A review by sakeriver
The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies

‪I’d seen a lot of people recommend this book, and I’m glad I read it. I think as an examination of the history of the Chinese American experience it works well, particularly in thinking about how Chinese American history is American history—and the book is all the more remarkable for having been written by a non-American. I struggled a bit with the character in the fourth section, whose identity at times seems very wrapped up in a desire for proximity to whiteness, even veering toward a certain form of misogyny common among Asian American men (what’s termed “MRAzn”). Though, I also have to admit that my discomfort is at least in part due to recognizing some of the same tendencies from my own younger days. Still, overall I thought it was very well done.