Writing: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Plot: 3.5/5

An exploration of how we become who we are (nature vs nurture and all the permutations) through the stories of three generations of a single family: Lily — raised American (down to the bologna sandwiches she took to school) by her immigrant Chinese parents; her son Nick who looks almost completely like the rich, white father he never met, and not Chinese at all; and Lily’s mother May, who escaped from China during the Cultural Revolution with broken teeth and broken English — and a sharp mind trained in genetic research. Into this mix roam themes of wealth and poverty, racial inequalities, and the ethics of gene editing.

The book held my interest throughout — it’s a plot that thoroughly covers all sorts of interesting times and places from Mao’s cultural revolution to a pharmaceutical empire and across the different stages of an individual’s lifespan. Lily and Nick’s stories felt more real to me. May’s story felt more like a recap of documented history — all true but it didn’t feel like someone’s personal experience to me in the same way the others did (this could be my problem). I liked the depiction of the science, and I thought the descriptions of relationships — with the true intentions, unrealistic expectations, and the heaviness of eventual disappoints — felt genuine. I was sad that these genuine seeming relationships included several people not speaking to others for decades, rather than trying to work through the problems — a sad waste of love. I’m honestly not sure what the overall message of the book was — I get the ethical dilemmas the book (adeptly) portrayed, but I had a hard time understanding what led to individuals literally breaking off all contact with the most important people in their lives. I’m open to someone explaining this to me!

I really wanted to like this book! I’m usually a sucker for magical realism and complicated family dynamics, but this book had too many flaws for me to enjoy it.

Although the prose was excellent, the plot was drawn out and the book was far too long. There were side plots and anecdotes that ended up being completely pointless or falling flat. Even the slight twists and the resolution were not all that satisfying because I just didn’t care enough about the characters what with all the distractions. Additionally, the magical element of the story was thrown in pretty haphazardly instead of being woven in. The premise was interesting but poorly executed. The speculative aspect about the future of technology and the ways it may go awry was reminiscent of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, which in my opinion was better than this book but not a favorite of mine either by any means.

The positives were that I gained insight on race and class and there were some nice one-liners.

Thank you to Net Galley and Knopf for the eARC.

i enjoyed most of this novel. it is very well written, but the first section was absolutely my favorite. lily is such a compelling woman, and her struggles with motherhood after birth are so heartbreaking and brilliant. i didn't care much for nick. i cared even less for mei's story. the magic aspect of this novel just doesn't work. it's thrown in so haphazardly and takes away from the original theme of chinese folks trying to assimilate/survive/be accepted into a terribly racist america.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

REAL AMERICANS |

Told in 3 POVs, REAL AMERICANS sucks you in and won't let you go.

It started from the POV of a young ABC American born Chinese woman who like many are seen as foreign but have grown up here all their life. She feels very average without any clear indication of what her life's passion should be. She's just graduated from NYU and feels unremarkable compared to her mother and what her mother's accomplished. Until she meets a young, hot, ultra wealthy white man, the type who can whisk her away to Paris on a whim after dinner.

I'll stop there. But the first section felt like a daydream. You're luxuriating in what she's getting introduced to, leaning into the decadence but also not really clear on where this is going.

Ultimately this book deals with the powers of the rich, the new frontier of how they can use their money to tap into a new frontier of control and manipulation, on time and health. For the rich, time is simplified by the hands of those they employ (hiding the efforts of what goes into making something), but it's still something they can't fully control so to the extent that the wealthy can utilize their money to buy out others, they will.

This idea is also explored from the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Rather than the ultra rich, it's those in power who will employ their power and authority to any end, and the horrors of their not having any limits.

It is a fast paced book but definitely felt long. However there really isn't anything I would want to edit out. There is a slow reveal and pacing that works very well for this book. I really enjoyed reading.

4.5

The writing is smooth, easy, and flows well. I stopped after chapter 2 (6%). Definitely three stars for the target audience and 4 to 5 for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

Part 1 - Lily: 2 stars
Part 2- Nick: 3 stars
Part 3; May/Mei: 4 stars

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD

This book was very uneven for me. It feels like Khong spent so long on the third part of the novel that she didn't flesh out the beginning. I considered abandoning the story when it centered on Lily because it was so light on characterization. Lily meets and falls in love with Matthew, but he is little more than an archetype of a rich, white man who wants to distance himself from his wealthy family. His father, Otto, is similarly painted with a very light brush. They don't seem like characters but narrative necessities to get where we're going.

The plot moved briskly in the first third, likely because the other parts were far more interesting. When Lily gives birth to her son with Matthew, the child looks nothing like her. "The baby who wasn't my baby was brought to my breast, and I let him eat," Khong writes. That is the briefest description of a mother's first experience breastfeeding that I've ever read. It's like Khong knew the rest of the book was meatier and wanted to get there as soon as possible.

The book gets much richer in the second part, as we delve into Nick's life. His character is much more fully fleshed-out than his parents', though we do learn a bit more about Lily and Matthew in part two.

The final third is where the book really soars--when you learn about the hardships Mei endures to make her way from China to the United States. Yes, it gives you insight into why she did what she did and how the revelation of her sins blew up Lily and Matthew's marriage. Matthew remains little more than an absent father archetype, but at least we understand the first part a little bit more.

The "magic" part of the book never worked for me, and I don't really understand its purpose in the story. So Mei swallowed a magic lotus seed that gave her, Lily, and Nick the gift of time? A gift no amount of money can buy. This ability to stop time allows Nick, who was struggling badly to understand anything in his college classes, to suddenly become a straight-A student? It seemed out-of-place and awfully convenient.

One loose thread--how did Ping's letter to Mei come into Nick's possession, and why did we never get her modern-day reaction to seeing a picture of her long-lost love? She now knows for sure that he lived. And thrived.