Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
This was kind of frustrating to read, though I definitely enjoyed aspects of it. I loved Kate's storyline and loved Linda as a character, but every time Fred's chapter came up I found myself wanting to put the book down. It definitely does draw you in with regard to the main question of who's getting the inheritance, and how large it is, but I think to truly love the book you're going to have to care about more than that, and at the end of the day, I don't know that I did. Or I did, but it got overwhelmed by the how infuriating the choices of these characters could be (again, for me it was mostly just Fred), and the overall Silicon Valley environment. I read another review that listed this as a story for people who liked Crazy Rich Asians and wanted to see a similar story in a drama format, and I think that's a good descriptor. It just turns out that the humor and romance were what made me love that one, so this felt lacking in comparison.
(**2.5 stars) Kathy Wang’s debut Family Trust is a sometimes entertaining but mostly uneven family inheritance drama set in Silicon Valley. The patriarch of the family, Stanley Huang, has a few months to live and has promised his family inheritance of a small fortune. Now his two children, wife, and ex-wife, all dealing with their own separate issues, have to work together and figure out the truth about Stanley and straighten out their lives.
While Family Trust has been compared to [b:Crazy Rich Asians|16085481|Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364852559s/16085481.jpg|21571970], in terms of the familial, material, and wealth themes in the novel, and [b:Little Fires Everywhere|34273236|Little Fires Everywhere|Celeste Ng|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522684533s/34273236.jpg|52959357], for the character-driven story, Family Trust doesn’t measure up to either. The novel is too long (almost 400 pages) and not focused enough to make a meaningful impact. Each of the five main characters has their own separate issues and alternating chapters devoted to them, but so much is lost among the transitions. By the time the novel returned to continue a character’s story, I had forgotten or no longer cared what issues were going on with them. It also took me over half the book to actually develop ties with the characters or their problems and I still only cared about a couple of them (the ex-wife and daughter). That is not to say that there weren’t some great parts. Kathy Wang has a sharp wit and makes funny observations that were the highlight of the book. Also, the Silicon Valley setting, with all the frustrations and issues working with start-ups and VCs, for example, were also conveyed well. It’s a shame that these sections are buried in 400 pages of a haphazard plot and meaningless characters.
I wouldn’t recommend Family Trust, but I would not dissuade someone from reading it either. There was potential for Family Trust, but instead, it feels like the first draft of a somewhat promising story.
(**I received a free copy of this book from William Morrow and Company in exchange for an honest review.)
While Family Trust has been compared to [b:Crazy Rich Asians|16085481|Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)|Kevin Kwan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364852559s/16085481.jpg|21571970], in terms of the familial, material, and wealth themes in the novel, and [b:Little Fires Everywhere|34273236|Little Fires Everywhere|Celeste Ng|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522684533s/34273236.jpg|52959357], for the character-driven story, Family Trust doesn’t measure up to either. The novel is too long (almost 400 pages) and not focused enough to make a meaningful impact. Each of the five main characters has their own separate issues and alternating chapters devoted to them, but so much is lost among the transitions. By the time the novel returned to continue a character’s story, I had forgotten or no longer cared what issues were going on with them. It also took me over half the book to actually develop ties with the characters or their problems and I still only cared about a couple of them (the ex-wife and daughter). That is not to say that there weren’t some great parts. Kathy Wang has a sharp wit and makes funny observations that were the highlight of the book. Also, the Silicon Valley setting, with all the frustrations and issues working with start-ups and VCs, for example, were also conveyed well. It’s a shame that these sections are buried in 400 pages of a haphazard plot and meaningless characters.
I wouldn’t recommend Family Trust, but I would not dissuade someone from reading it either. There was potential for Family Trust, but instead, it feels like the first draft of a somewhat promising story.
(**I received a free copy of this book from William Morrow and Company in exchange for an honest review.)
We can add Family Trust to the stack of books I powered through despite deeply disliking them from the very start. I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. This book was clearly not for me and I don’t think I gained much from reading it.
In Family Trust, we follow the four perspectives of a wealthy Taiwanese-American family after the diagnosis of its patriarch, Stanley with cancer. Linda is Stanley’s ex-wife who resents him after 34 years of a thankless marriage. Fred is the eldest son, a man obsessed with increasing his social status and personal wealth, and Kate is the youngest daughter who struggles to balance taking care of her children, her office job, and her unemployed husband.
I know it can be unfair to compare books, but Family Trust is basically a less fun Crazy Rich Asians. I will acknowledge that my comparison is slightly unfair given that Kwan and Wang were going for completely different tones, but I couldn’t help remembering how much more enjoyable reading that book about rich Asians was to this one.
The characters in this book were intentionally unsympathetic which rarely works for me in a novel. While each of our perspectives was given moments of humanity and points where we could sympathize with them, I found that the majority of this book aimed at highlighting each character's worst attributes.
This applies mostly vividly to Fred, the social-climbing venture capitalists. I especially despised his chapters because Fred was just an awful person from start to finish. His obsession with wealth and status, and the ‘woe-is-me' attitude he had to being the poorest millionaire in his tax bracket quickly got on my nerves. His chapters were also filled with mind-numbing details about venture capitalism and investments making his perspective even more insufferable.
Linda and Kate were easier to read because I could actually sympathize with the struggles they faced throughout the novel. I actually liked seeing Linda’s attempts at a post-divorce romance and her reflections on her marriage and the amount she gave up to allow her husband to shine were interesting. Kate also had a fairly interesting subplot of her dealing with the domestic struggle of suspecting her husband of cheating. However, I will say Kate’s perspective was a bit too my the umbers to hold my interest towards the end of the novel But, even these more sympathetic characters love were laced with ugliness and cruelty, especially towards Stanley’s second wife.
To a certain extent, I accept that that was the point of this novel. I think Family Trust made me realize that without bombastic spectacle or fun hijinks I can’t really enjoy reading books about families who are cruel to each other and obsessed with money.
At its core, this book is an exploration of family and the messiness that comes with it. Wang had interesting things to say about this family. It was interesting to contrast the way each character saw themselves and how the rest of the family viewed their actions. I think this book had some interesting things to say about how callously we can treat our own family while still expecting support from them unconditionally. However, I was so uninvested in the characters that it didn’t land as successfully as it should have.
I don’t begrudge Family Trust’s existence and I’m glad to see books by Taiwanese-Americans about Taiwanese-Americans out there. I think in the hands of the right reader this could be someone’s favourite, I was just the completely wrong reader for this book.
In Family Trust, we follow the four perspectives of a wealthy Taiwanese-American family after the diagnosis of its patriarch, Stanley with cancer. Linda is Stanley’s ex-wife who resents him after 34 years of a thankless marriage. Fred is the eldest son, a man obsessed with increasing his social status and personal wealth, and Kate is the youngest daughter who struggles to balance taking care of her children, her office job, and her unemployed husband.
I know it can be unfair to compare books, but Family Trust is basically a less fun Crazy Rich Asians. I will acknowledge that my comparison is slightly unfair given that Kwan and Wang were going for completely different tones, but I couldn’t help remembering how much more enjoyable reading that book about rich Asians was to this one.
The characters in this book were intentionally unsympathetic which rarely works for me in a novel. While each of our perspectives was given moments of humanity and points where we could sympathize with them, I found that the majority of this book aimed at highlighting each character's worst attributes.
This applies mostly vividly to Fred, the social-climbing venture capitalists. I especially despised his chapters because Fred was just an awful person from start to finish. His obsession with wealth and status, and the ‘woe-is-me' attitude he had to being the poorest millionaire in his tax bracket quickly got on my nerves. His chapters were also filled with mind-numbing details about venture capitalism and investments making his perspective even more insufferable.
Linda and Kate were easier to read because I could actually sympathize with the struggles they faced throughout the novel. I actually liked seeing Linda’s attempts at a post-divorce romance and her reflections on her marriage and the amount she gave up to allow her husband to shine were interesting. Kate also had a fairly interesting subplot of her dealing with the domestic struggle of suspecting her husband of cheating. However, I will say Kate’s perspective was a bit too my the umbers to hold my interest towards the end of the novel But, even these more sympathetic characters love were laced with ugliness and cruelty, especially towards Stanley’s second wife.
To a certain extent, I accept that that was the point of this novel. I think Family Trust made me realize that without bombastic spectacle or fun hijinks I can’t really enjoy reading books about families who are cruel to each other and obsessed with money.
At its core, this book is an exploration of family and the messiness that comes with it. Wang had interesting things to say about this family. It was interesting to contrast the way each character saw themselves and how the rest of the family viewed their actions. I think this book had some interesting things to say about how callously we can treat our own family while still expecting support from them unconditionally. However, I was so uninvested in the characters that it didn’t land as successfully as it should have.
I don’t begrudge Family Trust’s existence and I’m glad to see books by Taiwanese-Americans about Taiwanese-Americans out there. I think in the hands of the right reader this could be someone’s favourite, I was just the completely wrong reader for this book.
I received an Advance Reader's Edition from @WilliamMorrowBooks, @ByKathyWang, and @Goodreads. Thank you! Sadly, my summer got away from me, and I've just gotten to read it.
This has been compared to The Nest, which I hadn't yet read when I requested this ARC. I enjoyed #FamilyTrust more than The Nest. The Family Trust characters aren't *quite* as greedy and shallow, I think. It's a strange contest to "win"!
Regardless, Family Trust was a fine read. I neither hated nor loved it. If you enjoy observing rich people behaving badly, you may enjoy it.
This has been compared to The Nest, which I hadn't yet read when I requested this ARC. I enjoyed #FamilyTrust more than The Nest. The Family Trust characters aren't *quite* as greedy and shallow, I think. It's a strange contest to "win"!
Regardless, Family Trust was a fine read. I neither hated nor loved it. If you enjoy observing rich people behaving badly, you may enjoy it.
I really enjoyed this one. Fans of the Crazy Rich Asians series will love this book, too. Looking forward to reading more books by Kathy Wang.
When Stanley finds out he's dying, his scattered family must come together to help him through his final months. But with a son and daughter caught up in their Silicon Valley careers and relationship troubles, an ex-wife who can't stand him, and a new wife who may just be in it for the money, who really has his back?
I didn't want this book to end! The whole family is perfectly messy and misguided, and I loved unweaving their story piece by piece. The way Kathy Wang approaches racism and sexism in this book is so clever, and her exploration of family love versus obligation is so sharp. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
I didn't want this book to end! The whole family is perfectly messy and misguided, and I loved unweaving their story piece by piece. The way Kathy Wang approaches racism and sexism in this book is so clever, and her exploration of family love versus obligation is so sharp. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
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
3.5/5
This book was interesting but borderline boring. Another reviewer (Katie B) said it "lacked heart" and I wholeheartedly agree!! But a good start. anyways...
I liked Linda and Kate. I thought Fred was crazy annoying and it blew my mind how this man was 1. making 250k like it was no big deal 2. complaining about how it wasn't enough, and then 3. spending like CRAZY like...people really live this lavishly?? and are still unsatisfied?
Stanley was pathetic, a wimp, and I hope to be as carefree and satisfied with my life as Linda and as successful as Kate! Wooo!!!
This book was interesting but borderline boring. Another reviewer (Katie B) said it "lacked heart" and I wholeheartedly agree!! But a good start. anyways...
I liked Linda and Kate. I thought Fred was crazy annoying and it blew my mind how this man was 1. making 250k like it was no big deal 2. complaining about how it wasn't enough, and then 3. spending like CRAZY like...people really live this lavishly?? and are still unsatisfied?
Stanley was pathetic, a wimp, and I hope to be as carefree and satisfied with my life as Linda and as successful as Kate! Wooo!!!
4.5 stars. If I'd read this book in 2018 it would have been on my Best Books of 2018 list, and I admit I put it off a bit. It reminded me of some other books I'd read and found just okay, and I haven't really been in the mood to read about wealthy people lately. But a good book is a good book and I devoured this in less than 24 hours. I would have happily read another 100 pages.
I didn't devour this book because it turned out to be about perfectly nice characters I enjoyed spending time with. They are all terrible in their own way, and only some of them learn and grow over the course of this book. (Fred is, I believe, irredeemable.) It also isn't a book full of astounding twists and turns. Stanley is dying, his ex-wife and his two children are increasingly frantic about the state of his will, and once you get a feel for who Stanley is you know how this is going to play out and it pretty much does. No, this is one of those books where I was just immediately captivated by the author's voice, by the way everything on the page came alive, and to learn more about who these characters were and where they would go. It is that specific perfect recipe of addictive, just as much or more than any suspense novel, where I hated to put it down.
This is a novel that jumps between (mostly) three points of view: Stanley's ex-wife Linda and his two children Fred and Kate. While they're from the same family they're drastically different, especially the generational divide between Linda and her children. To be successful, a book like this must get you to see the contrast between how these characters see each other and how they see themselves, and this works beautifully. Linda, a first-generation immigrant, has a no-nonsense style to her chapters, a practiced and tested reticence that has served her well. Through her children's eyes she is old-fashioned and near-helpless. There's also a lot here about the way members of a family struggle to define each other, especially the way the children view their parents and vice versa.
Very much looking forward to everything Kathy Wang writes. Even though I grate at almost every rich-people-problems story that comes my way, even though these characters are almost entirely unlikable, entitled strivers, I loved every minute.
I didn't devour this book because it turned out to be about perfectly nice characters I enjoyed spending time with. They are all terrible in their own way, and only some of them learn and grow over the course of this book. (Fred is, I believe, irredeemable.) It also isn't a book full of astounding twists and turns. Stanley is dying, his ex-wife and his two children are increasingly frantic about the state of his will, and once you get a feel for who Stanley is you know how this is going to play out and it pretty much does. No, this is one of those books where I was just immediately captivated by the author's voice, by the way everything on the page came alive, and to learn more about who these characters were and where they would go. It is that specific perfect recipe of addictive, just as much or more than any suspense novel, where I hated to put it down.
This is a novel that jumps between (mostly) three points of view: Stanley's ex-wife Linda and his two children Fred and Kate. While they're from the same family they're drastically different, especially the generational divide between Linda and her children. To be successful, a book like this must get you to see the contrast between how these characters see each other and how they see themselves, and this works beautifully. Linda, a first-generation immigrant, has a no-nonsense style to her chapters, a practiced and tested reticence that has served her well. Through her children's eyes she is old-fashioned and near-helpless. There's also a lot here about the way members of a family struggle to define each other, especially the way the children view their parents and vice versa.
Very much looking forward to everything Kathy Wang writes. Even though I grate at almost every rich-people-problems story that comes my way, even though these characters are almost entirely unlikable, entitled strivers, I loved every minute.