What do you think?
Rate this book
Real Americans
From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family, and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?
Real Americans begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love.
In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than answers.
In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance—a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home.
Exuberant and explosive, Real Americans is a social novel par excellence that asks: Are we destined, or made, and if so, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?
Real Americans begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love.
In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than answers.
In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance—a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home.
Exuberant and explosive, Real Americans is a social novel par excellence that asks: Are we destined, or made, and if so, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?
416 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2024
About the author
Rachel Khong
12 books892 followersRachel Khong is the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, winner of the California Book Award for First Fiction and named a best book of the year by NPR; O, The Oprah Magazine; Vogue; and Esquire. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Cut, The Guardian, The Paris Review, and Tin House. In 2018, she founded the Ruby, a work and event space for women and nonbinary writers and artists in San Francisco’s Mission District. She was born in Malaysia and lives in California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,756 reviews
May 30, 2024
I loved everything about this novel. Engrossing, well-structured, with compelling characters. I can’t ask for more from a novel.
May 27, 2024
How do you rate a book that doesn't quite deliver on its promise, and yet is still a riveting read?
Told through the perspectives of three generations of a family, Real Americans follows Lily as she finds the love of her life, Nick through his high school and college days as he gains independence, and Mei in her old age as she recounts what really happened all those years ago.
Of the three accounts, I feel like Lily's and Nick's boil down to coming-of-age stories, no matter how you try couch it in fancier, more racially-interesting terms. And I think that's where my mismatched expectations resulted in some disappointment. I was expecting more of a deep dive into what it means to grow up Chinese-American, but this only just scratches the surface.
The book tries to tackle so many worthwhile subjects—what it means to belong, a mother's love and expectations for her child, immigration and assimilation, having wealth and privilege, affirmative action, racism. You name it, it feels like it's in this book. If you're thinking to yourself, wow that's a lot, yes it is. And maybe that's the problem.
With so many topics, how do you achieve a meaningful look into any one of them? Well, I'm not sure you can. You can only superficially acknowledge them for a few pages, or even just a paragraph here and there, and that's about it. Every time I came across an interesting observation, I'd get excited, only to have the book immediately abandon it and move onto the next thing.
Throughout the whole story, there is this feeling that the good part is coming and I'm imminently about to stumble upon it. And this feeling propelled me through the book. I kept turning the pages, waiting with anticipation at what were sure to be astonishing revelations. But they never really materialized to my satisfaction.
I did find Mei's portion to be the most interesting and compelling. Hers was more than just a coming-of-age tale. She talks about what it's like to grow up during the Cultural Revolution, at a time of famine, when neighbor turned on neighbor, and every sort of intellectual aspiration was viewed as a punishable offense. I can't help but be drawn towards this part of Chinese history. It was the defining event of my parents' youth, yet they hardly ever talk about it.
The other interesting part of Mei's tale is the focus on the science that is central to this book, especially the ethics of gene editing and selection. But here again, it feels like the story got just close enough to tantalize, then immediately backed off, as if afraid to take anything other than a superficial stance on a potentially controversial topic.
I did want to mention the writing style. It came across as rather choppy at first, with lots of random observations and intense bursts of information, all the while keeping the reader at arm's length emotionally. It was a bit jarring initially, but then I hardly noticed anymore after a few chapters. So either I acclimated to it or the writing smoothed out. Either way, if you're having trouble at the start, don't let it prevent you from going a little further.
The entire time reading this book, I could feel the potential. There was this electric buzz that at any moment, this was going to become an amazing read. And it almost got there, but then somehow it didn't. Underneath this riveting story, there is a missed opportunity to really say something new and insightful about a host of worthwhile topics. Instead, this book skirts around them, giving brief nods to all but never more than that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.
Told through the perspectives of three generations of a family, Real Americans follows Lily as she finds the love of her life, Nick through his high school and college days as he gains independence, and Mei in her old age as she recounts what really happened all those years ago.
Of the three accounts, I feel like Lily's and Nick's boil down to coming-of-age stories, no matter how you try couch it in fancier, more racially-interesting terms. And I think that's where my mismatched expectations resulted in some disappointment. I was expecting more of a deep dive into what it means to grow up Chinese-American, but this only just scratches the surface.
The book tries to tackle so many worthwhile subjects—what it means to belong, a mother's love and expectations for her child, immigration and assimilation, having wealth and privilege, affirmative action, racism. You name it, it feels like it's in this book. If you're thinking to yourself, wow that's a lot, yes it is. And maybe that's the problem.
With so many topics, how do you achieve a meaningful look into any one of them? Well, I'm not sure you can. You can only superficially acknowledge them for a few pages, or even just a paragraph here and there, and that's about it. Every time I came across an interesting observation, I'd get excited, only to have the book immediately abandon it and move onto the next thing.
Throughout the whole story, there is this feeling that the good part is coming and I'm imminently about to stumble upon it. And this feeling propelled me through the book. I kept turning the pages, waiting with anticipation at what were sure to be astonishing revelations. But they never really materialized to my satisfaction.
I did find Mei's portion to be the most interesting and compelling. Hers was more than just a coming-of-age tale. She talks about what it's like to grow up during the Cultural Revolution, at a time of famine, when neighbor turned on neighbor, and every sort of intellectual aspiration was viewed as a punishable offense. I can't help but be drawn towards this part of Chinese history. It was the defining event of my parents' youth, yet they hardly ever talk about it.
The other interesting part of Mei's tale is the focus on the science that is central to this book, especially the ethics of gene editing and selection. But here again, it feels like the story got just close enough to tantalize, then immediately backed off, as if afraid to take anything other than a superficial stance on a potentially controversial topic.
I did want to mention the writing style. It came across as rather choppy at first, with lots of random observations and intense bursts of information, all the while keeping the reader at arm's length emotionally. It was a bit jarring initially, but then I hardly noticed anymore after a few chapters. So either I acclimated to it or the writing smoothed out. Either way, if you're having trouble at the start, don't let it prevent you from going a little further.
The entire time reading this book, I could feel the potential. There was this electric buzz that at any moment, this was going to become an amazing read. And it almost got there, but then somehow it didn't. Underneath this riveting story, there is a missed opportunity to really say something new and insightful about a host of worthwhile topics. Instead, this book skirts around them, giving brief nods to all but never more than that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.
May 28, 2024
family drama family drama family drama!
(review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
June 4, 2024
Very mixed feelings on this book, more like a 2.5 rounded to a 3. I’ll start with what I liked, which is that I think Rachel Khong did a nice job of showing how parents both do their best with and fail their children. It was interesting and engaging to read about how children interpreted their parents’ “failures” across multiple generations and the extent to which children choose how to engage with their parents: to be similar, to be different, to have contact, to have no contact, and all that’s in between. I found the second part of the book the most compelling and was hooked on Nick’s coming-of-age story. In this section of Real Americans I found the prose particularly appealing; in part 2 Khong’s writing had me pretty hooked, as well as in part 3 though to a lesser extent.
What I really did not love about this novel was just… the complicity in whiteness and white supremacy. Ugh. It always disappoints me when I write about this in relation to Asian American writers’ work. But the overwhelming entrenchment in whiteness in this novel just bothered me so much. In fact, reading part 1 of the book, I was so annoyed I was sure I was going to give this book two stars, which speaks to how parts 2 and 3 redeemed it enough for me to round to three.
What I didn’t love in part one of the book was the main character’s unresolved, unaddressed desire for whiteness and white men, as well as her self-dislike of her Asian traits. Here’s part of a specific passage, where she writes about herself in relation to her white male romantic partner:
“When he held me I looked, instinctively, to our reflection. It was like pressing a bruise, wanting to see if the pain lingered. I wanted to see how contradictory we were, as a pair, the difference of our physical bodies: him blond, built, tall; me with my plain black hair and average height and face that didn’t look good, I believed, unless I wore makeup. It was a face that made people ask: Where are you from?”
I was just like… omg, yikes. And I get that some Asian American people struggle with internalized racism, I get it, but this dynamic of glorifying white men (e.g., implying that being blond and tall are attractive traits, describing her own Asian features as “plain”) does not get addressed in any meaningful way in the book. There are also several passages in part 1 that directly name how the main character and her Asian friends all choose to date white men, but then that pattern is also never addressed in any thorough or thoughtful way. So that was highly disappointing.
I also really questioned the author’s intentions related to racial justice and alignment with white beauty standards during a specific moment in part 2 of the book. In part 2, we follow Nick Chen, who starts off as a senior in high school and we follow him into his college years. Even though he’s part-Chinese, he passes as a white man. I actually found Nick a sympathetic and three-dimensional character and enjoyed reading about him. However, there’s an odd passage in the book where Khong basically writes about Nick’s white-passing privilege as if he’s oppressed by it? I understand that biracial/multiracial people have unique experiences of oppression, but this passage was more about like… Nick basically feeling sorry for himself that he looks white because his ex-girlfriend was annoyed at his racial privilege (which he does have) and Khong implying that we should feel sympathy for tall blond white men, even though we’re already socialized within the United States to view these people as attractive? Idk, it was weird in a negative way and didn’t sit right with me.
Anyway, this book is titled Real Americans but it was more like… Chinese Americans navigate intergenerational (mis)communications while spending a lot of time with white people. Some parts I liked and others I really didn’t. I’ll also just leave some novels I’ve really enjoyed over the past few years by Asian women with three-dimensional Asian female characters whose lives don’t revolve around whiteness: Yolk by Mary Choi, Sea Change by Gina Chung, and Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan. I’ll also recommend Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou that takes a more racial justice-oriented approach to matters of Asian Americans and internalized racism.
What I really did not love about this novel was just… the complicity in whiteness and white supremacy. Ugh. It always disappoints me when I write about this in relation to Asian American writers’ work. But the overwhelming entrenchment in whiteness in this novel just bothered me so much. In fact, reading part 1 of the book, I was so annoyed I was sure I was going to give this book two stars, which speaks to how parts 2 and 3 redeemed it enough for me to round to three.
What I didn’t love in part one of the book was the main character’s unresolved, unaddressed desire for whiteness and white men, as well as her self-dislike of her Asian traits. Here’s part of a specific passage, where she writes about herself in relation to her white male romantic partner:
“When he held me I looked, instinctively, to our reflection. It was like pressing a bruise, wanting to see if the pain lingered. I wanted to see how contradictory we were, as a pair, the difference of our physical bodies: him blond, built, tall; me with my plain black hair and average height and face that didn’t look good, I believed, unless I wore makeup. It was a face that made people ask: Where are you from?”
I was just like… omg, yikes. And I get that some Asian American people struggle with internalized racism, I get it, but this dynamic of glorifying white men (e.g., implying that being blond and tall are attractive traits, describing her own Asian features as “plain”) does not get addressed in any meaningful way in the book. There are also several passages in part 1 that directly name how the main character and her Asian friends all choose to date white men, but then that pattern is also never addressed in any thorough or thoughtful way. So that was highly disappointing.
I also really questioned the author’s intentions related to racial justice and alignment with white beauty standards during a specific moment in part 2 of the book. In part 2, we follow Nick Chen, who starts off as a senior in high school and we follow him into his college years. Even though he’s part-Chinese, he passes as a white man. I actually found Nick a sympathetic and three-dimensional character and enjoyed reading about him. However, there’s an odd passage in the book where Khong basically writes about Nick’s white-passing privilege as if he’s oppressed by it? I understand that biracial/multiracial people have unique experiences of oppression, but this passage was more about like… Nick basically feeling sorry for himself that he looks white because his ex-girlfriend was annoyed at his racial privilege (which he does have) and Khong implying that we should feel sympathy for tall blond white men, even though we’re already socialized within the United States to view these people as attractive? Idk, it was weird in a negative way and didn’t sit right with me.
Anyway, this book is titled Real Americans but it was more like… Chinese Americans navigate intergenerational (mis)communications while spending a lot of time with white people. Some parts I liked and others I really didn’t. I’ll also just leave some novels I’ve really enjoyed over the past few years by Asian women with three-dimensional Asian female characters whose lives don’t revolve around whiteness: Yolk by Mary Choi, Sea Change by Gina Chung, and Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan. I’ll also recommend Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou that takes a more racial justice-oriented approach to matters of Asian Americans and internalized racism.
May 14, 2024
Audiobook: perfection with 3 narrators!
*great book club pick!
Loved it so much!!
We'll see if I can make this review make any sense, and maybe it'll just be another review for you to be convinced to pick up Real Americans. This review is different because I think the story really came alive on audiobook. The story is broken up in 3 parts and each part has a different narrator. Each had their own way of reading through the story, but what they all had in common was emotion in their voices. As the listener, you could really feel the pains, joys, challenges that Lily, Nick, and May faced come out in the narration. Couldn't recommend it enough.
There was a science bit to Real Americans that I wasn't expecting and honestly I let it kind of go over my head, but I enjoyed the development and the family relationships and the challenges each of them faced over the generations throughout the book. This book is for anyone who loves a complicated family drama and who can appreciate the nuances and layers that brings. The things not said. This is a pretty surface level review, but I really did love it and think the story was absolutely beautifully done. The last 20% really came together for me. Highly recommend the audio!
*great book club pick!
Loved it so much!!
We'll see if I can make this review make any sense, and maybe it'll just be another review for you to be convinced to pick up Real Americans. This review is different because I think the story really came alive on audiobook. The story is broken up in 3 parts and each part has a different narrator. Each had their own way of reading through the story, but what they all had in common was emotion in their voices. As the listener, you could really feel the pains, joys, challenges that Lily, Nick, and May faced come out in the narration. Couldn't recommend it enough.
There was a science bit to Real Americans that I wasn't expecting and honestly I let it kind of go over my head, but I enjoyed the development and the family relationships and the challenges each of them faced over the generations throughout the book. This book is for anyone who loves a complicated family drama and who can appreciate the nuances and layers that brings. The things not said. This is a pretty surface level review, but I really did love it and think the story was absolutely beautifully done. The last 20% really came together for me. Highly recommend the audio!
June 2, 2024
5 ⭐️
Truly incredible. Need to process before I write a full review, but wow this blew me away
Truly incredible. Need to process before I write a full review, but wow this blew me away
April 21, 2024
4.5 stars
I just finished a major project for class, so I’m hoping to have some time for catching up on my leisure reading over the next couple weeks. I decided to pick up Rachel Khong’s Real Americans next because of an author talk I plan to attend (which I’m very much looking forward to!).
I will start off by saying that, admittedly, this was one of those books that I found a little bit hard to parse at times, mostly because of the “science” element — which, even though it remains largely in the background throughout most of the story, it does play a pretty significant role in advancing parts of the plot. That said however, I feel that the way Khong structured the story is brilliant — there are 3 parts to the story, each told from the first person perspective of 3 different characters: Lily in 1999, Nick in 2021, and Mei in 2030. All 3 voices felt distinct to me, which is an admirable feat, no doubt, given how different it is to pull off. The first part of the story, told from Lily’s perspective, reads like a romance, as it is the love story of how Lily — the daughter of Chinese immigrants who struggles to make sense of her life working a dead-end job that she’s not even getting paid for — meets Matthew, the rich heir of a pharmaceutical conglomerate -a and how they ultimately fall in love and start a family together. Part 2 fast forwards 22 years later — Lily and Matthew are separated and Lily is raising their son Nick, who is 15 years old, alone in a remote part of Washington. Told from Nick’s perspective, this part feels like a coming of age story, as Nick (who, though biracial, looks more like his father than his mother) struggles to come to terms with his own identity as well as that of his estranged father, whom his mother refuses to tell him anything about. Part 3 takes place 9 years later, in 2030, but actually provides the backstory that explains many of the things that happened in parts 1 and 2. This last section (which reads like historical fiction) is told from the perspective of Lily’s mother Mei, as she recounts what her life was like growing up in China in the 1960s, at the height of the country’s Cultural Revolution, and how she ended up fleeing to America. What I found interesting about this structure is that all 3 parts, at times, read like 3 different stories (albeit with the same characters), and interestingly enough, the 3 timelines never truly converge like most multiple timeline stories do, yet the overarching story as a whole never felt disjointed. As I was reading, I was continually engaged with the story, even though oftentimes, not a whole lot was actually happening plot-wise. All the characters in here were also well-drawn, realistic, and relatable — especially the 3 characters who narrate the story.
Another interesting thing to note with this story is that it’s not one of those stories that ties everything up neatly (and not just the ending). There are gaps in all 3 timelines that are never fully explained, yet the story still feels complete somehow (not sure how to explain this properly but I think those who’ve read this will know what I mean).
Overall, this was an engrossing read that I absolutely recommend. The story itself is definitely the slow burn type — quiet, subtle, and rarely makes any major waves — yet it also never felt boring to me (case in point, I read this in 2 days because I couldn’t bring myself to put it down). Part of this was due to Khong’s writing, which the blurb to the book already describes perfectly as “moving” and “immersive.” I haven’t yet read Khong’s debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin , but given how much I enjoyed this new one, I will definitely have to go back and read that one.
Received ARC from Knopf via NetGalley.
I just finished a major project for class, so I’m hoping to have some time for catching up on my leisure reading over the next couple weeks. I decided to pick up Rachel Khong’s Real Americans next because of an author talk I plan to attend (which I’m very much looking forward to!).
I will start off by saying that, admittedly, this was one of those books that I found a little bit hard to parse at times, mostly because of the “science” element — which, even though it remains largely in the background throughout most of the story, it does play a pretty significant role in advancing parts of the plot. That said however, I feel that the way Khong structured the story is brilliant — there are 3 parts to the story, each told from the first person perspective of 3 different characters: Lily in 1999, Nick in 2021, and Mei in 2030. All 3 voices felt distinct to me, which is an admirable feat, no doubt, given how different it is to pull off. The first part of the story, told from Lily’s perspective, reads like a romance, as it is the love story of how Lily — the daughter of Chinese immigrants who struggles to make sense of her life working a dead-end job that she’s not even getting paid for — meets Matthew, the rich heir of a pharmaceutical conglomerate -a and how they ultimately fall in love and start a family together. Part 2 fast forwards 22 years later — Lily and Matthew are separated and Lily is raising their son Nick, who is 15 years old, alone in a remote part of Washington. Told from Nick’s perspective, this part feels like a coming of age story, as Nick (who, though biracial, looks more like his father than his mother) struggles to come to terms with his own identity as well as that of his estranged father, whom his mother refuses to tell him anything about. Part 3 takes place 9 years later, in 2030, but actually provides the backstory that explains many of the things that happened in parts 1 and 2. This last section (which reads like historical fiction) is told from the perspective of Lily’s mother Mei, as she recounts what her life was like growing up in China in the 1960s, at the height of the country’s Cultural Revolution, and how she ended up fleeing to America. What I found interesting about this structure is that all 3 parts, at times, read like 3 different stories (albeit with the same characters), and interestingly enough, the 3 timelines never truly converge like most multiple timeline stories do, yet the overarching story as a whole never felt disjointed. As I was reading, I was continually engaged with the story, even though oftentimes, not a whole lot was actually happening plot-wise. All the characters in here were also well-drawn, realistic, and relatable — especially the 3 characters who narrate the story.
Another interesting thing to note with this story is that it’s not one of those stories that ties everything up neatly (and not just the ending). There are gaps in all 3 timelines that are never fully explained, yet the story still feels complete somehow (not sure how to explain this properly but I think those who’ve read this will know what I mean).
Overall, this was an engrossing read that I absolutely recommend. The story itself is definitely the slow burn type — quiet, subtle, and rarely makes any major waves — yet it also never felt boring to me (case in point, I read this in 2 days because I couldn’t bring myself to put it down). Part of this was due to Khong’s writing, which the blurb to the book already describes perfectly as “moving” and “immersive.” I haven’t yet read Khong’s debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin , but given how much I enjoyed this new one, I will definitely have to go back and read that one.
Received ARC from Knopf via NetGalley.
April 30, 2024
Every once in a while a book will sneak up on you and you know it will be one that you will think about for a long time afterwards. This book is beautifully written, will have you immediately interested in the characters and where this story will take them. It is told in multiple POV's, Lily, Nick and Mei with my favorite being Lily’s though all three are wonderful in their own way. Lily was so ambitious and hardworking that I wanted to reach out and give her a hug. I felt so bad for Nick in parts and I wanted him to be able to find his own life and a way to be happy with how things were. Mei's story was sad and reflective but also filled with hope and wonder.
I will say that this book is not at all what I expected but in a good way and I ended up liking it more than I initially thought I would. I love that even though the book is told from multiple POV's and multiple timelines, they all come together in the end and you have a new perspective on each character. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf and Rachel Khong for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: 4/30/24
I will say that this book is not at all what I expected but in a good way and I ended up liking it more than I initially thought I would. I love that even though the book is told from multiple POV's and multiple timelines, they all come together in the end and you have a new perspective on each character. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf and Rachel Khong for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: 4/30/24
March 13, 2024
A true intergenerational Chinese-American novel that spans decades and cities and POVs, sitting somewhere between reality and fantasy (my favorite kind of place). This felt like PACHINKO for a newer generation -- reminiscent of the way Sanjena Sathian's GOLD DIGGERS talked about the intertwining of family trauma, or how Gabrielle Zevin's TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW took on love and technology in a coming of age tale.
(Got flagged for not saying i got a free review copy so this is my disclaimer that this is an ARC review lol)
(Got flagged for not saying i got a free review copy so this is my disclaimer that this is an ARC review lol)
May 30, 2024
Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. (Karl Marx)
In other words, we all make many choices in our lives, but many things are already chosen for us. This might be down to where in the world we’re born, to which family, or a whole bunch of other elements, including inherited health conditions. It's is a theme that runs throughout this excellent novel, and yet it took me me quite a while to identify this.
It’s starts with Lily meeting Matthew. The former is a Chinese-American woman of very limited means, and the latter is most definitely a born and bred American, and not short of a bob or two. He quickly whisks her off to Paris, seemingly on the spur of the moment, and soon after they’re a couple. I thought this would be the beginning of the story but I was to learn that this was actually the mid-point, we’ll learn how the story truly begins, and then how it ends, later in the book.
There are, in fact, three generations covered here. Their stories are complex and interweaving. But because of the way it’s structured, it isn't initially clear where it's all heading. The story of Mai (Lily’s mother) is the most harrowing section, documenting the chilling regime imposed by Mao Zedong and the very limited options open to all but the party leaders and their families. The final section brings everything together and finally makes sense of the piece as a whole.
There’s a good deal of philosophising here, and lots of science, too. But the central theme is how luck, or fortune, plays such a key role in determining what sort of life it is we will be allowed to lead. Unless we are able to load the odds in our favour, that is. Is it possible that modern science has a card up its sleeve that will enable us to improve our odds? There is a science fiction element to this tale, but based (I presume) on what might one day be possible. It was always there in this story, in the background, but it wasn't intrusive, and I didn't spot it for the most part. It crept up on me, and actually not in a bad way. In truth, I was always more engaged in the people: their stories, what they desired, and what was driving them.
There are small things here that I could pick at, but really it’s a tale that had me gripped pretty much from the start. It’s superbly written and imaginatively created. I loved it and was really sad to finally finish this slow-moving but hugely thought-provoking tale.
My thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In other words, we all make many choices in our lives, but many things are already chosen for us. This might be down to where in the world we’re born, to which family, or a whole bunch of other elements, including inherited health conditions. It's is a theme that runs throughout this excellent novel, and yet it took me me quite a while to identify this.
It’s starts with Lily meeting Matthew. The former is a Chinese-American woman of very limited means, and the latter is most definitely a born and bred American, and not short of a bob or two. He quickly whisks her off to Paris, seemingly on the spur of the moment, and soon after they’re a couple. I thought this would be the beginning of the story but I was to learn that this was actually the mid-point, we’ll learn how the story truly begins, and then how it ends, later in the book.
There are, in fact, three generations covered here. Their stories are complex and interweaving. But because of the way it’s structured, it isn't initially clear where it's all heading. The story of Mai (Lily’s mother) is the most harrowing section, documenting the chilling regime imposed by Mao Zedong and the very limited options open to all but the party leaders and their families. The final section brings everything together and finally makes sense of the piece as a whole.
There’s a good deal of philosophising here, and lots of science, too. But the central theme is how luck, or fortune, plays such a key role in determining what sort of life it is we will be allowed to lead. Unless we are able to load the odds in our favour, that is. Is it possible that modern science has a card up its sleeve that will enable us to improve our odds? There is a science fiction element to this tale, but based (I presume) on what might one day be possible. It was always there in this story, in the background, but it wasn't intrusive, and I didn't spot it for the most part. It crept up on me, and actually not in a bad way. In truth, I was always more engaged in the people: their stories, what they desired, and what was driving them.
There are small things here that I could pick at, but really it’s a tale that had me gripped pretty much from the start. It’s superbly written and imaginatively created. I loved it and was really sad to finally finish this slow-moving but hugely thought-provoking tale.
My thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 31, 2024
I read Real Americans for a Barnes and Noble Book Club discussion. I am so glad I attended the meeting. There is a lot to consider and question, and hearing others’ thoughts and opinions made me like the book more than my initial reading. The group felt part one and two went very quickly and there was “no meat” on the bones of the story. My feeling was they were very surface level romance and coming of age stories. The “real” story was Mei’s, which was the focus of part three.
I loved reading her story. Mei’s character had real depth and stayed true to her core belief throughout the story. I love learning about countries and time periods through the lens of a strong character. We see rural and urban China through Mei’s eyes, pre-revolution and during the communist revolution. I found this to be very interesting and powerful. I liked the history, cultural significance, and metaphor of the Lotus throughout the story. The hardcover book’s exterior pages are painted red with white lotus buds surrounding it. It’s absolutely beautiful. There were two bracelets that were threaded throughout the narrative. They were used as a means to connect family members across generations and a way to bring characters together.
There were several big topics to discuss or ponder. The first is time. If you could “freeze” time, but yet still use the time, how would you? The idea of freezing time produced three different interpretations of the ending, which I found enlightening and interesting. The second major theme explored is the destructive power of holding back truths or keeping family secrets. Another is the debate of nature, nurture, or a combination of both being responsible for how we turn out as people. The title is derived from the question of “Who is a Real American?” and idealizing the answer. Clearly, some Americans have different experiences based on how they look.
The biggest topic in the novel is that of in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization and genetic engineering/manipulation play a HUGE role in the narrative. Real Americans does a wonderful job delving into the science side, and a decent job exploring the impact on people when they find out about the role of in vitro in regards to their being. If you would like an in depth look and deep dive into the impact on people conceived through in vitro without knowing (truth withheld or family secret), I strongly recommend Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami.
I loved reading her story. Mei’s character had real depth and stayed true to her core belief throughout the story. I love learning about countries and time periods through the lens of a strong character. We see rural and urban China through Mei’s eyes, pre-revolution and during the communist revolution. I found this to be very interesting and powerful. I liked the history, cultural significance, and metaphor of the Lotus throughout the story. The hardcover book’s exterior pages are painted red with white lotus buds surrounding it. It’s absolutely beautiful. There were two bracelets that were threaded throughout the narrative. They were used as a means to connect family members across generations and a way to bring characters together.
There were several big topics to discuss or ponder. The first is time. If you could “freeze” time, but yet still use the time, how would you? The idea of freezing time produced three different interpretations of the ending, which I found enlightening and interesting. The second major theme explored is the destructive power of holding back truths or keeping family secrets. Another is the debate of nature, nurture, or a combination of both being responsible for how we turn out as people. The title is derived from the question of “Who is a Real American?” and idealizing the answer. Clearly, some Americans have different experiences based on how they look.
The biggest topic in the novel is that of in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization and genetic engineering/manipulation play a HUGE role in the narrative. Real Americans does a wonderful job delving into the science side, and a decent job exploring the impact on people when they find out about the role of in vitro in regards to their being. If you would like an in depth look and deep dive into the impact on people conceived through in vitro without knowing (truth withheld or family secret), I strongly recommend Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami.
April 30, 2024
My taste in recent years have drifted towards lighthearted books, but every once in a while I come across something like this with a little more meat on its bones that reminds me of how good it can be read something more literary. All that being said, Real Americans might end up being my favorite book from all of 2024. It's the kind of book that I loved so much, it's hard to put it into words without falling over myself saying, "It's so good, just read it, it's so good."
It's 420 pages, give or take, and I read it in 24 hours, give or take. I read the first half of it on a six-hour drive from Maryland to Ohio, thankful that my husband didn't mind that I stayed in the passenger seat the whole time. I thought it would last me the entire three days, but I stayed up late that first night to keep reading it and woke up early to finish it before going to spend the day with my nephew. It's that kind of book.
The story is hard to summarize, but it's broken into three parts following three generations of the same family. We start with Lily in the late 90s. The daughter of Chinese immigrants who grew up primarily in Florida, Lily is interning for a media company in New York City, struggling to get by when she meets Matthew at a company holiday party. His uncle runs the company where shes interning and he uses his wealth to sweep her off her feet. Turns out his father is the head of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country, so flying to Paris on a moment's notice is nothing for Matthew. It's an adjustment for Lily, but eventually the two fall deeply in love.
The second part of the book picks up in 2021 when their son, Nick, is in high school in Washington State. Lily's life looks a little different these days, as she is no longer with Matthew and has largely kept Nick from knowing who his father even is. We don't know exactly what caused the fallout, but Lily and Nick are now living an isolated life on a remote island outside Seattle. Nick is a lonely teen with a single friend whose dreams of an Ivy League future is really the only thing that pushes Nick himself to think beyond his sheltered world - and to begin a search for his biological father.
The third part is ostensibly set in 2030, when Lily's mother Mei is an old woman looking to make amends at the end of her life, but it really fills in a lot of the missing pieces from the past. Mei lived a hard life in China and her story focuses heavily on her escape from Mao's Cultural Revolution to the US in the 70s. At times, the three threads of the story, and especially this last piece, feel disparate, but they all come together to tell a haunting family drama full of secrets.
I will say I was initially drawn to this book because it's tagged here as magical realism and I was a little disappointed that this played a relatively small role in the story. Mei is a scientist and there is quite a bit of talk in her portion of the narrative that is focused on her work in genetics. We see a little bit of the physical effects that her work had on Lily, but the thrust of the book is really the effects that Mei's work has on the relationships within the family. This is ultimately a story about family dynamics and how choices can have rippling effects across time. I adored the characters, I loved the structure, and I was blown away by Khong's prose. It's absolutely incredible.
It's 420 pages, give or take, and I read it in 24 hours, give or take. I read the first half of it on a six-hour drive from Maryland to Ohio, thankful that my husband didn't mind that I stayed in the passenger seat the whole time. I thought it would last me the entire three days, but I stayed up late that first night to keep reading it and woke up early to finish it before going to spend the day with my nephew. It's that kind of book.
The story is hard to summarize, but it's broken into three parts following three generations of the same family. We start with Lily in the late 90s. The daughter of Chinese immigrants who grew up primarily in Florida, Lily is interning for a media company in New York City, struggling to get by when she meets Matthew at a company holiday party. His uncle runs the company where shes interning and he uses his wealth to sweep her off her feet. Turns out his father is the head of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country, so flying to Paris on a moment's notice is nothing for Matthew. It's an adjustment for Lily, but eventually the two fall deeply in love.
The second part of the book picks up in 2021 when their son, Nick, is in high school in Washington State. Lily's life looks a little different these days, as she is no longer with Matthew and has largely kept Nick from knowing who his father even is. We don't know exactly what caused the fallout, but Lily and Nick are now living an isolated life on a remote island outside Seattle. Nick is a lonely teen with a single friend whose dreams of an Ivy League future is really the only thing that pushes Nick himself to think beyond his sheltered world - and to begin a search for his biological father.
The third part is ostensibly set in 2030, when Lily's mother Mei is an old woman looking to make amends at the end of her life, but it really fills in a lot of the missing pieces from the past. Mei lived a hard life in China and her story focuses heavily on her escape from Mao's Cultural Revolution to the US in the 70s. At times, the three threads of the story, and especially this last piece, feel disparate, but they all come together to tell a haunting family drama full of secrets.
I will say I was initially drawn to this book because it's tagged here as magical realism and I was a little disappointed that this played a relatively small role in the story. Mei is a scientist and there is quite a bit of talk in her portion of the narrative that is focused on her work in genetics. We see a little bit of the physical effects that her work had on Lily, but the thrust of the book is really the effects that Mei's work has on the relationships within the family. This is ultimately a story about family dynamics and how choices can have rippling effects across time. I adored the characters, I loved the structure, and I was blown away by Khong's prose. It's absolutely incredible.
May 31, 2024
Told through three timelines, Real Americans is a sweeping family saga and I was all in!
The story first follows Lily, a recent college graduate in NYC in the late 90s who meets Matthew, her complete opposite. Despite their seemingly endless differences, the two opposites attract. The story then follows Nick, a 15 year old in 2021, who is curious about his biological father and will pursue information, with or without his mother’s help. After that, a third perspective is revealed, bringing answers to many of the family’s long lingering questions.
I was hooked on Real Americans from the start. It’s a story that explores identity, success, science, culture, and more. I was invested in all three parts of the story though it took longer for the final section to grow on me and keep my interest like the first two did. I highly recommend this engaging family saga.
The story first follows Lily, a recent college graduate in NYC in the late 90s who meets Matthew, her complete opposite. Despite their seemingly endless differences, the two opposites attract. The story then follows Nick, a 15 year old in 2021, who is curious about his biological father and will pursue information, with or without his mother’s help. After that, a third perspective is revealed, bringing answers to many of the family’s long lingering questions.
I was hooked on Real Americans from the start. It’s a story that explores identity, success, science, culture, and more. I was invested in all three parts of the story though it took longer for the final section to grow on me and keep my interest like the first two did. I highly recommend this engaging family saga.
July 1, 2024
🪷 6 / 30 / 24
⌗ ✰✰✰ | 🔖 composition: literary fiction, multiple povs, present and historical fiction, coming-of-age, slight magical realism, slight science fiction
‘real americans’ is a stunning portrait on multigenerational trauma that begs the question of how much heritage, class, and even our genetics can predetermine our lives. contemplated through the perspectives of lily chen, her son nick chen/maier, and her mother mei/may chen, khong attempts to arrive at an equally heartbreaking and hopeful conclusion.
through further consideration, i feel i have to give this book three stars. the book simply isn’t effective. only a few characters have any likability, the writing is overly simplistic, and the author has a great many ideas she overwhelms herself with. but i enjoyed it (especially mei’s perspective!) and would recommend it to anyone wondering about their place in the world.
alternatively: reads like if ‘your best american girl’ and ‘class of 2013’ by mitski sat down at a panera and wrote a book about genetic science with mother-daughter relationships at the root. or a normal way to say this.
general thoughts.
a lot of this book reminded me of zevin’s ‘tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow’, in the way that despite decent writing, it’s message was ineffective. the characters did nothing to advance the plot or message. i don’t know what i’m even supposed to be taking away from the story.
khong tackles much: americanism, sheer luck, class and wealth, race and biracial identity, friendship, affirmative action, genetic editing, multigenerational trauma, depression, communism and capitalism… arguably too much. and that wasn’t even all.
each topic is commented on (or summarized), but each insight is half-baked in a desperate struggle to get to the next. when writing part one, khong seems to remember that she set it on the precipice of Y2k and should write about 9/11. she does so in a single chapter with a few several lukewarm insights before abandoning one topic for the next.
characters.
2/3 of the characters were so beautifully developed. mei and lily had such distinct voices, their influence (or lack of one) on others were illustrated perfectly. i’m in awe.
one thing i will say, is that despite how nicely some parallels were tied together, there were too many — enough to leave the reader wondering if it’s all the author knows how to write. each character was overly decisive and seemingly unable to have multiple emotions at once.
i remember thinking to myself that i was feeling detached from a character or even supportive of their insecurities. i at first thought this was a flaw in khong’s writing, then realized i was experiencing the inner thoughts of each character. i was detached when they were detached from themselves or another was. i didn’t like them when they didn’t like themselves. khong’s characters were made so masterful i found myself thinking exactly the way they did.
lily chen.
↳ late 90s - early 00s ┆2nd gen
lily, an intern at a travel magazine company, feels the crushing weight of not being where or who she wants. with a vocabulary limited to ‘lei hou ma’, lily feels raised american but unable to look the part, and therefore excluded from two cultures while belonging to none. her entire life she has felt she exists in a space between asian and american.
this later leads to her feeling excluded from nearly every friend or member of family she has, including her own son, and it’s heartbreaking. like nearly every character in this book, while i understand her, i cannot forgive mei for how she treated lily.
i was attached to her for a few chapters and then watched her get sucked away into wealth. her actions got gradually more disappointing, and the detachment continued to the point of complete disconnection. have i mentioned how wonderfully this book displays multigenerational trauma?? because it does. i deeply missed her and the woman she deserved the chance to be.
nick chen/maier.
↳ mid 10s - early 20s┆3rd gen
i genuinely don’t have many thoughts on him. the character development was lacking, and i found myself agreeing with everything he said about his insecurities almost too much. this would’ve been tolerable had his perspective been any shorter. it was a great deal of rambling and summary with hardly any good insights in the beginning. WHAT DID HE DO TO ADVANCE THE PLOT? he was, also, the blandest character ever made. (and i just read about lily, so this is saying a lot!)
also, matthew? awful man. i despise him.
mei/may chen.
↳ 40s - early 20s┆1st gen
mei is a genetic scientist who was raised in communist china, escaping in young adulthood to new york. both her perspective and character is written beautifully. i connected to her the most - she had the personality and drive others hadn’t, her story was an engaging and heartbreaking one that deserved more page time than others.
as i mentioned, i cannot forgive her for how she treated lily. it’s clear khong cannot either, but lily’s overwhelming love yet inability to express it is a dynamic i think many can relate to.
quotes.
links.
⤿ the nyt article that introduced me to rachel khong and the work and event space for women and nonbinary writers and artists she founded in 2018.
⤿ b&n podcast
5 / 20 / 24
pre-review.
mei how i love you. kong tee how i love you. lily chen how i understand you, which isn’t love, but is what you’d appreciate more and something i deeply hope you find. rtc <3
⌗ ✰✰✰ | 🔖 composition: literary fiction, multiple povs, present and historical fiction, coming-of-age, slight magical realism, slight science fiction
‘real americans’ is a stunning portrait on multigenerational trauma that begs the question of how much heritage, class, and even our genetics can predetermine our lives. contemplated through the perspectives of lily chen, her son nick chen/maier, and her mother mei/may chen, khong attempts to arrive at an equally heartbreaking and hopeful conclusion.
through further consideration, i feel i have to give this book three stars. the book simply isn’t effective. only a few characters have any likability, the writing is overly simplistic, and the author has a great many ideas she overwhelms herself with. but i enjoyed it (especially mei’s perspective!) and would recommend it to anyone wondering about their place in the world.
alternatively: reads like if ‘your best american girl’ and ‘class of 2013’ by mitski sat down at a panera and wrote a book about genetic science with mother-daughter relationships at the root. or a normal way to say this.
your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me
but i do, I think i do
and you're an all-american boy
i guess i couldn't help trying to be your best american girl
general thoughts.
a lot of this book reminded me of zevin’s ‘tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow’, in the way that despite decent writing, it’s message was ineffective. the characters did nothing to advance the plot or message. i don’t know what i’m even supposed to be taking away from the story.
khong tackles much: americanism, sheer luck, class and wealth, race and biracial identity, friendship, affirmative action, genetic editing, multigenerational trauma, depression, communism and capitalism… arguably too much. and that wasn’t even all.
each topic is commented on (or summarized), but each insight is half-baked in a desperate struggle to get to the next. when writing part one, khong seems to remember that she set it on the precipice of Y2k and should write about 9/11. she does so in a single chapter with a few several lukewarm insights before abandoning one topic for the next.
characters.
2/3 of the characters were so beautifully developed. mei and lily had such distinct voices, their influence (or lack of one) on others were illustrated perfectly. i’m in awe.
one thing i will say, is that despite how nicely some parallels were tied together, there were too many — enough to leave the reader wondering if it’s all the author knows how to write. each character was overly decisive and seemingly unable to have multiple emotions at once.
i remember thinking to myself that i was feeling detached from a character or even supportive of their insecurities. i at first thought this was a flaw in khong’s writing, then realized i was experiencing the inner thoughts of each character. i was detached when they were detached from themselves or another was. i didn’t like them when they didn’t like themselves. khong’s characters were made so masterful i found myself thinking exactly the way they did.
lily chen.
↳ late 90s - early 00s ┆2nd gen
lily, an intern at a travel magazine company, feels the crushing weight of not being where or who she wants. with a vocabulary limited to ‘lei hou ma’, lily feels raised american but unable to look the part, and therefore excluded from two cultures while belonging to none. her entire life she has felt she exists in a space between asian and american.
this later leads to her feeling excluded from nearly every friend or member of family she has, including her own son, and it’s heartbreaking. like nearly every character in this book, while i understand her, i cannot forgive mei for how she treated lily.
i was attached to her for a few chapters and then watched her get sucked away into wealth. her actions got gradually more disappointing, and the detachment continued to the point of complete disconnection. have i mentioned how wonderfully this book displays multigenerational trauma?? because it does. i deeply missed her and the woman she deserved the chance to be.
🏷️ “in the act of giving i conceded that i had more than i needed, and someone had far less than they did. it was for no real reason, it wasn't fair. it shattered the illusion of my own free will - that i had made choices, and those choices had resulted in my life.”
nick chen/maier.
↳ mid 10s - early 20s┆3rd gen
i genuinely don’t have many thoughts on him. the character development was lacking, and i found myself agreeing with everything he said about his insecurities almost too much. this would’ve been tolerable had his perspective been any shorter. it was a great deal of rambling and summary with hardly any good insights in the beginning. WHAT DID HE DO TO ADVANCE THE PLOT? he was, also, the blandest character ever made. (and i just read about lily, so this is saying a lot!)
also, matthew? awful man. i despise him.
🏷️ “why did parents perform all these un-repayable acts? was it because they felt guilty for bringing us here in the first place? it was a chain of guilt, like daisies, unbroken.”
mei/may chen.
↳ 40s - early 20s┆1st gen
mei is a genetic scientist who was raised in communist china, escaping in young adulthood to new york. both her perspective and character is written beautifully. i connected to her the most - she had the personality and drive others hadn’t, her story was an engaging and heartbreaking one that deserved more page time than others.
as i mentioned, i cannot forgive her for how she treated lily. it’s clear khong cannot either, but lily’s overwhelming love yet inability to express it is a dynamic i think many can relate to.
🏷️ “i had the suspicion that each person was allowed only a bit of ease. there was a limit to fulfilled desire in a life. of course I hadn’t been to america. i wasn’t aware that certain people lived extravagant lives—with no end to their wanting, never punished for it. but I didn’t know that yet.”
quotes.
“somehow I was self-absorbed without even knowing who i was, or who i should be - an exasperating combination.”
“it was books, the immense volume of them, that opened my eyes to how little we understood about the world we inhabited: a world that appeared ordinary in its dailiness yet contained mysteries upon mysteries, one door opening onto another.”
“i wasn't a lucky person. i'd never defied odds. even my being born a chinese woman had been likeliest, of all possible humans.”
links.
⤿ the nyt article that introduced me to rachel khong and the work and event space for women and nonbinary writers and artists she founded in 2018.
⤿ b&n podcast
5 / 20 / 24
pre-review.
mei how i love you. kong tee how i love you. lily chen how i understand you, which isn’t love, but is what you’d appreciate more and something i deeply hope you find. rtc <3
“it was a habit, with my parents: omitting information, not wanting to worry them unnecessarily. though they’d raised me so american, i could never manage the sorts of american relationships my friends had with their parents, where they talked to them like friends.” 🪷
September 25, 2023
i enjoyed most of this novel. it is very well written, but the first section was absolutely my favorite. lily is such a compelling woman, and her struggles with motherhood after birth are so heartbreaking and brilliant. i didn't care much for nick. i cared even less for mei's story. the magic aspect of this novel just doesn't work. it's thrown in so haphazardly and takes away from the original theme of chinese folks trying to assimilate/survive/be accepted into a terribly racist america.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
April 19, 2024
“Hearing a story — what did it accomplish? Nothing and everything.”
So much of our lives are out of our control, from where we are born to who our parents are. We didn’t choose to take after our father's eyes or our mother’s height. We didn’t choose to be born in a country with inherent privilege, while others were born in a country of immense repression and political turmoil. Or a family where I love you is said naturally without hesitation, while for others, it can only be expressed through tough love.
All of these things make it difficult to accept how little agency we have in our lives. How much is fate, and what is within our control?
In ‘Real Americans, ’ we see what happens when one decision to claim control of your family sends a rippling wave of consequences that question what lengths are justified and what is exercising control beyond the boundaries of ethics.
The story is split into three parts, following three generations within a family: grandmother, daughter, and grandson. We are taken across 70 years—from China during Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward to New York during Y2K and 2030, a not-so-distant future. I’m intentionally keeping the plot and characters vague, as I think this story is best told by knowing as little as possible and experiencing and uncovering as you go.
This story is why I get so much fulfillment from multigenerational family sagas. In real life, we do not know all the decisions and circumstances that led to who our parents and grandparents are. We are forced to find answers to the secrets kept and the untold stories. So, it feels like a refreshing opportunity to be presented with a full lineage and see each generation blend into the next. My compassion often expands, and my criticisms are reduced. As we see with this family, we all deserve to give our loved ones more empathy because even if we disagree with their decisions, everyone is doing the best with the cards they've been dealt.
“But what if I’d been born someone else, a place where, whoever you were, you could make your own choices? That was all I wanted. Not a grand wish, just a fair one.”
So many things stood out to me—starting with the relationship with time and whether intentions can redeem the harm of one's actions. Hearing someone’s intentions makes you feel so much but changes so little. The veil and consequences of propaganda are strong in every country, whether we realize it or not.
This story has a lot of love, and all the different forms and shapes were hopeful and heartbreaking. Lastly, as the daughter of immigrant parents, the immigrant experience I always feel very emotional reading, and in this case, hearing about the Chinese diaspora was equally emotional and very layered.
“But it was a mistake, believing you could choose for someone else, no matter how well-intentioned you might be.”
I don’t think I’ve universally felt so much empathy for each main character in a story before. I have only positive things to say! I loved the ending. Every time I reflect, I pick up on something else I love. The structure, science elements, full-circle moments, and plot twists all worked for me. I cannot wait for more people to read.
Thank you so much for the ARC. Rachel, congratulations! It's cemented as one of my favorites of the year.
So much of our lives are out of our control, from where we are born to who our parents are. We didn’t choose to take after our father's eyes or our mother’s height. We didn’t choose to be born in a country with inherent privilege, while others were born in a country of immense repression and political turmoil. Or a family where I love you is said naturally without hesitation, while for others, it can only be expressed through tough love.
All of these things make it difficult to accept how little agency we have in our lives. How much is fate, and what is within our control?
In ‘Real Americans, ’ we see what happens when one decision to claim control of your family sends a rippling wave of consequences that question what lengths are justified and what is exercising control beyond the boundaries of ethics.
The story is split into three parts, following three generations within a family: grandmother, daughter, and grandson. We are taken across 70 years—from China during Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward to New York during Y2K and 2030, a not-so-distant future. I’m intentionally keeping the plot and characters vague, as I think this story is best told by knowing as little as possible and experiencing and uncovering as you go.
This story is why I get so much fulfillment from multigenerational family sagas. In real life, we do not know all the decisions and circumstances that led to who our parents and grandparents are. We are forced to find answers to the secrets kept and the untold stories. So, it feels like a refreshing opportunity to be presented with a full lineage and see each generation blend into the next. My compassion often expands, and my criticisms are reduced. As we see with this family, we all deserve to give our loved ones more empathy because even if we disagree with their decisions, everyone is doing the best with the cards they've been dealt.
“But what if I’d been born someone else, a place where, whoever you were, you could make your own choices? That was all I wanted. Not a grand wish, just a fair one.”
So many things stood out to me—starting with the relationship with time and whether intentions can redeem the harm of one's actions. Hearing someone’s intentions makes you feel so much but changes so little. The veil and consequences of propaganda are strong in every country, whether we realize it or not.
This story has a lot of love, and all the different forms and shapes were hopeful and heartbreaking. Lastly, as the daughter of immigrant parents, the immigrant experience I always feel very emotional reading, and in this case, hearing about the Chinese diaspora was equally emotional and very layered.
“But it was a mistake, believing you could choose for someone else, no matter how well-intentioned you might be.”
I don’t think I’ve universally felt so much empathy for each main character in a story before. I have only positive things to say! I loved the ending. Every time I reflect, I pick up on something else I love. The structure, science elements, full-circle moments, and plot twists all worked for me. I cannot wait for more people to read.
Thank you so much for the ARC. Rachel, congratulations! It's cemented as one of my favorites of the year.
June 13, 2024
I really enjoyed Lily and Nick's POVs but Mei's was a little harder to follow for me. On the one hand I wasn't a fan of Mei's parts but on the other hand it also went to show that Khong can give different characters their unique voices and flairs which is always impressive.
Sprawling family sagas aren't my thing but it was done exceptionally well here and with such a reasonable number of pages I'm really impressed with how organic and unrushed the storytelling came across as. Seriously, with the topics this book approaches I expected it to be on the ponderous and slightly pretentious side but it was neither, I found it almost charming (oddly enough) and entirely unpretentious. On a technical aspect I would absolutely give this one a 5/5.
It was my first time reading this author and it will certainly not be the last.
Sprawling family sagas aren't my thing but it was done exceptionally well here and with such a reasonable number of pages I'm really impressed with how organic and unrushed the storytelling came across as. Seriously, with the topics this book approaches I expected it to be on the ponderous and slightly pretentious side but it was neither, I found it almost charming (oddly enough) and entirely unpretentious. On a technical aspect I would absolutely give this one a 5/5.
It was my first time reading this author and it will certainly not be the last.
September 14, 2023
Part 1 - Lily: 2 stars
Part 2- Nick: 3 stars
Part 3; May/Mei: 4 stars
Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD
This book was very uneven for me. It feels like Khong spent so long on the third part of the novel that she didn't flesh out the beginning. I considered abandoning the story when it centered on Lily because it was so light on characterization. Lily meets and falls in love with Matthew, but he is little more than an archetype of a rich, white man who wants to distance himself from his wealthy family. His father, Otto, is similarly painted with a very light brush. They don't seem like characters but narrative necessities to get where we're going.
The plot moved briskly in the first third, likely because the other parts were far more interesting. When Lily gives birth to her son with Matthew, the child looks nothing like her. "The baby who wasn't my baby was brought to my breast, and I let him eat," Khong writes. That is the briefest description of a mother's first experience breastfeeding that I've ever read. It's like Khong knew the rest of the book was meatier and wanted to get there as soon as possible.
The book gets much richer in the second part, as we delve into Nick's life. His character is much more fully fleshed-out than his parents', though we do learn a bit more about Lily and Matthew in part two.
The final third is where the book really soars--when you learn about the hardships Mei endures to make her way from China to the United States. Yes, it gives you insight into why she did what she did and how the revelation of her sins blew up Lily and Matthew's marriage. Matthew remains little more than an absent father archetype, but at least we understand the first part a little bit more.
The "magic" part of the book never worked for me, and I don't really understand its purpose in the story. So Mei swallowed a magic lotus seed that gave her, Lily, and Nick the gift of time? A gift no amount of money can buy. This ability to stop time allows Nick, who was struggling badly to understand anything in his college classes, to suddenly become a straight-A student? It seemed out-of-place and awfully convenient.
One loose thread--how did Ping's letter to Mei come into Nick's possession, and why did we never get her modern-day reaction to seeing a picture of her long-lost love? She now knows for sure that he lived. And thrived.
Part 2- Nick: 3 stars
Part 3; May/Mei: 4 stars
Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD
This book was very uneven for me. It feels like Khong spent so long on the third part of the novel that she didn't flesh out the beginning. I considered abandoning the story when it centered on Lily because it was so light on characterization. Lily meets and falls in love with Matthew, but he is little more than an archetype of a rich, white man who wants to distance himself from his wealthy family. His father, Otto, is similarly painted with a very light brush. They don't seem like characters but narrative necessities to get where we're going.
The plot moved briskly in the first third, likely because the other parts were far more interesting. When Lily gives birth to her son with Matthew, the child looks nothing like her. "The baby who wasn't my baby was brought to my breast, and I let him eat," Khong writes. That is the briefest description of a mother's first experience breastfeeding that I've ever read. It's like Khong knew the rest of the book was meatier and wanted to get there as soon as possible.
The book gets much richer in the second part, as we delve into Nick's life. His character is much more fully fleshed-out than his parents', though we do learn a bit more about Lily and Matthew in part two.
The final third is where the book really soars--when you learn about the hardships Mei endures to make her way from China to the United States. Yes, it gives you insight into why she did what she did and how the revelation of her sins blew up Lily and Matthew's marriage. Matthew remains little more than an absent father archetype, but at least we understand the first part a little bit more.
The "magic" part of the book never worked for me, and I don't really understand its purpose in the story. So Mei swallowed a magic lotus seed that gave her, Lily, and Nick the gift of time? A gift no amount of money can buy. This ability to stop time allows Nick, who was struggling badly to understand anything in his college classes, to suddenly become a straight-A student? It seemed out-of-place and awfully convenient.
One loose thread--how did Ping's letter to Mei come into Nick's possession, and why did we never get her modern-day reaction to seeing a picture of her long-lost love? She now knows for sure that he lived. And thrived.
Read
March 18, 2024The short version of my reaction to this book is: a three-generation saga made up of some powerful sections, observations, and especially details, mixed with science fiction, forced into a structure that works against it.
I found the most engaging section by far was the third, Mei's story of surviving being born dirt-poor in China on the eve of Mao's "improvements," her survival of the brutal years of Mao's utter failure at environmental and economic reform, followed by the mad brutality of the Red Guard era. She became a scientist in spite of these difficulties, while enduring a horrible marriage; at that point, the narrative begins to break up as the first two sections are jumbled in via some high end business dealings.
The book began with Mei's daughter Lily as an unpaid intern. There is a quick, rather synopsis of a whirlwind romance. Then the narrative cuts that off to focus on Lily's son Nick, whose section seemed the most unmoored from the rest, in spite of Nick's determination to connect with his grandmother.
Emotionally the story was all over the place; as soon as I'd be drawn into one character's story, the rug was pulled out and I was plunged into scattered anecdotes of another. Meanwhile, the story threads of the previous section are left dangling, unresolved, including an awkward inclusion of what I guess was maybe magical realism? But it served no purpose in the story: without it, the story would be exactly the same.
I did like the last line, but because the emotional threads had been so snarled, it engendered only a brief smile rather than any sense of resolution. The question "Why? What happened?" once again almost overshadowed memory of the details of Mei's life in particular, which I found the strongest part of the book.
But then I'm old, and I remember the horrifying news smuggled out of China about teenagers my own age busy brutalizing the country right back to the Stone Age. I wonder if younger readers will be more involved with the more modern times, and Lily's and Nick's part of the story.
So: a jumble of a review about a structural jumble of a book. Is it worth reading? Absolutely! Despite my impatience with what I consider a messy structure, the individual elements were absorbing and the Chinese paradigm overlying the "American" dream is very much worth pondering.
Book provided by NetGalley
I found the most engaging section by far was the third, Mei's story of surviving being born dirt-poor in China on the eve of Mao's "improvements," her survival of the brutal years of Mao's utter failure at environmental and economic reform, followed by the mad brutality of the Red Guard era. She became a scientist in spite of these difficulties, while enduring a horrible marriage; at that point, the narrative begins to break up as the first two sections are jumbled in via some high end business dealings.
The book began with Mei's daughter Lily as an unpaid intern. There is a quick, rather synopsis of a whirlwind romance. Then the narrative cuts that off to focus on Lily's son Nick, whose section seemed the most unmoored from the rest, in spite of Nick's determination to connect with his grandmother.
Emotionally the story was all over the place; as soon as I'd be drawn into one character's story, the rug was pulled out and I was plunged into scattered anecdotes of another. Meanwhile, the story threads of the previous section are left dangling, unresolved, including an awkward inclusion of what I guess was maybe magical realism? But it served no purpose in the story: without it, the story would be exactly the same.
I did like the last line, but because the emotional threads had been so snarled, it engendered only a brief smile rather than any sense of resolution. The question "Why? What happened?" once again almost overshadowed memory of the details of Mei's life in particular, which I found the strongest part of the book.
But then I'm old, and I remember the horrifying news smuggled out of China about teenagers my own age busy brutalizing the country right back to the Stone Age. I wonder if younger readers will be more involved with the more modern times, and Lily's and Nick's part of the story.
So: a jumble of a review about a structural jumble of a book. Is it worth reading? Absolutely! Despite my impatience with what I consider a messy structure, the individual elements were absorbing and the Chinese paradigm overlying the "American" dream is very much worth pondering.
Book provided by NetGalley
March 28, 2024
[3.5/5 stars]
REAL AMERICANS follows three POVs and timelines: Lily Chen, daughter of Chinese immigrants; Lily's son, Nick and Lily's mother, Mei.
I had mixed feelings about this novel: in part one, the narrative adopts a romantic approach, centering around the relationship between Lily and Matthew (and his family). The overwritten trope between Asian woman and white guy, as well as the immigrant story in which a child needs to meet the parents' expectations feel quite conventional. Some lavish descriptions are detailed as if to impress the reader, however the intention becomes clear as one advances the story. I wasn't fully convinced by the romance, since the instant connection felt less organic.
In part two, this is more a coming-of-age story of Nick, as he navigates through identity and adulthood. Echoing themes of white supremacy and friendship, I was less invested in the teenager dialogues, punctuated by youth and recklessness.
Part three was my favorite part and the highlight of the novel - from Chinese Cultural Revolution to America, there was a more profound character development and Khong examines belonging and American identity. The backstory allows a better emotional attachment, moving forward to incorporate a scientific touch. The inclusion of biology and epigenetics gives the story a dash of originality and I was utterly engaged.
With lyrical prose and short chapters, this book reads quick. At its core, it is about race, identity and power; providing a lens into how influential people try to control fate with wealth and power. The mystery about Lotus seed from Qing dynasty, what drew my attention at first, was briefly mentioned and not further developed. The book was more telling and in an attempt to tackle on several important themes, it was ineffective at delivering more substance. Lastly, the half-baked ending left me underwhelmed.
Regardless of its flaws, what this novel does is to provide a story that would be perfect for book clubs, sparking interesting discussions. REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong is a fast-paced and enjoyable read with some compelling twists.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Knopf publishing . All opinions are my own ]
REAL AMERICANS follows three POVs and timelines: Lily Chen, daughter of Chinese immigrants; Lily's son, Nick and Lily's mother, Mei.
I had mixed feelings about this novel: in part one, the narrative adopts a romantic approach, centering around the relationship between Lily and Matthew (and his family). The overwritten trope between Asian woman and white guy, as well as the immigrant story in which a child needs to meet the parents' expectations feel quite conventional. Some lavish descriptions are detailed as if to impress the reader, however the intention becomes clear as one advances the story. I wasn't fully convinced by the romance, since the instant connection felt less organic.
In part two, this is more a coming-of-age story of Nick, as he navigates through identity and adulthood. Echoing themes of white supremacy and friendship, I was less invested in the teenager dialogues, punctuated by youth and recklessness.
Part three was my favorite part and the highlight of the novel - from Chinese Cultural Revolution to America, there was a more profound character development and Khong examines belonging and American identity. The backstory allows a better emotional attachment, moving forward to incorporate a scientific touch. The inclusion of biology and epigenetics gives the story a dash of originality and I was utterly engaged.
With lyrical prose and short chapters, this book reads quick. At its core, it is about race, identity and power; providing a lens into how influential people try to control fate with wealth and power. The mystery about Lotus seed from Qing dynasty, what drew my attention at first, was briefly mentioned and not further developed. The book was more telling and in an attempt to tackle on several important themes, it was ineffective at delivering more substance. Lastly, the half-baked ending left me underwhelmed.
Regardless of its flaws, what this novel does is to provide a story that would be perfect for book clubs, sparking interesting discussions. REAL AMERICANS by Rachel Khong is a fast-paced and enjoyable read with some compelling twists.
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Knopf publishing . All opinions are my own ]
May 10, 2024
Really enjoyed this novel that almost felt like 3 separate stories that shared the same characters each told from a different point of view (Lily, her son and her mother) set in different points of time (past, present and future). There were so many themes touched upon: the ethical considerations of genetic research; fortune and the role it may or may not ultimately play when making decisions; family dynamics and how they are affected by long-held secrets; the inevitable impact of climate change; and the passage of time and how we change with it. So much food for thought!
Where you are in life may determine which section will resonate most for you. Old souls, deep thinkers and gen-xers will likely appreciate the book a bit more than others.
Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and Knopf/Borzoi Books/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
Where you are in life may determine which section will resonate most for you. Old souls, deep thinkers and gen-xers will likely appreciate the book a bit more than others.
Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and Knopf/Borzoi Books/Penguin Random House LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
March 18, 2024
Rl. I don’t want to say much else about the plot. Part of the appeal of this book is while it is literary, it also feels more widely appealing in the way Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow did. The plot AND the writing will pull you along.
I was hooked from the first line, and while I enjoyed Parts I and II the most, I overall really liked this. The questions are our fates truly inevitable, do we have the right to influence others’ fates even if capable, and what really makes us…us were all explored here. It’s important to note there are some not fully explained or fully believe scientific things central to who Khong is answering these questions. I was okay with that, despite wanting a bit more. That aside, I have a feeling these characters and this story will stay with me for awhile.
I was hooked from the first line, and while I enjoyed Parts I and II the most, I overall really liked this. The questions are our fates truly inevitable, do we have the right to influence others’ fates even if capable, and what really makes us…us were all explored here. It’s important to note there are some not fully explained or fully believe scientific things central to who Khong is answering these questions. I was okay with that, despite wanting a bit more. That aside, I have a feeling these characters and this story will stay with me for awhile.
June 2, 2024
The synopsis of Real Americans had me prepared for a more scholarly book, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the first portion of the book quite light and easily digestible, in what was, at its onset at least, a romance story. By the time the book entered deeper waters, I was enamored with the characters and invested in seeing what would throw them off course.
The book is split into three distinct parts, as it explores three generations in a single family. The first centers around Lily, a young woman living as an unpaid intern in New York City, who finds herself falling for the heir of a wealthy pharmaceutical company. Convinced that she'll never fit in with Matthew's luxurious economic class, she's driven to push him away even as she finds herself drawn in by him. The second part of the book jumps two decades in the future and to a new POV, that of Lily's son Nick. They are living together, Lily as a single mom, in a remote Washington island community. And finally, we hear from Lily's mother, recounting her time living in China as well as her emigration to the U.S. I was impressed by how well Khong developed three voices that felt in sync with very different generations and ages. Each POV felt well-developed and provided a distinct voice in their collective narrative.
At its heart, Real Americans focuses on the theme of identity — within (and outside of) your social and economic class, within a fractured family, within a political culture, and within a country that views you first and foremost as an immigrant. Each character is seeking belonging in a complex landscape. Other themes tackled include racial prejudice, economic disparity, eugenics, love, and forgiveness. I feel Khong did a great job of tackling some heavy issues in a book that still felt light and accessible.
One minor side note: I have seen this book tagged in the magical realism genre, so I went in expecting a heavier thread of magic. While magical realism does play a small part, I found it to be more of a distraction than a valuable addition. If you are expecting a whimsical book where magic plays a role from beginning to end, this is not the novel for you. Perhaps because of this, I found myself wishing for a little more from the ending. Even so, there is something extraordinary about their story even without magic, and I find my mind keeps wandering back to this family.
The book is split into three distinct parts, as it explores three generations in a single family. The first centers around Lily, a young woman living as an unpaid intern in New York City, who finds herself falling for the heir of a wealthy pharmaceutical company. Convinced that she'll never fit in with Matthew's luxurious economic class, she's driven to push him away even as she finds herself drawn in by him. The second part of the book jumps two decades in the future and to a new POV, that of Lily's son Nick. They are living together, Lily as a single mom, in a remote Washington island community. And finally, we hear from Lily's mother, recounting her time living in China as well as her emigration to the U.S. I was impressed by how well Khong developed three voices that felt in sync with very different generations and ages. Each POV felt well-developed and provided a distinct voice in their collective narrative.
At its heart, Real Americans focuses on the theme of identity — within (and outside of) your social and economic class, within a fractured family, within a political culture, and within a country that views you first and foremost as an immigrant. Each character is seeking belonging in a complex landscape. Other themes tackled include racial prejudice, economic disparity, eugenics, love, and forgiveness. I feel Khong did a great job of tackling some heavy issues in a book that still felt light and accessible.
One minor side note: I have seen this book tagged in the magical realism genre, so I went in expecting a heavier thread of magic. While magical realism does play a small part, I found it to be more of a distraction than a valuable addition. If you are expecting a whimsical book where magic plays a role from beginning to end, this is not the novel for you. Perhaps because of this, I found myself wishing for a little more from the ending. Even so, there is something extraordinary about their story even without magic, and I find my mind keeps wandering back to this family.
July 6, 2024
"Real Americans" looks at three different generations of a Chinese American family, but in a nonlinear way. First, we meet Lily Chen, who in 1999 is 22 years old. She is working as an unpaid (and financially struggling) intern for an arts magazine in NYC. She had been raised in Florida by two genetic scientists, who had escaped Communist China in the 1970's. At a company party, Lily meets Matthew, who seems handsome, romantic and impossibly rich. Theirs is a Cinderella story.
The book then focuses upon their son Nick, fifteen years later. At that time, Nick and Lily are living on a remote island in Washington state. Lily and Matthew have divorced; She is raising Nick without any knowledge of his father, for reasons of her own. Nick has become a troubled teen (although not acting out). He aches for connection with his unknown dad.
Finally, in Part 3 of the novel, we get to know May. It is 2030. She is 85 years old and living with a room-mate in San Francisco. Estranged from her daughter (Lily) and grandson (Nick), May arranges to meet Nick. In her conversations with him, May recounts her life and choices, some of which she regrets.
This is a rich tapestry of a story with many threads. Some deal with family; Some threads look at history, culture, and self identity; And, woven throughout is a theme of gene therapy and how it can both enrich and hurt lives.
The novel will be on my list for Best Books of 2024.
The book then focuses upon their son Nick, fifteen years later. At that time, Nick and Lily are living on a remote island in Washington state. Lily and Matthew have divorced; She is raising Nick without any knowledge of his father, for reasons of her own. Nick has become a troubled teen (although not acting out). He aches for connection with his unknown dad.
Finally, in Part 3 of the novel, we get to know May. It is 2030. She is 85 years old and living with a room-mate in San Francisco. Estranged from her daughter (Lily) and grandson (Nick), May arranges to meet Nick. In her conversations with him, May recounts her life and choices, some of which she regrets.
This is a rich tapestry of a story with many threads. Some deal with family; Some threads look at history, culture, and self identity; And, woven throughout is a theme of gene therapy and how it can both enrich and hurt lives.
The novel will be on my list for Best Books of 2024.
June 22, 2024
Another great book club read. I must say I have been hitting real middle of the road choices myself but all the other women in my group keep selecting pearls!
Following three generations, we start off with what feels like a well-written but fairly ho-hum ‘regular girl meets billionaire boy’ story.
Well, colour me surprised and spit in my eye, but wasn’t I wrong. The backstory of an overbearing mother is revealed, young man stands up for what he believes in, and scientists are faced with all kinds of ethical decisions about how far is too far.
This is one of those books where the story subtly reveals a future that isn’t at all far-fetched but which raises questions of what is means to be human and what we really value.
Following three generations, we start off with what feels like a well-written but fairly ho-hum ‘regular girl meets billionaire boy’ story.
Well, colour me surprised and spit in my eye, but wasn’t I wrong. The backstory of an overbearing mother is revealed, young man stands up for what he believes in, and scientists are faced with all kinds of ethical decisions about how far is too far.
This is one of those books where the story subtly reveals a future that isn’t at all far-fetched but which raises questions of what is means to be human and what we really value.
May 17, 2024
“We’re Americans. We have the freedom to choose where we live, where we work, what we do for a living…. What’s different about choosing our own health outcomes or physical attributes?”
Three generations divided into three segments. Each part tells the story of how our ancestors choose our lives, whether they do willingly or unwillingly. Would you change the outcome of your children? The hair colour? The predisposition of disease? Mental illness? Autism? Longevity?
Part 1 - Lily ( the mother)
Part 2 - Nick (the son)
Part 3 - May (the grandmother)
Although I didn’t completely love the dynamic of this book, it really would make for an excellent discussion and it would be the bee’s knees for a bookclub chat. Where does one stop at science and let God do the rest? That’s the question I took out of this book and is that the way we are headed as a society?
Clearly a hot topic as we do more and more with DNA and ancestry.
Three generations divided into three segments. Each part tells the story of how our ancestors choose our lives, whether they do willingly or unwillingly. Would you change the outcome of your children? The hair colour? The predisposition of disease? Mental illness? Autism? Longevity?
Part 1 - Lily ( the mother)
Part 2 - Nick (the son)
Part 3 - May (the grandmother)
Although I didn’t completely love the dynamic of this book, it really would make for an excellent discussion and it would be the bee’s knees for a bookclub chat. Where does one stop at science and let God do the rest? That’s the question I took out of this book and is that the way we are headed as a society?
Clearly a hot topic as we do more and more with DNA and ancestry.
June 5, 2024
2.5 -- u cant just haphazardly toss magical realism into ur book to try and make it interesting. shit just makes me take a slightly more speculative nap
May 11, 2024
Coming back for my review 🙇🏾♀️ thinking on this!
Read
May 19, 2024it's late and i just finished this so im going to sit on a rating but i loved it. having read both goodbye, vitamin and real americans i will read anything rachel khong writes
Read
April 30, 2024Why I Love It
By Jerrod MacFarlane
It’s thrilling when a book doesn’t shy away from big ideas or big emotions, even better if it features both. Rachel Khong has ambition to spare. Like her acclaimed debut Goodbye, Vitamin, her new novel is a family story, but she has widened her canvas. Spanning continents and generations, Real Americans tackles everything from Chinese history to the ethics of gene editing in a story that rivetingly explores whether we can truly be masters of our fates.
This story begins on the cusp of Y2K—the dawn of a new era full of unknown but tantalizing promise. Lily Chen is a Chinese-American born to two scientists who fled the Cultural Revolution. As an unpaid intern at a media company, she crosses paths with Matthew, who as a native East Coaster and trust funder couldn’t be more different than her. Nonetheless, they fall in love. Then out of it. Fast forward fifteen years and Lily is living on a remote island with her son Nick, who suspects his mother is keeping more than a few secrets from him. A journey to uncover the identity of his biological father unearths the surprising and unexpected inheritances passed down from his family to Nick.
If you like a novel that occupies your thoughts days after reading it, don’t miss out on Real Americans. This is a thoughtful and moving family saga that sings on every page.
By Jerrod MacFarlane
It’s thrilling when a book doesn’t shy away from big ideas or big emotions, even better if it features both. Rachel Khong has ambition to spare. Like her acclaimed debut Goodbye, Vitamin, her new novel is a family story, but she has widened her canvas. Spanning continents and generations, Real Americans tackles everything from Chinese history to the ethics of gene editing in a story that rivetingly explores whether we can truly be masters of our fates.
This story begins on the cusp of Y2K—the dawn of a new era full of unknown but tantalizing promise. Lily Chen is a Chinese-American born to two scientists who fled the Cultural Revolution. As an unpaid intern at a media company, she crosses paths with Matthew, who as a native East Coaster and trust funder couldn’t be more different than her. Nonetheless, they fall in love. Then out of it. Fast forward fifteen years and Lily is living on a remote island with her son Nick, who suspects his mother is keeping more than a few secrets from him. A journey to uncover the identity of his biological father unearths the surprising and unexpected inheritances passed down from his family to Nick.
If you like a novel that occupies your thoughts days after reading it, don’t miss out on Real Americans. This is a thoughtful and moving family saga that sings on every page.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,756 reviews