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canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
There have been other novels written about the 2008 recession but this one may have the most meaning for me.
Sharp observation from the characters of the world around them even as they explore large parts of it for the first time.
Writing that manages to usually stay a cut above and be incisive about many things.
An amazing ability to translate the feelings from a bad stand up comedy routine onto the page that gave me a bigger emotional reaction than many supposed tearjerkers.
Sharp observation from the characters of the world around them even as they explore large parts of it for the first time.
Writing that manages to usually stay a cut above and be incisive about many things.
An amazing ability to translate the feelings from a bad stand up comedy routine onto the page that gave me a bigger emotional reaction than many supposed tearjerkers.
kaykay38's review against another edition
4.0
I think this book is very falsely advertised. The cover, the title, and reviews mis portray the tone of the book. From the first few pages, it was very apparent that this book is not “uproarious”. It is definitely a classic riches to rags kind of tale. It is far from humorous, only in a kind of drab ironic way. Some events are even improbable, yet I still felt some kind of empathy for the characters. As for the lack of translation, I found it mildly frustrating as well even though I could, for the most part, understand the Chinese dialogue as I speak Chinese. The phonetic spelling of the Chinese dialogue is not consistent with the Mandarin phonetic system. The nuances in character shift and the literary imagery elevate a fairly worn-out trope. This book was definitely screwed over by the reviews and the cover. The narration and structure of the book carry much more serious literary import than the substance of the plot. From a writing perspective, I really like it and thought it bridges the inane with the profound.
ruth24's review against another edition
3.0
"Every immigrant is the person he might have been and the person he is, and the homeland is at once the place it would have been to him from the inside and the place must be to him from the outside."
motherofladybirds's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the premise, but got tired of the characters. I thought it was a bit predictable and had an unresolved ending.
ell_jay_em7's review
4.0
There's a couple things I think you should know before reading this book. First, I don't think it was marketed very well or correctly. It's billed as a comedy and I think people expect to be laughing out loud. The humor in this book is more like bitter, dark humor, maybe even satirical humor. The first part of the book that struck me as genuinely funny in the sense of having a burst of joy reading it was around page 60. It's more a "literary" book; less of a breeze and more beautiful and interesting writing.
The second thing you should know is that the characters in this book are in many ways not likable--and I'm pretty sure that's the point. I saw various complaints in other reviews along the lines of "why should I care about these rich people" and to that I have two things to say: 1) I don't think the point of the book is "Feel bad for rich people who lose their money" and 2) This story isn't generically about rich people, it is about a particular family and the joy of reading this book is in that particularity. This book joins many other books in the history of literature (even what we call GREAT literature) that choose to focus on unlikable or flawed people, and I don't think it should be uniquely criticized for that. HOWEVER this book also contains anti-black sentiment, which I think is pretty clearly considered to be not okay by the author, but you should know it's there in case that is triggering.
I also saw complaints about Chinese text not being translated into English. However, almost everything said in Chinese can be understood from context and the other characters' English responses. I really don't feel like it's asking too much of people who don't speak Chinese to have to read Chinese in a book centering Chinese people when the meaning can mostly be gathered from context. Not everything's about you ;-)
The writing in this book was excellent on a sentence level; so much of it was clever, interesting, cutting, and moving. If I hadn't been reading a library copy I would have underlined several parts that I found particularly striking or beautiful. I don't honestly know how to explain what I liked about this book. I think it had some deeper insights that were over my head; it may have been making a point about the kind of world we live in, where it seems our only options are to suffer in poverty and oppression or achieve grotesque wealth to escape it without actually fixing the world. It may be about what it means to succeed in a world that hinges on cruelty. It may be about how small a lot of people are, and how those same people are vast the same time. I was interested in the characters and their stories; the author made them compelling even though, as many have pointed out, their stories may not be relatable. And in the end I was moved.
CONTENT WARNING: DEATH (SPOILER BELOW)
This is a spoiler but I feel like some people may need to know that there is a death at the end of this book that is pretty traumatic in its suddenness and sadness. I wasn't ready at all and it was hard.
The second thing you should know is that the characters in this book are in many ways not likable--and I'm pretty sure that's the point. I saw various complaints in other reviews along the lines of "why should I care about these rich people" and to that I have two things to say: 1) I don't think the point of the book is "Feel bad for rich people who lose their money" and 2) This story isn't generically about rich people, it is about a particular family and the joy of reading this book is in that particularity. This book joins many other books in the history of literature (even what we call GREAT literature) that choose to focus on unlikable or flawed people, and I don't think it should be uniquely criticized for that. HOWEVER this book also contains anti-black sentiment, which I think is pretty clearly considered to be not okay by the author, but you should know it's there in case that is triggering.
I also saw complaints about Chinese text not being translated into English. However, almost everything said in Chinese can be understood from context and the other characters' English responses. I really don't feel like it's asking too much of people who don't speak Chinese to have to read Chinese in a book centering Chinese people when the meaning can mostly be gathered from context. Not everything's about you ;-)
The writing in this book was excellent on a sentence level; so much of it was clever, interesting, cutting, and moving. If I hadn't been reading a library copy I would have underlined several parts that I found particularly striking or beautiful. I don't honestly know how to explain what I liked about this book. I think it had some deeper insights that were over my head; it may have been making a point about the kind of world we live in, where it seems our only options are to suffer in poverty and oppression or achieve grotesque wealth to escape it without actually fixing the world. It may be about what it means to succeed in a world that hinges on cruelty. It may be about how small a lot of people are, and how those same people are vast the same time. I was interested in the characters and their stories; the author made them compelling even though, as many have pointed out, their stories may not be relatable. And in the end I was moved.
CONTENT WARNING: DEATH (SPOILER BELOW)
This is a spoiler but I feel like some people may need to know that there is a death at the end of this book that is pretty traumatic in its suddenness and sadness. I wasn't ready at all and it was hard.
bldownunder's review
2.0
Characters were shallow in that millennial way, Charles was more of a caricature than a person and the ending was confusing and weird.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review
3.0
There's some snappy dialogue and the fun of watching once-wealthy people grapple with new-found poverty in "The Wangs vs the World," but the story isn't sure what it wants to be. Is it a kooky family story, an immigrant's tale, a financial warning? Jade Chang doesn't go far enough to make any of these possibilities work. The totality of the Wangs financial ruin is a little unbelievable, as is the fact that father Charles would not have made any contingency plans in case his venture failed. I was interested to see what would happen when the family finally made it to the oldest sister's house in upstate New York, but no, the story comes to a crashing halt. Most unsatisfactory.
Comparisons to "The Nest" are undeserved. That novel was very well fleshed out and stuffed with characters you could get behind, while "The Wangs" lacks both. I see a bright future for Jade Chang with a skilled editor by her side. It would be a shame to let her talent go to waste, but guidance is needed.
Comparisons to "The Nest" are undeserved. That novel was very well fleshed out and stuffed with characters you could get behind, while "The Wangs" lacks both. I see a bright future for Jade Chang with a skilled editor by her side. It would be a shame to let her talent go to waste, but guidance is needed.
kittey2ng's review
3.0
Described as hilarious but I didn’t think it was funny at all. Ok book I expected more from the beginning but no real substance or humor: quick read
birdabouttown's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
The first half of this was moving so slowly! Jumping from POV to POV. I almost threw in the towel, but then the second half pulled me in and I quickly finished. Not sure I’d recommend