Review: Deceit and Other Possibilities (by Vanessa Hua)

My Rating: 4 stars

 

Two years ago, I read Vanessa Hua’s debut novel A River of Stars, which presented a realistic take on the Chinese immigrant experience against the backdrop of the “birth tourism” phenomenon in the United States.  I enjoyed that book quite a bit, not just for the story and the characters, but also the way Hua was able to work the cultural references into the plot so smoothly.  I remember thinking at that time how much I looked forward to Hua’s next book and hoping that she wouldn’t make us wait too long.  Well, the wait isn’t exactly over yet, since Hua’s next novel has yet to materialize, however a compilation of short stories that she had written over the years was re-released earlier this month, in a collection which includes newer stories that weren’t part of the version released back in 2016. 

This particular collection consists of 13 stories featuring protagonists from various backgrounds and all different walks of life, but with one commonality – the characters were either immigrants or from immigrant families, with the shared experience of trying to navigate two worlds:  the one they came from and the one in which they currently lived.  Of course, given the title of the book, each of the story dealt with the underlying theme of deception – whether it was the characters deceiving themselves, their families, or others.  With that said though, these stories actually went much deeper than that, as Hua covered a lot of ground in terms of topics, such as identity and belonging, family, love, marriage and relationships, religion, infidelity, loneliness and isolation, etc.  One of the things that made this collection stand out for me was the diverse nature of the characters -- who hailed from places such as Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Vietnam, Japan, Serbia, Africa – as well as how creatively different and varied each of the stories was.  Not only that, the other thing that impressed me was the way Hua was able to incorporate aspects of each culture so seamlessly into the stories, all of which were immersive and interesting to read.  It’s certainly not often that we get such a varied portrayal of  immigrant life, encompassing so many different voices and perspectives, all in a single story collection.

This is an excellent collection that I enjoyed and absolutely recommend!  My only complaint is that these are short stories, which are “incomplete” by nature, and so like I do when I read any short story collection, I felt like I was left hanging when each story ended abruptly.  Some of the stories I actually felt a sense of disappointment when I got to the end because the plot was at a climactic point, but then I turn the page and the story is over – several times I felt like the rug was being pulled from under me just when things were getting good.   But of course, I have this problem with all short story collections in general, which is why I will always prefer full-length novels more.

With this collection, I actually liked all the stories, so to pick which ones were ‘favorites’ is extremely difficult.  Instead, I am just going to point out which stories stood out the most to me:  “Line, Please” and “Loaves and Fishes” (because of the familiarity with the Hong Kong culture and setting, though the parallels to former HK celebrity Edison Chen’s real-life scandal were way too obvious!), “For What They Shared” (this was the most cleverly-written out of all the stories), “The Responsibility of Deceit” (wonderfully written story about an interracial gay couple dealing with the fallout from one partner’s ‘coming out’ to his traditional Chinese parents), “VIP Tutoring” (this one gave me a sense of déjà vu, as I actually know people like those in the story, with very similar experiences), “The Older the Ginger” (probably one of the most culturally-resonant out of all the stories), and “Room at the Table” (this was the story that I personally resonated with the most).

Received ARC from Counterpoint Press via Edelweiss.

Review: In Five Years (by Rebecca Serle)

My Rating:  3 stars

Once again, I seem to be the outlier with this book, as I wasn't as enamored with it as most other readers were.  It's not that I didn't enjoy reading this – certain parts of it were well-done and overall, I appreciated the different, interesting direction that the author Rebecca Serle ultimately took the story.  For me, the strongest aspect of the story was the friendship between Dannie and her childhood best friend Bella –the way their relationship was written, the bond that they shared, it was one that many of us who also grew up with a best childhood friend could relate to (on a personal level, it reminded me of my relationship with my own childhood BFF).  But with that said though, it's precisely because Dannie and Bella's friendship was portrayed so strongly that the entire story arc involving Aaron felt a bit contrived to me.  In a sense, it felt as though Aaron's role was created merely to complicate the plot rather than for any other significant purpose.  It's kind of hard to explain without giving away the ending, which I don't want to do obviously, so instead, I will say only that some parts of the story felt "gimmicky" (which is something I can't stand), to the point that after finishing the book, I was left with a feeling of having been misled.  There were also moments where the threads of the story didn't blend together as smoothly, which made it feel like I was reading two different books at times.

The other thing was that I didn't really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters, which was surprising given the marketing of this book as a "tug at your heartstrings" love story.  There were actually plenty of emotional scenes in the story, but for some reason, I didn't feel anything when I read them.  I'm not sure if this was because of the way the characters were written or the setup of the scenes was insufficient, I just know that I was expecting to feel more than I actually did.

Overall, this was a decent read, one that I liked well enough but didn't "love" as expected.  Regardless, I'm still interested in reading this author's other works, especially her previous novel The Dinner List, which has a fascinating premise and has been on my TBR for while.

Received ARC from Atria Books via NetGalley.

Review: You Are Not Alone (by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen)

My Rating: 4 stars

This is the third book I’ve read by what I now consider the “dynamic writing duo” of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen and I can truly say that they have now become favorite “go-to” authors for me when it comes to the thriller / suspense genre.  As is the case with most works in this genre, it’s necessary to go into this one knowing as little as possible, so I’m not going to expand too much on the plot other than to say that the story revolves around Shay Miller, who witnesses a horrific suicide (a young woman named Amanda jumps into the path of an oncoming subway train) and then subsequently finds herself pulled into the dead woman’s orbit through the Moore sisters Jane and Cassandra and the other women from their group, as they mourn the loss of their friend.  But there’s more than meets the eye here and as we learn each woman’s backstory, the web that is woven becomes more and more complex.

Just like with their previous works, Hendricks and Pekkanen do a good job creating a slow buildup of suspense while giving us a story that is captivating from beginning to end.   Structure-wise, this one fell somewhere in the middle in that it didn’t have the huge shocking twist that we saw in their first book The Wife Between Us, nor did it consist of numerous mini cliffhangers like in their second book The Anonymous Girl.  Instead, there were revelations that made their way to the surface gradually as the story progressed, yet without a whole lot of fanfare, akin to a puzzle where each piece fell into place slowly but satisfyingly, one after another.

One of the things I admire most about this writing team is their ability to create an engaging, well-crafted story of psychological suspense that manages to feel original and creatively different from one book to the next, yet still somehow feel as though they’re connected thematically.  This was an entertaining read, one that I definitely recommend.  I can’t wait to see what Hendricks and Pekkanen have in store for us next!  

  

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

Review: Resistance Women (by Jennifer Chiaverini)

My Rating: 4 stars

 

One of the reasons why I love reading historical fiction is because it gives me a chance to learn about people, places, cultures, time periods, etc. that I may not otherwise have known about.  It is also an opportunity for me to better understand aspects of history and the important role we, as human beings, play in shaping and directing the trajectory of this world in which we live.

Even though Jennifer Chiaverini’s latest historical novel Resistance Women is set in a time period that most bibliophiles like me who read a lot of WWII-themed novels are probably very familiar with, the story she tells about American graduate student Mildred Fish Harnack and the many brave women who were part of her Rote Kapelle (Red Orchestra) resistance cell in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s, is not one that I had heard of prior to reading this book.  Spanning a time period from 1929 all the way through the end of the war, this is an epic tale told in meticulous detail, through the eyes of 4 women who bear witness to Germany’s transformation from a thriving intellectual and cultural hub to an oppressive, violent, and much-feared Nazi regime.  In addition to Mildred and Greta, the other 2 perspectives that formed the core narrative were that of Martha Dodd, the lively and vivacious daughter of the U.S. Ambassador, as well as Jewish literature student Sara Weitz (a fictional character based on other Jewish women within the Rote Kapelle network).   

Over the years, I’ve read plenty of books about this particular historical period, but this one is unique in that it tells the story not just from the Jewish perspective, but also from that of anti-fascist Germans who were intent on saving their beloved country from total ruin at the hands of a madman.  This was a fascinating and insightful read that was absolutely well-researched and well-written (I’m blown away by the extensive amount of research that Chiaverini did and how she was able to incorporate all of it into the story so seamlessly).   At nearly 600 pages, also given the subject matter, this was not an easy read by any means, especially the sections that mentioned the horrors and atrocities of what took place during that time – however with that said, being able to learn about these courageous women and getting to hear their inspiring, powerful stories, definitely made this well worth the effort. 

One quick footnote – I also noticed the political “comparison” that many of the other readers mentioned in their reviews and while I admit that it did frustrate me a bit at first because I felt it took some of the focus away from what the story was supposed to be about (namely the resistance women who sacrificed their lives to fight against evil), I eventually decided to ignore it and absorb myself in the women’s powerful stories instead. 

Received complimentary copy from publisher (William Morrow) via Book Browse.