There’s been a bit of pre-publication brouhaha for Jade Chang’s debut, much more subdued that the constant shouting which can be so off-putting but just enough to put it on my radar. Set in 2008 with the financial world about to crash with the loudest of bangs, it’s about a family whose cosmetics mogul father suddenly finds himself bankrupt in a country he thought he’d made his own. He decides to claim his fabled ancestral land in China but first he needs to gather his family together.
Charles Wang is spitting tacks. The American dream has crashed to smithereens all around him, robbing him of his fortune and putting him out on the streets. This is not what he came to America from Taiwan for and worse, his misfortune turns out to be his own fault. Quickly dismissing that thought he sets about assembling his three children and whisking them off to China, a place he’s never set foot in himself, to wrest his family’s land from the Communists. He and his bemused second wife pack up his first wife’s powder blue 1980s Mercedes, lock up their Bel-air mansion for the last time and head off to pick up his sixteen-year-old daughter from her boarding school. Told to bring only the important things, Grace packs up her picture gallery of dead people, downloads her style blog and installs herself on the back seat soon to be joined by Andrew, not entirely sure about leaving his Arizona college but lured by the idea of open mic opportunities to air his standup routines en route. These four are heading for Charles’ eldest daughter’s farmhouse in upstate New York where she’s failed to escape her wastrel ex-lover and the disgrace of her latest art installation. An eventful journey ensues in which more than a few lessons are learned.
A road trip is a wonderful structure for a novel, lots of momentum and room for character development. Each member of the Wang family’s story is neatly woven into their odyssey, revealing much about their characters as it unfolds. Chang keeps her tone light while making some serious points along the way. It’s very funny with lots of throwaway lines – ‘I just wear a Che Guevera T-shirt. It doesn’t mean I know anything about actual Communists’ says Andrew – and there are some nice jibes at bleeding heart liberals buying their organic vegetables from a black farmer and feeling good about themselves. It’s a novel that screamed ‘movie’ at me, although of the indie rather than Hollywood variety, please. Really in the end, it’s all about family and connection. The message is simple – you may think lots of money makes you happy but it doesn’t – which Chang delivers in a thoroughly disarming and entertaining way.
Not my cup of tea but I can see the appeal
I wasn’t sure it would be mine, either. That jacket is very off-putting and the first few pages weren’t encouraging but it turned out to be thoroughly entertaining.
I can see how it might be twee and too ‘feel good’ in the wrong hands, but I did like that quote about Che Guevara…
The book’s far too sharp for twee but a Hollywood treatment would no doubt make it so! The whole family does end up in China at the very end of the book where they’re more than a little discombobulated by their new surroundings.
I can imagine, with all the massive changes China has experience over the past two decades, that it would be a shock to returning emigrants!
Although none of them – even Charles – has actually set foot in the country before. It’s a very short section in the novel but very well done – that’s where the quote comes from.
This sounds like a lot of fun. I like road trip novels, and the older ages of the children appeal to me – old enough to decide not to go with their father and yet they do. I’m curious to know what they think of China once they get there…
The younger ones have strong but developing personalities which works well with the road trip structure. The China section is really quite short, coming at the very end of the book but suffice to say there are some comic moments and some surprises for all of them.
This book is on my TBR. I like a book that makes you think.However by the review I can see there are parts I won’t enjoy much. I have to read and see where the book stands for me
Always the best way. Fiction is such a subjective thing. Which bits do you think you won’t enjoy?
This sounds like a really fun book to read, entertaining and not entirely vacuous (though the cover screams it, proving that ever-truth ‘never judge a book…’). Such an interesting premise, turning the capitalist dream on its head.
Yes, that cover is awful. I hope it doesn’t stop the book reaching readers who would enjoy it.
Isn’t it funny how too much hype around a book can be off-putting? This sounds like a wonderful, warm-hearted read! I’ve seen the cover around, but hadn’t read any reviews before yours. I’ll keep an eye out for it!
It’s the same with films: first you’re interested then a little fed up with the endless trumpeting then you turn your back and walk away – or at least I do! It’s a very enjoyable read – a serious message all wrapped up in a thoroughly entertaining piece of storytelling