In "Real Americans," Rachel Khong does something remarkable: she gives us a gorgeous, indelible triptych of characters that illuminate the book's central question, "What does it mean to be a real American?" (And perhaps, moreover, what does it mean to be human?) She talks about sweeping discussions of heritage, belonging, and growth with such tenderness and heart that this single book might as well make her an auto-buy author for me for years to come. (I now cannot wait to read her debut "Goodbye Vitamin" later on!). How beautiful it was to know that every hope I had for it was realized and then some.

What was unique, for me, is that we started this right away in 1999 with a woman named Lily, working as an up-and-coming intern for an online travel company. I wasn't expecting this, and the fact that we started with the cusp of modernity kind of surprised me. I'm wistful, I must admit, for the 1990s, when technology seemed so embryonic before it suffused every aspect of life. I've seen more books like that now, and how wild it is to think that this is now a vintage part of history.

But I savored Lily's friendship almost immediately. To see her attempt to forge her own identity while both exploring her roots and also trying to give everyone around her what they wanted. In a way, I actually wanted to reach inside the borders of this book and say, "Okay, Lily, but what do you want? Tell me about yourself." And I felt Lily was always a bit at a distance in the world around her.

I thought this was so powerful, deft choice by Khong. I think my expectations of having a linear timeline were already uprooted, and this left me curious about where things would go and also how the short prologue (set in the mid-1960s) would eventually coalesce. There were definitely reveals happening toward the end of Lily's section, especially related to her mom and her boyfriend Matthew's dad that made me want to keep reading, especially as my desire to have Lily live a fulfilling life suspended itself in the balance.

And then, we got to the second section. Admittedly, a piece of me was sad at first because we were leaving Lily behind, and I really connected to her. We get to see this shift toward Nick, her son born in the end of her first section, but we also leap into present-day 2021, so Nick is gravitating through the chaos that is college and living in this era in your early 20s. The nostalgic literary fiction becomes the bildungsroman.

I can't remember the first time I knew the alternating timelines was a narrative method, and I've seen that a lot since. But I can't remember too many books that serve as a cohesive whole through these three unique panels with overlapping characters. And, to be honest, I was a bit nervous. I liked Lily; would I be able to connect through a section through someone else's eyes over two decades later?

And the answer was a resounding yes, and I was thoroughly impressed. Nick was trying to navigate similar types of questions that Lily was, and there will always be levels of compassion I'll have toward people growing up. I remember some of the acrimonious moments between mother and son, and I wanted to reach into the narrative and say, "You two are so much alike!" Perhaps that's where a lot of conflict comes from; we try to sift through similar questions, and the past and the present graze against each other, united through necessary tension.

And I was already loving this. And this was going to be a wonderful, edifying book. But then something happened in the third section that I haven't seen happen too often.

So, the rich historical fiction begins. But, and here's the cornerstone, not only do we get a flashback into Lily's mother May, but I found my entire opinion of her transformed. And I can't say too much without giving anything away, but I moved from seeing Lily's mom as icy, distant, and cold in the opening section to wanting to wrap my arms around her, to see her find hope and healing in the aftermath. Her story not only made so many things made sense, but I was so moved and found myself feeling tethered to her, just as much as the first two characters whose connection was more immediate.

Perhaps once we know someone's past, we do allow ourselves to know them more intimately in the present. I wept and realized that I would carry pieces of Lily, Nick, and May with me forever. All in all, this is a profound achievement and a terrific testament to Khong's writing ability and the deep, abiding care she gives her characters.

Highly recommended and one of my favorite reading experiences of the year!

This book was a joy to read. I enjoyed the way the story flowed and I had a few moments that kind of made me question a few things. The characters were very interesting and I had smile quite a few times. This author really knows how to tell a story that will captivate you from the very beginning. I highly recommend this book and this author.

I probably need to sit with this book a bit more, but overall I really enjoyed it. I think the biggest problem is that it tries perhaps to take on too much, so some things wind up with a lot of story whereas other parts feel rushed.
I loved the idea of genetics and the future and also how each generation wishes to improve their children’s lives because how can you not? My favorite parts were about the character’s pasts and how that shaped what they wanted from the future. Overall, a really interesting read.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC!

I finished Rachel Khong’s “Real Americans” in two sittings - I could not put it down. There is a lot of plot - certainly, it spans almost 100 years - and a tinge of magical realism, but also: it was a reflective novel on what a family might owe to each other. The book blended so well the individual’s story and motivations with the overarching family’s story, depicting so well how we are never far from those who raised us. It also dealt with genetics, race and eugenics in a very sensitive way, which was a surprise. I cannot choose a favorite section (it’s divided into 3), but the history of Communist China was fascinating, as I had not read about that as much before.

RIYL historical fiction, family stories + just a touch of magical realism!

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

I love a good family drama story and this one was very good. I definitely want to read more by Khong.

More like 3.5 stars for me.

I love books that tell multi-generational tales, and Real Americans delivered in that regard. With the different parts of the story, Khong was able to share the characters' journeys over time and from multiple perspectives. Throughout, she tackled several tough topics - perhaps too many - including the challenges of parenting, racism, and immigration. This was a quiet, character, driven book, and that style plus some of the commentary was what I enjoyed about this book. The author took the story in a certain direction at the end that I wasn't expecting, didn't think fit in with how the rest of the story was gold, and that I didn't like. Ultimately that ended up overshadowing the parts of the novel I enjoyed and resulted in a lower rating than I thought I would give it.

REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong gets off to a rather slow start. The main character is Lily, a young college student who eventually marries and has a child, Nick. His story is featured in the next part of the novel and the final section is devoted to the tale of Lily's mother who grew up in China prior to the Cultural Revolution. Unfortunately, I struggled to empathize with these characters and would heartily recommend Khong's Goodbye, Vitamin instead. You decide; REAL AMERICANS received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus ("A sweeping exploration of choice, chance, class, race, and genetic engineering in three generations of a Chinese American family."). 3.5 stars

I'm probably the last reader on the planet who still has yet to read Rachel Khong's Goodbye, Vitamin. After reading Real Americans, I can't wait to pick it up.

Real Americans covers three generations, Lily Chen, her son, and her mother as they navigate the inheritance we receive from the previous generation. Our trauma, our decisions, our genetic makeup all pass along as we have children and bring them into an ever-changing world. Khong beautifully speaks to the immigrant experience and the ways in which we're shaped by our families. This was a beautiful read.

I read this - a book about generations, generational choices, generational traumas, the literal and emotional and figurative inheritances you get and collet and that are a part of you - while dealing with questions of my own family situation. Wondering how the choices I’m making will impact my children, how all the choices I’ve made and my existence is, to a degree, the result of my mom and dad’s minute decisions snd consequences, and how that’s true for everyone else I see also. Khong is such a talented writer. This is an epic story. Lots of family/relationship issues get dissected gorgeously. It still hurts lol but it leaves a gorgeous bruise.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. Three generations of secrets, mistakes and misunderstandings. An American who’s started a pharmaceutical company meets a woman researcher who has escaped Mao’s Cultural Revolution and form a bond that strengthens when there children marry and fly apart when they apply what they’ve been working on on their grandson.

A beautiful book that tells an immigrant story of assimilation and the impact of choices across generations.

Lily Chen falls in love when she’s a student and becomes a single parent. When her son Nick is a teen, he decides he wants to find his father and learn about his heritage, which his mother has kept secret. Mei, Lily’s mother, came to America as an immigrant. Her story of surviving the Chinese Civil War is powerful and reminiscent of the nonfiction book Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden by Zhuqing Li. The details of her life in China are fascinating and her escape from oppression is riveting. It’s her relationship with her daughter that comes across as strained and complicated, but without much explanation. Mei’s background includes other missing details that cloud her story.

Nick’s quest is relatable as it deals with a young man yearning to learn about his biological father. But once again, there’s a lack of rationale concerning Lily’s reluctance to share any details with her son. There are other instances of Khong’s failure to flesh out reasoning behind actions plus sudden changing alliances. Nick’s relationships switch back and forth with little explanation.

What could have been a powerful story ends up weakened by the absence of justification for actions and grudges. The title implies the story is about what it means to be a real American. Either it failed to deliver on that issue or was too obscured for the point to be clearly made. In general, it’s what’s missing that left me frequently questioning “why?”

*Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review*

I loved Rachel Khong's first book and enjoyed this one a lot as well! The characters are so well-developed and I was really invested in the relationship between the parents (it reminded me of Free Food for Millionaires, but much better). The book is split roughly into thirds: one focused on the mom, one on the child, and one on the grandmother. I was less interested in the child's and grandmother's perspectives but that's a personal preference. I appreciated the genetics plotline but found it difficult to follow at times and wasn't sure if it accomplished what it set out to do.

I love a good multigenerational tale and Real Americans doesn't disappoint. We start with Lily Chen at the turn of the 21st century and later get the POV from her son and her mother. The third section lagged quite a bit for me but the beginning and middle more than made up for it. One of my favorite fiction reads of the year.

This book was fantastic. I hadn’t read anything else by this author before Real Americans but it made me want to read more. I loved how the different parts made the family tree have more depth and dimension.

Fascinating story! The author weaves a tale of differing generational impressions of a Chinese family. So many themes are touched upon--luck, class, attitudes, and so much more. It is one of those narratives that makes you ponder about the immigrant experience.
The writing was terrific, but I do think the second half wasn't as strong as the first.

For me, this book was a mixed bag.

The novel contains three parts, all interrelated. It begins with Lily, a Chinese American whose parents raised her to be "American." She doesn't speak any of the Chinese languages, and has numerous identity (and personality) issues. She eventually marries Matt, a white man who is from an extremely rich family, and they have a child, Nico, who looks completely white, with blonde hair and blue eyes - so white that he questions his own Chinese identity and does a DNA test to ensure that he is, indeed, 50% Chinese. The next section of the book features Nico, now Nick, who has grown up without his father. He chooses a college, far from home, and goes through his college years trying to figure out life, unsuccessfully reconnecting with his father.. Finally, the last section of the book is about May, Lily's mother, who, come to find out, engaged in genetic manipulation in an attempt to mold humans. Not only had she been involved in this pursuit, but she had done so with Matthew's father, Otto. (Yes, this is super confusing). Long story short, Lily's genetics were negatively impacted, as was her relationship with Matthew, once she came to find out all that had happened unbeknownst to her. May is sorry for the strife she caused not only Lily, but others, and spends her last years trying to reconnect with her daughter, from whom she has been estranged.


The writing in this book is excellent, as is the character development. I am left somewhat confused, especially regrading the genetic manipulation; I still do not know if what they did is a real thing, to any extent, or if this was an element of science fiction, inserted into the book. At least in my case, as I read, I had to consciously try to make sense of what was going on, as each section ends kind of abruptly. The themes that are explored in this book: family, identity, race and ethnicity and forgiveness, are all compelling.


#netgalley

Everyone has been buzzing about this book.
I picked it up even though the cover doesn't give anything away about the content of the book.
This family story drew me in and kept me reading.
I am recommending this book to library patrons who like family sagas.

I wasn't sure if this book would live up to all the hype online, but I loved it! Families are so complicated, and I think this book handled it beautifully. It took me a while to get into it, but then I sped through it. Some storylines were better than others, but I enjoyed getting to know all the characters and have recommended this book to a lot of people since finishing it. I can't wait to see what the author does next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wow. Real Americans is a book that truly hits home. From the very first page, I was hooked by its raw, honest portrayal of what it means to be American today. The author’s storytelling is nothing short of brilliant, blending stories with larger social issues in a way that feels incredibly real and relatable. It’s one of those reads that makes you pause and think, sparking deep conversations long after you’ve put it down. If you’re looking for a book that digs into the heart of American identity and leaves you with a new perspective, this is it. It’s an unforgettable journey that I can’t recommend highly enough.