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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
This was an entertaining if not entirely deep read. If you’re looking for something light that will make you chuckle a little, this is just the ticket.
This a family drama set around the familiar situation of a patriarch on his death bed deciding on his will. The book starts slowly as the characters are introduced but once the characters take a little shape and you start investing more in their arcs it really takes off. This book reads like what would happen if Kevin Kwan went and got an MFA but it lacks a little of the joie de vivre that his books had. But there are enough laugh out moments and sharp social commentary that really engage the reader. Kathy Wang's style is more dark and wry and her prose is filled with great observational commentary on the lives of the rich in Silicon Valley with subtle tenderness in the family dynamics.
*Book Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours & the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I really enjoyed this satirical contemporary fiction book. While it’s not a genre I always read, when it’s done well and I’m in the right mood there’s nothing better.
Told in the third person and different character’s perspectives, I liked that we could see the situation and fallout of Stanley’s health diagnosis on him and his family. While I can’t say that I truly liked any of the character’s I felt like I understood who they were and their thought processes. I could sympathize about their musings about how their lives turned out opposed to what they pictured for themselves. Fred and Kate’s disappointment with their lives that seemingly are everything a millennial should hope for hits all to close to home for me!
While, disappointing millennial lives may sound eerily familiar, the glimpse into the supposedly plush lives in Silicon Valley reveals that all is not well in paradise. Rather the examination of ambition, assimilation, racism, and greed is sobering. There’s enough levity to keep this book enjoyable, but it does make you think.
I really enjoyed this satirical contemporary fiction book. While it’s not a genre I always read, when it’s done well and I’m in the right mood there’s nothing better.
Told in the third person and different character’s perspectives, I liked that we could see the situation and fallout of Stanley’s health diagnosis on him and his family. While I can’t say that I truly liked any of the character’s I felt like I understood who they were and their thought processes. I could sympathize about their musings about how their lives turned out opposed to what they pictured for themselves. Fred and Kate’s disappointment with their lives that seemingly are everything a millennial should hope for hits all to close to home for me!
While, disappointing millennial lives may sound eerily familiar, the glimpse into the supposedly plush lives in Silicon Valley reveals that all is not well in paradise. Rather the examination of ambition, assimilation, racism, and greed is sobering. There’s enough levity to keep this book enjoyable, but it does make you think.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting novel about a different perspective. Didn't love the ending.
Crazy Rich Asians meets The Nest in this tale of a Silicon Valley Chinese patriarch whose pancreatic cancer diagnosis sends his children into an inheritance frenzy. The plot is a bit predictable, but the intense development of characters and resolutely described web of anxieties make up for it.
Full review here: https://bit.ly/2XOZ9Vf
Full review here: https://bit.ly/2XOZ9Vf
2.5 Stars Not a huge fan. The characters barely showed any emotion and were way too invested in money the whole time. Was excited to read a book with all asian characters but did not live up to my expectations I had to force myself to finish it
I hated the characters, hated the plot, but loved this book. Here's why.
This novel focuses on four main characters, Stanley and his ex-wife Linda, and their two children, Kate and Denny, coming together around the concept of a family trust. Through their eyes, we see a myriad of side characters, but we are primarily privy to only their hopes and fears. Stanley is dying of pancreatic cancer, and the family is there to support him even when they don't want to. Clearly, there are some ulterior motives. In the same way that Kevin Kwan's characters in Crazy Rich Asians were obsessed with money and status, Wang's characters are as well. But where there was light-hearted comedy and satire in Kwan's trilogy, there is little happiness or even humor in Wang's novel.
"After all, how could you stop an event already fated to happen?"
Stanley's exaggerated view of himself and his finances is what propels the story forward. Each of the main characters believes him when he says he has the means to provide happy futures for them. With this partial truth, they each begin to stew in dreams of prospective income and relief from financial stress, while fighting each other for the right to claim it.
Meanwhile, Kate is uncovering marital troubles she didn't know she had, Fred is drawn into some ridiculous schemes in the hopes of upward mobility in his career, and Linda finds herself surprisingly searching for new companionship after nearly a decade of divorce from Stanley. These three find themselves in new complicated relationships that they don't totally understand, with people whose motives are not as clear as they should be. With limited information, how can they make choices that will benefit them in the end? If they are so focused on what the relationship does for them, at what point do they cross over into the selfish territory they believe Stanley has occupied for the majority of their lives?
This story sparked massive introspection and reflections on the consumerist/capitalist society I live in, but Wang's approach is intricate and subtle. She crafted a compelling story in which I found myself hating all of the characters yet finding myself in each of them. Her timing is perfect in that she reveals over time through lack of communication between characters how little they understand of each others' motives and aspirations.
I was captivated by this pessimistic story. I felt as if all the characters were dancing towards inevitable disappointment, and this book is a trainwreck I was excited to witness. Each of their strange approaches to the world felt so perfect for their character. While I often felt myself thinking surely I or anyone I know would not make such choices, Wang allowed space for these choices to be made by characters who are people we have interacted with, or even could be ourselves. The multiple points of view, all in third person and not terribly dissimilar from each other felt perfect for this book, and the fifth perspective for just one chapter was excellently timed. I would definitely recommend this book, if you're a fan of well-executed writing tactics.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
This novel focuses on four main characters, Stanley and his ex-wife Linda, and their two children, Kate and Denny, coming together around the concept of a family trust. Through their eyes, we see a myriad of side characters, but we are primarily privy to only their hopes and fears. Stanley is dying of pancreatic cancer, and the family is there to support him even when they don't want to. Clearly, there are some ulterior motives. In the same way that Kevin Kwan's characters in Crazy Rich Asians were obsessed with money and status, Wang's characters are as well. But where there was light-hearted comedy and satire in Kwan's trilogy, there is little happiness or even humor in Wang's novel.
"After all, how could you stop an event already fated to happen?"
Stanley's exaggerated view of himself and his finances is what propels the story forward. Each of the main characters believes him when he says he has the means to provide happy futures for them. With this partial truth, they each begin to stew in dreams of prospective income and relief from financial stress, while fighting each other for the right to claim it.
Meanwhile, Kate is uncovering marital troubles she didn't know she had, Fred is drawn into some ridiculous schemes in the hopes of upward mobility in his career, and Linda finds herself surprisingly searching for new companionship after nearly a decade of divorce from Stanley. These three find themselves in new complicated relationships that they don't totally understand, with people whose motives are not as clear as they should be. With limited information, how can they make choices that will benefit them in the end? If they are so focused on what the relationship does for them, at what point do they cross over into the selfish territory they believe Stanley has occupied for the majority of their lives?
This story sparked massive introspection and reflections on the consumerist/capitalist society I live in, but Wang's approach is intricate and subtle. She crafted a compelling story in which I found myself hating all of the characters yet finding myself in each of them. Her timing is perfect in that she reveals over time through lack of communication between characters how little they understand of each others' motives and aspirations.
I was captivated by this pessimistic story. I felt as if all the characters were dancing towards inevitable disappointment, and this book is a trainwreck I was excited to witness. Each of their strange approaches to the world felt so perfect for their character. While I often felt myself thinking surely I or anyone I know would not make such choices, Wang allowed space for these choices to be made by characters who are people we have interacted with, or even could be ourselves. The multiple points of view, all in third person and not terribly dissimilar from each other felt perfect for this book, and the fifth perspective for just one chapter was excellently timed. I would definitely recommend this book, if you're a fan of well-executed writing tactics.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.