This is a book I had to sit with for awhile to gather my thoughts before figuring out how to get my feelings across on it. While it may not seem like it on the surface, there was actually a complexity to the story that, on first read, can be difficult to understand. Indeed, for the first third of the novel or so, I honestly wasn't sure where the author, Cecily Wong, was trying to go with the story. There was a lot of back and forth between time periods and snippets of things that happen in the lives of the Brightons — the interracial family at the center of the story. Hank and Karen are hardworking entrepreneurs who launch a successful company named Kaleidoscope — a "rags to riches" story that catapults them into the upper echelons of society and allows them to realize their American Dream. Their eldest daughter Morgan, beautiful and talented, is the head designer for the company and, in essence, is also the "star" of the family, beloved by both her parents as well as her younger sister Riley. Smart and studious but lacking ambition, Riley knows that her place in the family (and in the elite world they've become a part of) will forever be eclipsed by her sister's "larger than life" personality. Riley is perfectly content with ceding the spotlight to Morgan and retreating to the "support" role she has always played in the family — though the one thing that both she and Morgan both miss is the closeness that they've always shared since they were girls. When tragedy strikes and the family's world comes crashing down as a result, the aftermath leaves Riley with more questions than answers — about herself, her sister, and most of all, her parents' ambition that has sustained the family's success over the years.
This is a nuanced story with a narrative that shifted around a lot — switching between time periods, between past and present, between character perspectives, between first and third person voices, even touching on second person voice at one point. The segments of the story mirrored the various fragments of a kaleidoscope, where the pieces eventually come together to form a dizzying but arresting portrait of an ambitious family caught up in the throes of success and its impact on one daughter's personal journey toward meaning and understanding. As I mentioned earlier, I found it difficult at first to parse the various fragments of the narrative, but when I figured out the direction that the author was trying to go with the story (around the halfway mark), I couldn't help but be awed by the brilliant use of structure and form. Stories that play with structure don't always work for me, but this one did for some reason, and I definitely appreciated the chance to experience something so interesting and different.
This was also a character-driven story where the portrayals of the four members of the Brighton family as well as the various people in their orbit were extremely important. While none of the characters were particularly likable (which sometimes can be a dealbreaker for me in terms of positive reading experience), all of them were so realistically drawn that I found myself able to resonate with each one in ways that I didn't expect. In this regard, I felt the author did a good job relating the struggles and inner conflicts that each of the characters went through, especially as it pertained to their relationships and how they interact with each other.
As this is a story that's very hard to describe without experiencing it for yourself, I don't want to give away too much here. One thing I will say though is that this book is one of the few I've read in recent years that deftly explores the nuances of love and relationships in all its various manifestations and iterations, altogether in one story — i.e.: love that underlies a close bond between sisters; love between parents and their children that drives certain behaviors and expectations; romantic love both within marriage and outside of it, and how one isn't necessarily dependent on the other; self-love that drives confidence and ambition but also how the lack of it can warp into pain and heartbreak, etc.
I definitely recommend reading this one, though note that it won't be an easy read for sure (both in terms of subject matter and overall structure of the story). Also, trigger warnings abound, with a few scenes where some of the descriptions were particularly graphic. This is Cecily Wong's second novel and while I intend to go back and read her debut, I also look forward to seeing what might be in store from her in the future.
This is a book I had to sit with for awhile to gather my thoughts before figuring out how to get my feelings across on it. While it may not seem like it on the surface, there was actually a complexity to the story that, on first read, can be difficult to understand. Indeed, for the first third of the novel or so, I honestly wasn't sure where the author, Cecily Wong, was trying to go with the story. There was a lot of back and forth between time periods and snippets of things that happen in the lives of the Brightons — the interracial family at the center of the story. Hank and Karen are hardworking entrepreneurs who launch a successful company named Kaleidoscope — a "rags to riches" story that catapults them into the upper echelons of society and allows them to realize their American Dream. Their eldest daughter Morgan, beautiful and talented, is the head designer for the company and, in essence, is also the "star" of the family, beloved by both her parents as well as her younger sister Riley. Smart and studious but lacking ambition, Riley knows that her place in the family (and in the elite world they've become a part of) will forever be eclipsed by her sister's "larger than life" personality. Riley is perfectly content with ceding the spotlight to Morgan and retreating to the "support" role she has always played in the family — though the one thing that both she and Morgan both miss is the closeness that they've always shared since they were girls. When tragedy strikes and the family's world comes crashing down as a result, the aftermath leaves Riley with more questions than answers — about herself, her sister, and most of all, her parents' ambition that has sustained the family's success over the years.
This is a nuanced story with a narrative that shifted around a lot — switching between time periods, between past and present, between character perspectives, between first and third person voices, even touching on second person voice at one point. The segments of the story mirrored the various fragments of a kaleidoscope, where the pieces eventually come together to form a dizzying but arresting portrait of an ambitious family caught up in the throes of success and its impact on one daughter's personal journey toward meaning and understanding. As I mentioned earlier, I found it difficult at first to parse the various fragments of the narrative, but when I figured out the direction that the author was trying to go with the story (around the halfway mark), I couldn't help but be awed by the brilliant use of structure and form. Stories that play with structure don't always work for me, but this one did for some reason, and I definitely appreciated the chance to experience something so interesting and different.
This was also a character-driven story where the portrayals of the four members of the Brighton family as well as the various people in their orbit were extremely important. While none of the characters were particularly likable (which sometimes can be a dealbreaker for me in terms of positive reading experience), all of them were so realistically drawn that I found myself able to resonate with each one in ways that I didn't expect. In this regard, I felt the author did a good job relating the struggles and inner conflicts that each of the characters went through, especially as it pertained to their relationships and how they interact with each other.
As this is a story that's very hard to describe without experiencing it for yourself, I don't want to give away too much here. One thing I will say though is that this book is one of the few I've read in recent years that deftly explores the nuances of love and relationships in all its various manifestations and iterations, altogether in one story — i.e.: love that underlies a close bond between sisters; love between parents and their children that drives certain behaviors and expectations; romantic love both within marriage and outside of it, and how one isn't necessarily dependent on the other; self-love that drives confidence and ambition but also how the lack of it can warp into pain and heartbreak, etc.
I definitely recommend reading this one, though note that it won't be an easy read for sure (both in terms of subject matter and overall structure of the story). Also, trigger warnings abound, with a few scenes where some of the descriptions were particularly graphic. This is Cecily Wong's second novel and while I intend to go back and read her debut, I also look forward to seeing what might be in store from her in the future.
Received ARC from publisher Dutton via Edelweiss.
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