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A review by readsrandiread
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Okay, the review… which isn’t going to be the best review ever, let’s be honest, since I finished the book 6 months ago. But here’s the thoughts that have stuck with me.
REAL AMERICANS is broken into 3 parts.
Part 1: Lily’s section, the mom. I LOVED this section. I was completely sucked in and i thought this was a book I was going to fall hard for. Two people from wildly different backgrounds falling in love and getting married and starting a family. But then something starts to fracture the facade.
Part 2: Nick’s section, the son. We jump ahead 16 years or so. This is where the book started to lose me a little bit. I was so interested in the previous section and this new section was such an abrupt change that I struggled to care anymore. It hurt to read, knowing what I knew about the first section.
Part 3: May’s story, the immigrant grandmother. Parts of this section were flashbacks to her Chinese immigration story and I really enjoyed those from a historical fiction standpoint. But the way this section connects to the bigger story wasn’t a slam dunk for me.
There is the smallest bit of magical realism to the story, which is my jam, but felt undeveloped in this story.
To sum it up: I liked parts of this story more than others. The writing was great and the characters were interesting, just not an overall 5 star experience for me. This feels like a book worth reading and like one that will get quite varied reviews. Great book club pick!
Also, this cover! 🤩 #chefskiss
REAL AMERICANS is broken into 3 parts.
Part 1: Lily’s section, the mom. I LOVED this section. I was completely sucked in and i thought this was a book I was going to fall hard for. Two people from wildly different backgrounds falling in love and getting married and starting a family. But then something starts to fracture the facade.
Part 2: Nick’s section, the son. We jump ahead 16 years or so. This is where the book started to lose me a little bit. I was so interested in the previous section and this new section was such an abrupt change that I struggled to care anymore. It hurt to read, knowing what I knew about the first section.
Part 3: May’s story, the immigrant grandmother. Parts of this section were flashbacks to her Chinese immigration story and I really enjoyed those from a historical fiction standpoint. But the way this section connects to the bigger story wasn’t a slam dunk for me.
There is the smallest bit of magical realism to the story, which is my jam, but felt undeveloped in this story.
To sum it up: I liked parts of this story more than others. The writing was great and the characters were interesting, just not an overall 5 star experience for me. This feels like a book worth reading and like one that will get quite varied reviews. Great book club pick!
Also, this cover! 🤩 #chefskiss