Reviews

Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon Han

lesserjoke's review against another edition

3.0

There's a deep sense of sorrow pervading the four members of this novel's Chinese-American immigrant family, all of whom seem utterly alienated -- from their new country, from their homeland, and especially from one another. That estrangement is achingly rendered, and I'm sure it draws upon the firsthand experiences of author Simon Han who comes from a similar background, but at the end of the day, this is just not a story I have particularly enjoyed reading or a cast of characters I find likeable. It doesn't help that the plot hinges around an inciting event that only takes place more than halfway through the text, or that that false accusation of child molestation is so ugly in nature. I could see this 2020 title winning literary awards, but it is very much not my preferred sort of book.

[Content warning for racism, bullying, and suicide.]

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julesdbaker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Suicide, and Death of parent

shannonrkline's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

ridgewaygirl's review against another edition

4.0

The Chengs of Plano, Texas are not okay. Somehow they've stopped being a family and are just individuals on their own. There's Liang, who takes on the housework and childcare while nominally supervising his photography business, whose past, as a child with a mother who committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution, has scarred him in ways he's not dealing with. And there's Patty, whose green card got them all to the US, who is working long hours and has no space left to check on her family's well-being. Annabel, the daughter, who was born in the US, is struggling to find her place in the private elementary school she's attending and having trouble in how she interacts with others, And, lastly, there's Jack, who was born in China and left behind with his grandparents until his parents were settled. He's quiet and careful and is doing his best to hold his family together. And then a crisis hits them all. It will either finally bring them together or destroy this precarious family.

This is the story of an immigrant family in which the fact that they are immigrants is important, but not the focus of this novel. Instead, it's about the factors that make a family and how failures to communicate and failures to understand can build up over time.

I liked what Han is doing here and how carefully he built up each character and treated them all with such love. It's interesting to see suburban Texas chosen as the setting for this story and I enjoyed Han's descriptions of it, and how he incorporated how much of each day is spend driving around into the novel. I'm interested in what he writes next.

over60's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting story of a family from China, living in Texas. Parents and the two children are well-created. Their struggles are mostly typical of a working family, except for the event that changes and illuminates each one of them. The writer brings the character development into sharper focus as they each try to deal with their betrayal of one of them. Reminds one of how quickly and easily things can go from being calm to life-altering in a normal interaction.

vibha_k's review against another edition

3.75

very well written but hard read. pretty much no likeable characters. found myself yelling at them internally a lot because everyone acted in the most frustrating way possible. actually had the chance to talk to Simon Han himself about this book and getting some explanations for the process definitely improved my rating because i was confused. this is an odd one 

adamsfall's review against another edition

DNF at 50%

Incredibly slow and just couldn’t hook my attention

ellinlolis's review against another edition

3.0

The title is accurate for this one. Truly nothing really seems to happen. There were some interesting bits but the lack of a clear plot made this one tough to finish.

nuhafariha's review against another edition

4.0

Thank you to Riverhead Books and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!

Now available.

In a quiet corner of Plano Texas, Annabel Cheng is sleepwalking. Her brother Jack wakes up to find his sister outside in the yard. Though she's unable to articulate why, Annabel just doesn't feel like she belongs in her all-white town and resorts to storytelling to feel powerful. But when one Thanksgiving party tale goes awry, an innocent fabrication threatens to break apart an entire community.

What I loved about this story is Han's mastery of unsettling characters. Jumping between family members' perspectives, the story never settles to a pace where the reader feels comfortable with what really happened. Maybe what happened is besides the point. Maybe it's a constellation of what could have happened with what did happen and what happened in the past that keeps haunting us. Maybe it's the reckoning of our past that keeps repeating, trapping us in an ever widening circle.

Fans of Celeste Ng and Meng Jin will definitely enjoy this book. A gripping tale.

zhzhang's review against another edition

3.0

The book has a very strong beginning, yet it seems that the ending has not ended the story.