Revolution. Lily is raised in Tampa and her parents struggle to get by. Lily finds herself in NYC on the eve of Y2K where she works as an unpaid intern at a media company. She meets Matthew, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune and Lily and Matthew fall in love. Khong deftly connects the characters and weaves fascinating sub-plots. This novel is beautifully written and a pleasure to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Rachel Khong, and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I've been seeing so much buzz about Real Americans, and it is SO well deserved!! I hadn't read Khong's other book prior to reading this one, but I will definitely be seeking it out so soon. I was absolutely enamored by the writing and development of 3 generations of family members. This is a story that might feel familiar, but the treatment of events is unique. Told in 3 separate parts, each focused on a different character, the story of a familial line throughout generations unfolds. My one minor critique is that each character's story was so rich that I almost wanted an individual novel for each one to truly see more of their stories, especially May. Once we moved on from her part, I didn't feel like we got to see as much of her, and there was a period of years I would have liked to read about her experience first hand rather than being told what happened to her through a different character. However, this is such a minor critique and did not take away from my reading experience overall. I enjoyed Khong's discussions of what makes someone "American" and seeing how it was different for each generation. I thought the scientific discussion also added a unique element to the book that I wasn't quite expecting yet made it super unique. I will be thinking about this book for a bit and already see myself rereading it in the future.

The Real Americans is a family saga following Lilly, going to the future ( current day) with her son, and then traveling back to tell us her mother's story.

For me, this book was a roller coaster for reading. It was slow and dragging, then sped up, then dragged again. The shifting POVs generally helped speed it up, but several times I wondered what this book was about because it seemed to be dragging on. The multiple POV’s were nice, but they ( well, at least Lilly and Nick/Nico’s ended abruptly and left me wondering and honestly confused as I tried to put the pieces together.

Overall, this is a slow but interesting read. If you like fast-paced stories, then this is not for you, but for other lovers of generational saga’s , this is a good one, although at times it was a bit tedious.

When I received the ARC of Real Americans I knew I was hopefully in for something great. I loved Goodbye, Vitamin so fingers were crossed. Well I'm happt to report that Real Americans is a fantastic book that will end up on my top ten list of 2024. It's a story about who we are and what makes us. A woman who meets a wealthy man that she didn't know was wealthy. They fall in love and then break up and then get back together. A son is born and then if I say anything else it will rin the book. I'll just say he goes on his own journey like his mother to find out who he really is and why his mom is the ways she is. It is beautifully written and is an absolute page tuner. I loved this book so much that I bought a physical copy of the book because I want to share it with the people that need to read this story. This is a perfect book for a book club because each character will touch you depending on who you are. There will be some who hate the mother, son, and father and that is what is so great. Your emotions switch as you read the book. I hope you all read this review and run out and but this incredible book!! Thank you to #netgalley and #knopf for the arc.

Loved this book so much. I had a lot of other ones I was "supposed" to finish first but I skipped them for this one. I loved the characters, the way the story moved, and pretty much everything about it. So much to think about. So much you could discuss. The author handled tough topics with grace.

I should have paid more attention to the Title (as I received mine before it had a cover) and it makes sense, but there is SO much more to the story than the title suggests.

Top book club pick for 2024!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. I only give about 30% of all my NetGalley posts 5 stars, and they have all been pre-screened as something I think I'd love. #sponsored

Real Americans by Rachel Khong is truly a freaking masterpiece!
This amazing intergenerational family drama captivated me from start.
I mean the writing is just so well done here.
I literally couldn’t stop once I started.
One of the best books I’ve read here recently…. compelling story, complex characters, raw emotion, and beautiful prose.
I can’t wait to read more of Khong’s work in the future.

Thank You NetGalley and Knopf for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

What a wonderful book this is! So moving and engrossing. I liked that the story, being told from the point of view of three characters, was basically divided into three sections, rather than moving back and forth between them. At the end of each “section,” I was sorry to leave that character, only to then be fully engaged in the next section and character. I really loved it, and I think there will be a large audience for this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A masterfully done family saga that is both expansive and deeply felt. Told in 3 parts, I couldn’t put this book down. The writing is excellent and goes down easily while the characters are fully drawn. I’d recommend readers go in as blindly as possibly to fully appreciate how the story unfolds, so I’ll keep my review short for that reason! Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Real Americans is a multigenerational story about a Chinese American family, told in three parts that each focus on a character of a different generation. It’s an ambitious book that covers a lot of ground and smartly explores questions of race and wealth and the relationships between parents and children. The writing felt effortless but smart. I would even describe the first two sections as captivating. Sadly, the third section dragged for me, which I’ve heard from other reviewers too, although there were still impactful and memorable parts of that section. I think my biggest qualm was the small element of magical realism that could have been completely skipped, and the a big reveal/revelation that left me wanting more. Those ideas had potential but needed to be explored more and left me feeling unsatisfied. Still, overall I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it! I read Khong’s debut, GOODBYE, VITAMIN, a few years ago and it didn’t make much of an impression, but REAL AMERICANS won me over and I will happily read whatever Khong writes next!

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.