Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Family Chao

I’m going to have to sit with this book for a while before deciding how I feel about it. Overall I think I liked it. It’s very well written, and I found myself sucked into the mystery. But it’s also intense, so I need to follow it up with something light.

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ukponge's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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pun1sher's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very well written, complex and sometimes unlikable characters, great portrayal of complicated familial and romantic relationships. Also a rather fast and easy read - I started and momentarily it seemed to over, in a good way. Many povs featured so it doesn't get boring

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bookbelle5_17's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Review of The Family Chao
By: Lan Samantha Chang
The Chao’s own a popular Chinese restaurant, but family patriarch Leo Chao is the most hated man in the community. His three sons, William “Dagou”, Ming, and James have intense bitterness and anger towards their father, and his wife Winnie left him to join a convent after he committed one cruel act too many. After the Christmas party at the restaurant Leo is found dead and William is the number one suspect.
This is a retelling of the Russian classic Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky but set in contemporary times with a Chinese family. I haven’t finished Brothers Karamazov, but I have read enough to see the inspirations. Like Fyodor Karamazov, Leo Chao is narcissists, and James like Alyosha Karamazov is a pure soul and tries to see the good in everyone. Most of the characters in The Family Chao are unlikable and flawed. I appreciate William’s big dreams, but he comes off as a bit of an idiot and tends to take the easy way out. Ming is sensible and ambitious, but he is too cynical and bitter needing to quit taking out his anger on others. Though, anger is understandable as he and his family experience a lot of casual experience a lot of casual racism. He hates being Chinese, but does love his family. He is probably the most complex of the brothers. I felt bad for the main female characters like the Winnie. She tries so hard to be a good person, wife, and mother. Her faith is a beautiful thing, but I personally feel she forgives too easily. It’s admirable but her husband doesn’t deserve it in my opinion. He’ll never appreciate it. Unfortunately, she comes from a culture where women are passive and submissive to their husbands. Another female character I feel for is Katherine. She was a childhood friend of William’s and they were engaged 12 years ago, but he fell for Brenda. He never broke up with Katherine and is now asking for the ring back. Katherine is devoted to the family and Ming thinks she is a little too obsessed with being part of their lives. She is Chinese, but was raised in America, so she didn’t have the Chinese experience. I interpreted her bond with the family as feeling guilty about being raised in America. Each of the characters are interesting and engaging to read about and I was riveted by the court scenes. It is beautifully written, but it does have some stereotypes about the Chinese culture and people. As a person who has had dogs as pets I was bothered by the reference to Chinese eating dog. I did find it fascinating how easily the public will believe things and act as they know and understand what’s going on. The public is ready to turn on William and his family, and easily believe he is a monster that would kill his own dog, eating it. I can see why some readers might not like it, but I thought it was a pretty good read.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought this was outstanding. The narration was excellent.

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