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zhzhang's review against another edition
2.0
This book is the pure revelation of the life of the 2nd generation of so-called "successful" businessman from China. The story does not develop well, nor the establishment of the characters. Even though I found it is very close to my native language.
bravokidroxy's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
TLDR: it’s a book
The most interesting part of this book was the last 6 pages. There’s lots of drama and tension and blood in the book as a whole but none of it feels worth anything. No stakes were convincing enough for me to really care, it felt like this could be the action movie on in the background of a 10 year olds birthday or something. I guess minus the sex scene which was written well enough but there were plenty of more interesting ways to finish the story of a side character who’s job it is to seduce creepy men than to have her seduce our MC and <redacted>
I did not see the twist coming because I was so focused on the fact that Victor reads as on the Asexual spectrum to me and was hoping for that to be written on page at some point.
There was an on page use of the n word, by a black character to a black character as a term of endearment but the author is Chinese American so I’m not sure I feel great about that. Also there’s a weird recurrent fascination with the “Mongolian dwarf” who works at on the Beijing nightclubs, not sure what that’s about, think it’s supposed to be funny tho.
The most interesting part of this book was the last 6 pages. There’s lots of drama and tension and blood in the book as a whole but none of it feels worth anything. No stakes were convincing enough for me to really care, it felt like this could be the action movie on in the background of a 10 year olds birthday or something. I guess minus the sex scene which was written well enough but there were plenty of more interesting ways to finish the story of a side character who’s job it is to seduce creepy men than to have her seduce our MC and <redacted>
I did not see the twist coming because I was so focused on the fact that Victor reads as on the Asexual spectrum to me and was hoping for that to be written on page at some point.
There was an on page use of the n word, by a black character to a black character as a term of endearment but the author is Chinese American so I’m not sure I feel great about that. Also there’s a weird recurrent fascination with the “Mongolian dwarf” who works at on the Beijing nightclubs, not sure what that’s about, think it’s supposed to be funny tho.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Blood, Gore, Confinement, and Gun violence
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Classism, Child abuse, Trafficking, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Slavery
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Sexual content, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Pregnancy
leiannasaur's review against another edition
3.0
Decent read with a compelling setting. Love the subversion of the stereotypes that Asians are ‘submissive,’ and the closeness of family that pervades decisions made in the book. Some parts were messy and confusing, and feel a little incomplete, but I’m guessing a sequel will roll our way which I’d be interested enough to read.
paigechu's review against another edition
3.0
Read this because this is the PBSxNYT book club selection for August 2020. And because it seems like an easy read. And it is.
Like how some other reviews pointed out, parts of it were unimaginative and stereotypical. But I do find it cute, in the way that it actually reflects faithfully what those young cali ABC (America-born Chinese) kids care about. And also that they're trying to use what they learned during those reluctant times spent at Sunday Chinese school. By they I meant not only Daniel Nieh but also the narrator Ewan Chung for the audiobook. Some Chinese used in this book had this old-school flare that I'm sure Daniel and Ewan pore over their dictionaries for. I find that heart-warming. A for effort.
If some more American readers get to know about Fa Lun Gung and other controversies that's just cherry on top.
Like how some other reviews pointed out, parts of it were unimaginative and stereotypical. But I do find it cute, in the way that it actually reflects faithfully what those young cali ABC (America-born Chinese) kids care about. And also that they're trying to use what they learned during those reluctant times spent at Sunday Chinese school. By they I meant not only Daniel Nieh but also the narrator Ewan Chung for the audiobook. Some Chinese used in this book had this old-school flare that I'm sure Daniel and Ewan pore over their dictionaries for. I find that heart-warming. A for effort.
If some more American readers get to know about Fa Lun Gung and other controversies that's just cherry on top.
kadyf's review against another edition
3.0
I think this will be a better movie than it was a book. The internal monologue of the main character was pretty bland, so if you get rid of that, you have a pretty fun, propulsive story. I did see the final twist coming from the first third of the book, but the deployment of it was more nuanced than expected.
juliettesmith's review against another edition
2.0
I always love reading a book about adventures in China, but I can’t say that this particular adventure was really suited to my interests. The novel read like a Seth-Rogen-tries-thrillers in the beginning, with two dimensional characters defined by insulting stereotypes. Maybe I’m a liberal snowflake, but just because the (nonblack)’ author created a black best friend for the protagonist doesn’t totally give him the right to use the N-word in his dialogue.
The “thrilling part” of the book, the second half, was hard to follow and not particularly gripping. I would be lying if I said I thoroughly read pages 200-300, but alas I grazed and picked up what was needed to get to the end.
For me, it was a book that was on my list that I was excited to read, but it fell flat of my expectation. I had to read it through to the end as a tribute to my former anticipation of reading this book.
The “thrilling part” of the book, the second half, was hard to follow and not particularly gripping. I would be lying if I said I thoroughly read pages 200-300, but alas I grazed and picked up what was needed to get to the end.
For me, it was a book that was on my list that I was excited to read, but it fell flat of my expectation. I had to read it through to the end as a tribute to my former anticipation of reading this book.
vlynnk89's review against another edition
5.0
If you like the Joe Ide books, I highly recommend this book. It's not Sherlock Holmes, but Nieh's writing draws you in from the beginning.
thndrkat's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for a genre study group. It’s not the type of book I usually read but I did find it engrossing. There are some good twists in the plot, the fight scenes are scary and elegant, and there’s some good cultural critique of American “morals” versus Chinese corruption. But the characters are really stereotypical and there’s an annoying amount of straight male objectification of women.
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