Using the character of Nick Chen, in “Real Americans” Rachel Khong weaves a tale spanning three generations. Along with earlier fiction writers Bette Bao Lord and Camron Wright, she touches on Mao Zedong’s cultural revolution. She then writes about the subsequent migration of a fictional Asian couple who are scientists to the United States.

Some people imagined in the 1960s that genetic and epigenetic traits could be engineered into the cells using in vitro fertilization. Why should a fetus carry genes that risked it having a harmful disease when some scientists like the ones in Rachel Khong’s novel were manipulating their children’s genes using intravenous drips so they would be disease-free and look and act like a specific parent?

Nick Chen goes looking for his American father Matthew in New York when he is considering applying to Yale for college after living with his Asian mother in Washington state most of his life.

This book covers what happens when he finds him and how it affects his life.

The magical element in this novel feels out of place. It's inserted randomly and detracts from the original theme of Chinese individuals striving to assimilate, survive, and gain acceptance in a profoundly racist America.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is a multi-generational saga encompassing ideas of what it might mean to be "American" while maintaining individual and cultural identity. Three main characters take the narration lead throughout story - Lily, Nick and Mei. The novel starts with Lily, but as the story starts to get more interesting, there is an abrupt jump to Nick much later in years. The same type of transition happened from Nick's story to Mei. I appreciate that you were not supposed to find out how everything weaved together until the ending parts. However, I felt the jumps in time led to a more difficult time connecting the relationships between the three main characters, and and there remained gaps that I wanted to know more about, The character's relationships with each other also had very abrupt starts and finishes and restarts. I found the genetics storyline interesting to a point, but then there was not enough detail to grasp how that had worked. i enjoyed the book, but these are the elements that kept it from being a higher rated read for me.

Real Americans is a muti-generational story by Rachel Khong about a family of Chinese immigrants to the US and their complex experiences in both the US and China. The story is very well written and the characters have depth and you can feel their pain, indecision, joy, and love throughout the novel. I very much enjoyed finding out how all of the stories weaved together and watching the characters interact over time.

Real Americans is a beautifully written novel exploring family, belonging, finding your place in the world and what makes someone a “real American.”
The book is broken up into 3 parts: a mother, a son and a grandmother and their respective relationships with an elusive family of billionaires they are intertwined with. I loved exploring each of their perspectives and learning how each of their experiences informed the experiences of the other characters. There was one plot point that was a little too convenient that bothered me but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. It was a very engaging and engrossing read.
Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Who gets to decide who you are? With lush language rivaling the beauty of the setting, Khong weaves a tale of belonging for the ages - and for our times. Fans of literary fiction will adore this.

I have mixed feelings about Rachel Khong’s “Real Americans”. I hadn’t read her earlier work before and I wasn’t sure what this story was about, but the title intrigued me. Told in three parts from the perspective of three generations in a family. Part one deals with the 2nd generation, May. Lily was born and raised in the US not speaking a word of her parents’ native language, Chinese and knowing nothing of her cultural heritage. Nick is her biracial son. And May is Lily’s mother, who came to age in China during the Cultural Revolution and escaped to America with her fellow-scientist husband. The transitions between the sections were abrupt and being suddenly launched ahead in time to Part II was confusing, although I was better prepared when Part III took us back to China in the 1960s.

I found many parts of the story line unbelievable, but fiction is like that, and we have to accept the impossible usually does happen in fiction. Sure, the statistical probability of Nick’s parents meeting each and marrying were probably zero, but I can accept that. And I can’t comment on the accuracy of the science portrayed. But other things in the story rankled me. The speed and success of May’s parents to master English and completely forgo Chinese was one. And I felt somewhat irritated by quite a few instances mentioning the WMAF relationships in this book, which I do know is a thing. But as a person who has been in nearly a five-decade long WFAM relationship with bicultural/biracial children and grandchildren, I felt the book perpetuated quite a few stereotypes.

I think if the story held together better, I would have overlooked what I saw to be flaws, but it didn’t quite make it for me. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this copy. Despite not loving this book, I will definitely give Rachel Khong’s other book a try.

Three generations of a very interesting family are our “Real Americans.” May, the mother of Lily, is a Chinese scientist who was lucky to come to America to practice in her field. May and her husband have raised Lily to be so American that Lily speaks no Chinese and has never been to China. Lily, estranged from her mother, marries a very wealthy man but decides that she needs to raise their son away from all that wealth. Nick, the son, wants to know about his father, but Lily provides no answers to his questions.

Threaded into this story of how these three come together are two themes. One is the excitement of making new scientific discoveries (and finding funding for them) and the drive to explore even further. Since the scientific field in question is epigenetics, there are definite ethical questions, which form an important part of the story. The other theme is money. How much is too much? When should one be satisfied? How this all plays out for May, Lily and Nick makes for a very affecting and thought-provoking story.

Couldn't put this one down. The structure of the story felt unique between different family members. I found myself curious about the others while still completely engrossed in the current. This book could have been 200 more pages and I would have been happy.

Real Americans gives us the story of a Chinese family trying to assimilate into American society. We hear from three generations of family members. The first is Lily who is the second generation. The next is Nick, Lily's son, as he becomes an adult. The last POV is that of Mei who is Lily's mother. The story spans over decades and in different cities which keeps things interesting. I enjoyed Lily's story the most. I felt it was most representative of the struggles of fitting into a racist America as well as the struggles of motherhood. Mei's story was the most confusing as it starts to broach into a sci-fi story. I felt that took away from the overall theme of the book. I still very much enjoyed this story and it's 5 stars for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up, mostly on the strength of the premise.

I loved the ideas that Khong is interrogating in this book: how far should we go with science? how far can/should we go to protect our children? what is the American dream? can we combat the privilege people (rich white men, in particular) are born with and into? should we?

But the execution felt a little flat to me. What I loved most from Khong's first book, Goodbye Vitamin, were the way the characters felt real -- imperfect, emotional, authentic, whatever word that makes you understand I felt like I was spying on real lives reading that book. This book, in contrast, made me feel like I was watching a morality play or reading an Agatha Christie novel, always watching for clues and waiting for the final lesson or reveal. The structure didn't help: as soon as I felt pulled into one character's story, we switched perspectives. At the same time, there were characters we never really get into whose perspectives I wanted more of. Giving us Matthew's internal thoughts along with Lily's or Sam's POV alongside Nick's, for example, I think would have allowed Khong to more clearly show us potential answers to the questions this book poses, instead of telling us.

I'll keep reading Khong. I like the way her mind works, and her writing is strong.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

As a fan of Rachel Khong's Goodbye Vitamin, I was really excited for her follow-up novel. While nothing like GV, Real Americans stands on its own as a unique story following a Chinese American young woman in NYC, her parents life back in China, and her son's life in America. With a small magical realism element, flashbacks, and fully drawn characters with real and believable flaws, this novel is wonderful.

Told in several distinct parts, we get to know many different characters deeply as we learn why they made the choices they did and come to understand them as people. This is my favorite kind of novel, as we don't love every character, but we do understand them and sympathize with them. I cannot wait to hear what more people think about Real Americans!

Real Americans is a multigenerational novel that spans three decades, two countries, and three POV’s. The book opens in the days leading into Y2K in New York City when 22 year old Chinese American Lily meets Matthew—a white American man, and seemingly falls in love. What follows is their story, their parents’ story, and the story that came before. The book deals heavily with the immigrant experience, assimilation, and identity. Khong delves into the experience of being white passing—an Asian American inhabiting a white body, as well as being a person of color and what it means to be American. What it means to be family and how far you’ll go to lay the foundation down for future generations is posed throughout the novel—and do parents have the right to make big decisions that could permanently alter their children’s lives, in the name of doing good?

The overarching theme of the book that is all tied together in the third section, is time—how much, or how little we have, depending on how you look at it. What will we do with our time here? How will we make our lives matter? How will we use our time to do good?

I recommend this book to children of immigrant parents who want to better understand their whys—to fans of sweeping family sagas, to those who love nuanced, well fleshed out characters, and fans of fiction with a touch of magical realism.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong is a three generation, two continent, philosophically and scientifically probing tale. The novel opens on the eve of the new millennium with Y2K fears and ends several years out, in 2030. Events span the US continent, from Long Island to Vashon Island to Florida, with a China and Hong Kong backstory. The morality and repercussions of genetic engineering come up for scrutiny. Despite the big issues at stake, the story told from three different points of view, is entertaining and easy to follow. Excellent writing, plus a satisfying ending, not too pie-in-the-sky yet everything resolved, make this fairly long book worth the time to read.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Goodbye, Vitamin so I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Real Americans. Such a captivating multi-generational family story; I loved the character development throughout the book and Khong’s writing is strong and compelling. One of my favorite reads of 2024 — 4.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A multi-generational story that hinges on questions of inherited trauma, fate, and power, Real Americans is an immersive family story that left me saying to myself "wow" when I finished the last page. Comprised of three POVs from three generations of a Chinese-American family, this novel digs deep into questions of what truly defines a family, how early traumatic experiences can be passed down to the next generation, and where these codified transfers of life experience are tied to genetics or merely to shared life experiences. Khong is a beautiful writer, and there were passages in this story that I would re-read multiple times simply because they were so beautiful they warranted a second or third take.

The philosophical questions raised about epigentics and how far is too far in the world of genomic testing was thought-provoking and provided another complex layer to this story of three family members - who each interpreted their role/experience in this new frontier of genetics differently based on world events and the current state of scientific study. The only element that may have been a bit superfluous was the touch of magical realism that involved freezing moments of time - but possibly Khong integrated that as another potential question for the reader to further ponder about what types of experiences and trauma can be passed on to future generations.

The net-net is that this is a must read, atmospheric novel that readers will savor and keep thinking about long after they finish. Highly recommend! Thanks to Net Galley and Knopf for my advance copy. All opinions noted here are my own.

4.5, rounded up.

(Received an ARC for this book.)

I love a sweeping family saga always and this book did not disappoint (I read it in two nights). I haven't read Goodbye, Vitamin so I wasn't familiar as with the author but now I'm a total fangirl. The story was super fascinating with some bananas twists that actually added to the story vs. detracting from it and the characters felt real and lived-in. Definitely put this on your pre-order or hold list for April ASAP; I predict it's going to be VERY popular. #RealAmericans #NetGalley

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I really loved this book! It's about a big family with lots of stories to tell, and I couldn't put it down. The way the story switches between different characters kept me interested, having to read during any work break I got. Rachel Khong talks about important topics like what it means to be a good person and a good American, as well as multigenerational family dynamics, which really got me reflecting on my own experiences as a first-generation American to Filipino immigrant parents. Even though the book talks about some complicated things like being an immigrant and figuring out personal identity, it's written in a way that's beautiful and easy to understand. I think it would be perfect for a book club! And, as someone who has an educational background in science, I was impressed by how accurate the science parts were. Overall, I totally recommend this book - I had a great time reading it!

This multigenerational story pulled me right in and kept calling me back. There were so many issues packed in, with each generation struggling to find their identity as they approached adulthood... and trauma beging passed from one to the next. The struggles with race and the immigrat experience were dealt with realistically. This saga will keep you thinking long after you put the book down.

I can't give you a simple reason why I requested Real Americans from Netgalley. The cover was interesting, I haven't read anything by Rachel Khong, but I am a big fan of multi-generational novels. This one spans three generations of a Chinese-American family beginning with Mei, her daughter Lily, and Lily's son Nick. The book is divided into parts with each one centered on a different protagonist. I'll admit that there were times that I felt a bit confused and wondered what had gone on in the intervening years, but it all comes together in Mei's section at the end. There were some aspects concerned with science (science fiction?) that I found distracting but the overall story was an intriguing one. The author writes in simplistic yet descriptive prose that is a pleasure to read. I was especially interested in Khong's idea of making decisions for your children, and what can happen even when you have only good intentions.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on April 30, 2024.