The book isn't excessively long but by the time I got to the end it felt long, if that makes sense. Because of the three alternating POVs I couldn't quite connect with any of the main characters. And the writing didn't feel full—too much telling and a choppy flow. But, I'm sure some readers will enjoy it and it will make a good movie.

Thanks to NG and the publisher for the ARC.

This was an absolutely beautiful story that I could not put down. There is such incredible momentum that one would not expect from the way the timelines unfold. The intersection of philosophy, history, science, and culture was expertly written here in a way I have never experienced. I love how every character is just a little unlikeable, but all of their flaws are incredibly human and well-intentioned. The use of philosophy and Kant to justify some of what otherwise would require a suspension of belief was perfect. This is a marvelous book and I can't wait to see the accolades it earns.

wow wow wow - I LOVED this book! Multigenerational family saga told in 3 parts from different perspectives - sign me up! I couldnt put this one down and will be telling everyone I know to read it. Not only does the language pull you in but the story itself is really interesting and makes you think about the choices you would make if you were in the characters shoes.

The Real Americas deals with topics like immigrant experience and exploration of personal identity - 2 intense topics, its a really approachable and readable book.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you to NetGalley and A. A. Knopf for the ARC!

Real Americans, a novel told by three generations in one family, is an ambitious fascinating story of fate, science, feelings, and family. It's hard to pinpoint the genre, it's a family saga, part historical fiction, science fiction, with a little magical realism thrown it. The first section is narrated by Lilly, a young Chinese-American woman starting her adult life in NY. She has a difficult relationship with her mother and considers herself unlucky. The second section is narrated by Lilly's son Nick, who is being raised in Washington State, where Lilly is now a single mother. The final section takes us back to China where we learn the story of May, Lilly's mother. As the novel goes on, we learn a lot about why the characters are they way they are. There is much to discuss here and it would make a great book club read. I have minor issues with the book, but not important enough that it gets in the way of a great read.

Thank you to @Knopf and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #RealAmericans. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This is multigenerational story about identity, belonging and family secrets. It's told from 3 different perspectives, but it doesn't follow a linear timeline and that made it more interesting to me.

The first narrator/timline is Lily, the American born daughter of Chinese immigrants. It's 1999 and she's starting her adult life in New York. She meets Matthew and falls in love. The next narrator/timeline is Nick, Lily's son. He's 15 and has lots of questions about the father he doesn't remember or know. Since Lily won't tell him anything, he searches on his own. The final narrator/timeline is May, Lily's mom. Her story arc starts in 2030 and bounces back to 1966 as she tells how she escaped communist China and came to America.

The underlying theme of scientific research and ethics as it relates to gene editing was fascinating as well. Would make a good book club read - so much to discuss.

Real Americans was engaging and interesting. It was a perfect cultural cleanse after reading so many thrillers. I liked seeing life through the eyes of different characters, especially Lily and Nico. I loved the romance between Matthew and Lily and really felt Nick’s angst. I was hooked on both of their stories. Unfortunately, it had to switch to Lily’s mother’s POV and that really took the wind out the storm’s sails. Sure, her story was important for the plot, but I slogged through it, feeling dejected that the book had been so good until I got to the last third. Still, it is a wonderful book, and the author has a gift with words and expressing the human condition. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had seen all the buzz about Goodbye Vitamin, but had never picked it up, so I was very excited to get approved for Real Americans to see what Rachel Khong is about. This is a sweeping family story from the lens of a Chinese American family who is pondering what is a Real American. Following three generations, the book begins during Y2K with Lily, a floundering 20 something trying to make it in New York City. She crosses paths with a wealthy man named Matthew and they fall in love. Lily is unsure of herself and doesn't feel like she's pleased her parents. We then are thrown into her son Nathan's story in present day. Nathan does not know who his father is and lives with his mother in a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Nathan is Chinese-American, but presents as blond haired, blue eyed and this causes him to wonder about who he is and who his father is. Nathan ultimately goes to school in NYC and begins a relationship with his father, throwing his relationship with his mother into a new realm. Finally, we go back to the 60s during Mao's Cultural revolution in China, to Lily's mother's story. She's a scientist at heart and uses this to escape to America. Her story is the catalyst for Lily and Matthew's romance and for their bearing of Nathan and to see how all of these interweave is masterful and poignant.

I was not expecting an infertility story line and there is a minor one here that play a big role in the ultimate plot, but it wasn't done in a way that was triggering to me. I think readers should know this before going in if that is something they are sensitive to.

I gave this 4 stars and really found the characters to seep into my soul. I finished this about a month ago and I'm still thinking about them.

Wow I loved this book! I had high hopes as a fan of Vitamin, but loved this one was more epic. I feel like the spread between the three generations was perfect - not too long, well paced- and i loved each of them in their own imperfect way. Will be recommending this one and cheering for its success hopefully both critically and commercially.

This is a well written novel, but I thought it was just too long, and also, I didn't care for the different points of view. If you like novels that span many decades, then this novel is for you. I think at least 150 pages should've been trimmed down. The story just dragged too much, and I didn't like every character. Rachel Khong is a talented writer, but I was hoping for a more shortened version. It's a mixed bag for me.

Thank you, Netgalley and Knopf for the digital ARC.

“Hearing a story — what did it accomplish? Nothing and everything.”

So much of our lives are out of our control, from where we are born to who our parents are. We didn’t choose to take after our father's eyes or our mother’s height. We didn’t choose to be born in a country with inherent privilege, while others were born in a country of immense repression and political turmoil. Or a family where I love you is said freely without hesitation, while for others, it can only be expressed through tough love.

All of these things make it difficult to accept how little agency we have in our lives. How much is fate, and what is within our control?

“But what if I’d been born someone else, a place where, whoever you were, you could make your own choices? That was all I wanted. Not a grand wish, just a fair one.”

‘Real Americans’ is split into three parts, following three generations within a family. We are taken across 70 years—from China during Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward to New York during Y2K and 2030, a not-so-distant future.

We see what happens when one decision to claim control of your family sends a rippling wave of consequences that question what lengths are justified for love and the common good. And what is exercising control beyond the boundaries of ethics?

This story is why I love multigenerational family sagas. In real life, we do not know all the decisions and circumstances that led to who our parents and grandparents are. We are forced to find answers to the secrets kept and the untold stories. So, it feels like a refreshing opportunity to be presented with a full lineage and see each generation blend into the next. My compassion often expands, and my criticisms are reduced.

I’m intentionally keeping the plot and characters vague as I think this story is best to know as little as possible and experience and uncover as you go.

So many things stood out to me—starting with the relationship with time and whether intentions can redeem the harm of one's actions. Hearing someone’s intentions makes you feel so much but changes so little. The veil and consequences of propaganda are strong in every country, whether we realize it or not.

This story has a lot of love, and all the different forms and shapes were hopeful and heartbreaking. Lastly, as the daughter of immigrant parents, the immigrant experience I always feel very emotional reading, and in this case, hearing about the Chinese diaspora was equally emotional and very layered.

“But it was a mistake, believing you could choose for someone else, no matter how well-intentioned you might be.”

I don’t think I’ve universally felt so much empathy for each main character in a story before. I have only positive things to say! I loved the ending. Every time I reflect, I pick up on something else I love. I cannot wait for more people to read.

I really enjoyed this unique story with science fiction elements. I loved the characters, and the plot unwound in a way that kept me intrigued, and ultimately made sense.

Lily struggles to find her place in the workforce after graduating from college, but she’s stuck as an unpaid intern doing graphic design work. Her parents May and Charles, first generation Americans who fled China, are scientists who don’t understand a daughter who is not interested in science herself, but such is the plight of many a young person striking out on their own. At a company party, she meets Matthew, an investment banker and the nephew of her boss, and they strike up a surprising friendship that turns into something more. Lily is swept into the glittering world of the ultrarich, where she is exposed to privilege beyond anything she could imagine. Matthew’s father Otto is the scion of Maier Pharmaceuticals, a company and legacy that Matthew has separated himself from for some reason. The couple hit rocky times as a result of personal hangups and insecurities around differing racial and socio-economic backgrounds, and they split up. They meet again after a long period of time, and recognize that despite their differences, they belong together. When Lily’s parents finally meet Matthew’s father and stepmother, it’s not until the day of the wedding. It’s only when Lily gives birth to their son, Nicholas, that Lily understands her parents and Otto Maier know each other, and that there is more to this story, hidden depths that will force Lily to make a life-altering decision.

I loved the flow of this story. While my summary of Lily’s section is relatively fluid, the book’s timeline eddies and curves around hidden histories. Part one tells Lily’s story; part two is about Nicholas; and part three is about May. It is only in the closing chapters of the book that the reader has a decent map of what has happened in these lives. The themes move from racial identity and white privilege to the fallout from China’s Cultural Revolution to the ethics of genetic modification. Khong displays an incredible ability to pace the story around each of the characters so that the reader can empathize with and scrutinize their actions in light of the historical context, then reframe this emotional response to encompass the revealed landscape. Added to this mix is a beautiful seed of magic. It’s been weeks since I finished this book, and I’m still finding my way around the symbolism in the lotus seed and its gift.

Reader Advisory: If you don’t know anything about the history of China, specifically around the Cultural Revolution, do yourself a favor and study up. The book will take you there, but you will benefit from developing your cultural competency by reading more about it.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Netgalley for access to the ARC. All opinions stated here are my own, and I don’t receive any remuneration for my review.

I am a super fan of Khong’s novel Goodbye, Vitamin and I was very eager to read Real Americans. It begins with a snippet of May’s life in 1966 Beijing during Mao’s Cultural revolution. She’s stealing a lotus seed from a museum. Part one is told from May's daughter, Lily’s point of view who is American-born, living in New York working at a crappy job with a micro-aggressive, racist boss. At an office party, she meets Matthew: confident, worldly, who sweeps her off her feet, although Lily is cautious of his wealth. In part two we move to Nick's point of view. He is Lily’s fifteen-year-old son who lives in the Pacific Northwest. It's 2021. Nick learns about his estranged father’s identity through genetic testing and after connecting with him, shifts his life trajectory. In part three we return to May in Beijing and discover how she ended up immigrating to the United States. The structure reminded me a bit of Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists; each main character has a section that carries through and once we leave them, we only see them through other characters’ points of view. This is a novel about cultural and national identity and the ways in which the repercussions of choices are passed along to the next generation. Overall, an enjoyable read. Thank you to Knopf and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

Long multigenerational family sagas are some of my most favorite books so I had high hopes for Real Americans. Sadly I was left feeling cold with no real connection to any of the characters. A lot of significant life events were skipped over in a few sentences putting me at a further distance from the characters and lacking any understanding about their motivations. So much of the writing was lacking introspection and read like fact after fact. I think the exploration of race and class dynamics could've been handled with a lot more nuance too. The sci-fi element also felt really unnecessary and gimmicky and I think it would've been a stronger story without it. All of that said, there were some glimmers of hope but ultimately I can't help feeling like this didn't live up to the potential. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to review.

I had not read this author's prior works before but after reading this, I will need to go back and read her backlist titles. This was a wonderful journey of a book. A story of family drama, family secrets and reckonings spun out over multiple generations and locations. This is a story of identity and of what makes you who you are. It's told through three viewpoints, each belonging to a single member of each generation of a family torn apart by heavy secrets that are revealed and come together bit by bit as the story unfolds. I just loved the structure of this story. The writing was excellent and it was easy to read. I liked how the reveals came when they did and I found each of the viewpoints fascinating in their own right.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for providing me an ARC for review!

Real Americans by Rachel Khong blew me away with its beautiful writing and honest portrayal of a family that suffers from the consequences of their actions.

The book is told through three parts. In the first part Lily and Matthew fall in love at the turn of the millennium, and it appears they will live happily ever after, but their happy ending is not to be. The second part begins with teenager Nick living on an isolated island in Washington with his single mother. Part three is the story of Mei, Lily's mother and Nick's grandmother. From 1965 to present day, this section sheds light on some of the plot points of the first part. I appreciated the order in which the story was told because it made some earlier things make sense.

The characters felt real and compelling as they each grew and changed over the course of the story. The touch of magical realism was subtle enough that if felt natural to the story. The resolution felt satisfying without being too pat.

I loved the writing, as evidenced by the many passages I highlighted. The book was a little philosophical and really made me think. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I will recommend this to readers who like literary fiction and family sagas.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor along with NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel Khong's writing voice is striking, beautiful, and so needed. You can tell the care and thought that went into writing this book.
The sweeping world that toes the line of fantasy and real life is enthralling and immersive. I fell in love with the world and it's characters.
This book both broke my heart and made it soar!

Multi generational plots are hard to keep interesting, and Real Americans is just… average. I didn’t feel much of an emotional connection to anyone in the family, it felt like I was just watching things happen to them and think this would have been a much stronger story if it took place within a tighter timeline.

Multigenerational epic family saga that had me turning pages. Told in three parts. The first part takes place in the 2000’s and tells the love story of Lily and Matthew. Lily is a first generation Chinese American and the daughter of two scientists. Matthew is from an extremely wealthy family. They marry and have a son together. In the second part, 15 years later Lily is no longer with Matthew and she is raising her son Nicky alone. What happened to their relationship? The last part tells May’s (Lily’s mother) story from childhood in China to immigrating to America and everything weaves together. Wonderful read!

Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the copy of Real Americans by Rachel Khong. This book started out great, but in the end wasn’t for me. I loved the bones of the story but there were parts that felt unnecessary and made the story longer without really adding anything to it. I also found the timelines confusing and I wish the chapters had shown the dates. I loved the way things wrapped up though and it made me wonder how the relationships evolved later! 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.