Review: Eight Perfect Hours (by Lia Louis)

My Rating:  4 stars

As I'm sure it has been for many, I found the past two months to be especially difficult and stressful — part of this is because of everything going on in the world right now and the resulting negativity that seems to have permeated every corner of the globe.  On a personal level, having to deal with various concerns and issues related to work and family has been tremendously draining, to the point that, most days, I feel too exhausted to do anything that requires any level of sustained concentration.  Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, this has also started to affect my reading life in that my inability to focus has made reading certain types of books more challenging.  It also didn't help that my last couple of reads have been more on the heavy side, with a few that actually bordered on depressing.  

Given all of the above, I was at the point where I was in desperate need of a "palette cleanser"-type read that would help me forget about my worries (albeit temporarily) and hopefully get my reading life back on track. It is within this context that I decided to pick up Lia Louis's forthcoming release Eight Perfect Hours to read, even though a) I'm not usually a fan of romances, especially rom-coms,  b) I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to relationships and so I'm not too keen on sappy, cliched, angsty love stories, and c) this book was pretty low on my "priority" list to read right now due to the fact that it publishes at the end of September and I have a slew of ARCs publishing before this one that I also need to get to.  But like I said earlier, I needed something that would get me out of this reading funk that I'd found myself in, and having read (and enjoyed) Louis's previous book Dear Emmie Blue, I figured at least I'm reading a familiar-to-me author.  Well, this one turned out to be a great choice!

As far as heartwarming romances go, Eight Perfect Hours definitely checks all the boxes. While the story itself wasn't too original (and yes, the plot was absolutely predictable — everything panned out pretty much as I thought it would), I still enjoyed this one quite a lot (both from the story and characters perspectives).  One thing I noticed from reading Louis's previous book and now this one is that she has the ability to create realistic, relatable characters who are tremendously flawed and sometimes do frustrating things, yet we can't help but love them anyway (this goes for the main characters as well as the side ones).  With Noelle, the main protagonist in the story, I didn't always agree with her every decision, but I understood her struggles — of being torn between responsibility to family versus pursuing her own dreams, of feeling like she wasn't being seen, of living her life more for others than for herself, etc. — because I've experienced the same throughout my life, so I could definitely relate.  This was also one of the reasons why I found myself rooting for Noelle throughout the story, even though I already knew she would most definitely find her way to a happy ending (this is a romance after all).  And just like with Dear Emmie Blue, I loved all the side characters in this one nearly as much as I loved the main characters — the wonderful chemistry that all the characters had was a bonus that made this one all the more enjoyable.

Another aspect that I liked about this one was that the author was able to strike a good balance between lighthearted moments and the more serious ones, which I felt made this both a fun read as well as one with good emotional depth.  

For those who enjoy rom-coms, I definitely recommend this one.  Yes, the plot is predictable and there are romantic cliches galore, but the characters are endearing and the story overall is quite charming.  For me, this was exactly the "pick-me-up" I needed to get me out of my reading slump during this time.  I'm glad I decided to read this one!

Received ARC from Atria / Emily Bestler books via NetGalley

Review: The Removed (by Brandon Hobson)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Brandon Hobson's The Removed is another book I picked up for book club and while I did enjoy it overall, there were some inconsistencies and issues with the story that made this a bit of a tedious read.

First off, I have to say that the writing here was excellent — in fact, the engaging and lyrical flow of the writing was one of the things I liked most about this book, especially the chapters narrated by Maria, which were by far the strongest parts of the story.  Those were the chapters that actually moved me the most on an emotional level and made me wish that the entire story revolved around Maria, Ernest, and Wyatt only without the other characters' story arcs (more on this later).  

While the writing was good, I did have some problems with the execution of the story, which I thought was a bit uneven.  Hobson introduces several heavy topics in this book — grief over the loss of a loved one, the dangers of racial profiling and stereotyping, terminal illness, substance abuse, plight of the indigenous and people of cope, etc — however I felt like the only topic that was thoroughly explored was grief…it almost seemed like perhaps Hobson tried to cover too much all in one shot and some of the other topics ended up falling by the wayside.

And that brings me to the most frustrating parts of this book — the story arcs involving Sonja and Edgar.  I felt like Sonja's entire story was unnecessary and added no value to the story (aside from the "reveal" near the end, though that still didn't justify the necessity of the rest of her story in my opinion).  I also had issues with the way Sonja's character was written, as most of her behavior throughout the story didn't really make sense, even when viewed through the lens of trying to cope with the grief of losing her brother. 

In terms of Edgar's story arc — well, let's just say that I didn't understand majority of it.  It seemed like Edgar's story was written incorporating magical realism, which is something I don't read much of so perhaps that's why it didn't work for me. I mean, plot-wise, I know what happened in Edgar's chapters, but I didn't really understand the point of it all.  It probably didn't help that there was also a lot of symbolism and metaphorical language in the telling of Edgar's story that gave it a dreamlike feel that didn't match with the other 2

narratives.  In addition, similar to Sonja's story arc, Edgar's story arc was unresolved (basically the plot dropped off suddenly, which made the arc feel incomplete) — and both arcs seemed to be completely detached from the main story about their parents, Maria and Ernest. It almost felt like I was reading 3 different unrelated stories, except that the way the book was structured, each chapter alternated between the 3 narratives — so I would read 1 chapter from Maria's perspective, then the next chapter would be Edgar's perspective, then Sonja, then Maria, etc.  Given that I only truly liked Maria's story, this kind of structure made the entire read a tedious and frustrating one. 

Overall, I would classify this one under "it's probably me, not the book."  Hobson is an award-winning author and I certainly don't doubt his writing prowess (after all, as I stated above, I did like the writing), but this book just wasn't for me. While I don't regret reading it, I feel like I spent way too much time on it than I should have. Ah well…onto the next book!!

Review: The Whispering House (by Elizabeth Brooks)

My Rating: 2 stars

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded interesting and based on the little I'd heard about the book, I was anticipating an atmospheric page-turner with serious gothic vibes. Actually, for the first 40-50 pages or so, I felt like this was the case, as the author did a pretty good job of setting the scene and creating intrigue around the house at the center of the story, Bryne Hall. Unfortunately it didn't last — for me, the story started to unravel early on, when the main character Freya Lyell returns to Bryne Hall again after her cousin's wedding and nonsensically inserts herself in the lives of Cory and Diana Bryne. Technically, there wasn't really a plot to speak of, as nothing much happens — but what annoyed me was that the little bit of plot that did happen was far-fetched and unrealistic. This was one of those stories where you pretty much have to suspend disbelief the entire time you're reading, otherwise it's hard to get through. 

 
Normally, I'm okay with lack of plot if the character development is good and I'm able to connect with the characters in some way. Sorry to say, this wasn't the case here — not only was every single character in this story very unlikable, they also felt like stereotypically-drawn caricatures going through the motions. The main protagonist, Freya, especially frustrated me to no end. One of the things I absolutely can't stand in books are grown up, adult characters who act like petulant children, as well as female characters who are portrayed stereotypically (i.e.: weak, hysterical, naive, irrational, emotional, wushu-washy, etc.) — unfortunately for me, Freya was both of these and worse. I hated how pretty much every single thing Freya did, every decision she made, was done in a way that made no sense whatsoever. From the get go, Freya is portrayed as naive and foolish, which I guess is the author's way of perhaps justifying why she makes one reckless decision after another throughout the entire story. Having said all that though, my biggest pet peeve is when the female character knows that doing certain things or going down certain paths is self-destructive and/or will for sure result in negative consequences either for herself or for others (oftentimes the character actually tells us so via her wn inner dialogue), yet she still insists on going forward with the decision — then, when others (usually a friend or family member) try to warn her or talk sense into her, she either goes ballistic and pushes the person away or she does the denial thing by playing dumb and pretending nothing is wrong. And that's just Freya — as if one annoying character wasn't enough, the author had to include an entire cast of them! Freya's father Roger was a jerk, her sister Stella was reckless, Cory Bryne was a delusional psychopath and his mother was a sinister witch — the only decent person in the story was Tom, but even he turned out to be annoying with his wishy washy personality.

Overall, I would have to say that this was a disappointing and frustrating read for me. The writing for the most part was decent, though I felt like the "gothic" vibe and the mystery piece totally didn't work — if this was supposed to be a psychological suspense novel, it completely failed in that aspect, as the main plot points were predictable (I pretty much figured things out already within the first few pages) and the intrigue of the "house" at the center of the story was overshadowed by the loathsomeness of its occupants. In the end, I also felt the story dragged out for way too long, though I think that was because, at that point, I couldn't bring myself to care anymore. While I'm not one to DNF a book once I've started reading, I do believe that, based on sheer annoyance level alone, this one would've been an exception — the only reason I didn't is due to this being a book club read, which made me determined to push through it. With that said, the reviews for this one seem to be all over the place, so I would say read both the positive and negative reviews to get a more balanced perspective before deciding whether to pick this one up.

Review: Beasts of a Little Land (by Juhea Kim)

My Rating:  4.5 stars



When I finished reading Juhea Kim's debut novel Beasts of a Little Land, the first thought that came into my head was that this did not read like a debut at all.  From the story structure to the development of the characters, to the historical details as well as the various themes and motifs incorporated into the narrative, the writing flowed so well and so seamlessly that I was completely immersed in this epic story from beginning to end.

 

The story spans a time period from 1917 to 1965 — a half century that bears witness to Korea's evolution over the years, as a Japanese-occupied territory up through World War II, and later divided into the North and South Korea that we are more familiar with in modern times.  Against this backdrop, we are introduced to two characters whose fates become inexplicably intertwined — JungHo, an orphan who roams the streets as a beggar, later becoming a revolutionary fighter for Korea's independence, and Jade, a peasant girl sold by her family to a courtesan school who later becomes one of the most sought after actresses in Korea.  As Jade and JungHo come of age amongst the changing landscape of their country, they experience moments both glorious and harrowing, but all have a profound impact on them in some way.  This is a story where all the supporting characters play vital roles in the narrative, but not only that, all of the characters – whether good or bad, endearing or despiscable – are all equally unforgettable.  One of the things I love most about this story is the complexity of the characters and the mixed feelings that evoked  – for example, with the Japanese generals Ito and Yamada, they are supposed to be the enemy and majority of their actions are indeed abhorrent, but then, at certain points, they reveal their humanity through certain acts of kindness or a redeeming factor that made it hard to despise them completely.  By the same token, there were also moments where I found it hard to root for some of the "good" characters, even with the understanding that some of the morally questionable actions they take are out of a need for survival.  I also found it interesting the way nearly all the characters that appear in the story are connected in some way, whether directly or indirectly, that is apparent to the reader, but not necessarily to the characters themselves.  This aspect, coupled with the atmospheric nature of the historical setting and time period, made for a truly immersive reading experience.  

With all that said, my one complaint would probably be that, given the epic nature of the story, I was expecting more emotional depth, which I felt was a bit lacking in this instance (hence the reason why I rated this 4.5 stars instead of 5).  Nevertheless, this was absolutely a worthwhile read, especially for historical fiction fans.  In addition to learning a lot about Korea that I didn't know before, I also appreciated the time period being one that isn't commonly covered in many historical fiction works.  I definitely recommend this book and at the same time, look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Received ARC from Ecco via NetGalley.

Review: Songbirds (by Christy Lefteri)

My Rating: 4 stars

Even though it's been nearly two years since I read Christy Lefteri's award-winning second novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo, one of the things that has continued to stay with me whenever I think of that book is the affecting, haunting nature of the story.  While I might not remember every detail of the plot, I do remember the gut-wrenching emotions that the story evoked.  I was moved by Nuri's and Afra's heartrending story detailing their harrowing journey from war-torn Syria to Great Britain, trying their best to survive as refugees in a foreign and not necessarily welcoming country. Lefteri's newest work, Songbirds, is written in a similar vein — a poignant, heartbreaking story that centers on foreign domestic workers on the Greek island of Cyprus.  

Nisha Jayakody is a young Sri Lankan widow who, forced by the circumstances of dire poverty and desperation as well as a desire to provide a better life for her beloved daughter Kumari, signs up with an agency that places her as a maid and nanny for Petra, a pregnant businesswoman living on Cyprus whose husband had also just died.  In addition to taking care of Petra's household, Nisha also helps raise Petra's daughter Aliki.  Yiannis is a poacher who secretly traps songbirds, a protected species, and sells them on the black market.  After meeting and falling in love with Nisha, Yiannis longs to get out of the dangerous, illegal trade he is in and marry the woman he loves.  But it is not that easy — due to Nisha's status as a foreign maid, her life actually doesn't belong to her, but rather to her employer, who has the right to fire Nisha if her relationship with Yiannis were discovered.  Like so many of her fellow domestic worker friends, Nisha has few options and while she is treated well by Petra, their relationship is a perfunctory one in that Petra knows nearly nothing about this woman who had taken such good care of her and raised as well as loved her daughter as her own. It is not until one night, when Nisha goes out and doesn't return, effectively vanishing into thin air, that Petra and Yiannis understand not just the profound impact Nisha had on their lives, but also the reality of who she was as a person.

Though the story here is about Nisha, the narrative is actually told from the alternating perspectives of Petra and Yiannis.  Lefteri writes in her author's note that this way of telling Nisha's story — the piecing "together of her existence through the memories of others" — was deliberate, and after understanding what Lefteri was trying to do, it made me appreciate the story more (I highly recommend reading the Author's Note after finishing the book, as Lefteri discusses the inspiration behind the story — it's definitely not to be missed!).  One of the things I love about this story is the fact that it gives a chance for the voices of the most vulnerable to be heard as well as understood — in this way, I found Nisha and her story to be tremendously powerful.

Having said all that, while I did find this story to be both moving and heart wrenching, I felt it didn't quite reach the level of emotional depth that The Beekeeper of Aleppo did.  Of course, that's not to say that Songbirds wasn't an emotional experience because it definitely was —but it didn't leave me speechless like Lefteri's previous work did.  Nevertheless, it's still a beautifully written, absolutely worthy read, one that I highly recommend.  A word of caution though: there are some scenes that describe cruelties done to the songbirds that are troubling and difficult to read — for those who might be bothered by these types of depictions, might be a good idea to gloss over them (luckily those scenes are few and far between).

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

Review: Sparks Like Stars (by Nadia Hashimi)

My Rating:  5 stars

 

Whenever I feel compelled to finish a really long book in around 2-3 days, especially during a particularly busy work week where I already don't have much time to read in the first place, that's usually a pretty good sign that the book will probably turn out to be one I really like.  This was certainly the case with Nadia Hashimi's newest release Sparks Like Stars, her third book set in her parents' home country of Afghanistan.  Given its page count (464 pages) and difficult subject matter, this would not have been an easy or quick read by any means — yet as soon as I started reading, from the very first page, this beautifully written story captivated me to the point that I didn't want to put the book down (and whenever I was forced to put it down in order to tend to personal matters, I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible).  The characters in here were all realistically rendered, even those appearing briefly, but it is the main protagonist Sitara (later renamed Aryana), whose journey we follow starting when she is 10 years old and then later in adulthood, who truly captured my heart. As the narrative was told from Sitara's first person point of view, this perspective made her experiences and everything she went through so much more heartfelt, which in turn, made this a powerful, emotional read from beginning to end. Sitara is an unforgettable character – one whom I was able to connect easily with and also root for. 

One of the things I love and appreciate about historical fiction is its ability to help us learn about people, places, and events that we may not have been familiar with previously.  This was certainly the case here with the portrayal of Afghanistan as a place as well as a character in the story.  Like many Americans, I only know of Afghanistan because of 9/11, when the country was thrust tragically and unwillingly into the spotlight, but its trajectory prior to that — the history of imperialism and colonialism that defined much of its existence, the historical events such as the Communist coup in 1978 that killed the country's President as well as his entire family — much of this was completely unknown to me prior to this point.  I appreciated the way Hashimi divided the story into two timelines — with the first half taking place in 1978 and the second half in 2008 — and how things evolve over the span of 30 years.  In her Author's Note, Hashimi explains that, while Sitara is a purely fictional character and the story is not based on her own life nor that of her family's, she did incorporate some of her personal experiences into shaping the character — for example, Hashimi's own experience as an Afghan American doctor who lived and worked in New York when 9/11 happened — which perhaps is why she was able to bring the emotional nuances of Sitara as a character to life.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not an easy read by any means — it is a sad and heartbreaking story of an innocent life torn apart by tragedy and senseless violence, of the guilt felt by those left behind, and the long-lasting impact it has on their lives.  At the same time though, it is also a story of survival, resilience, and ultimately, hope.  This is definitely a story worth reading — one that I know will stay with me for a long time to come.   And as the best works of historical fiction usually do, after I finished reading, I felt compelled to follow up and research the real life events that were a source of inspiration for the story. 

This is the first book of Hashimi's that I've read and immediately after I finished, I put both of her backlist books on my TBR to hopefully get to soon.  If you get the chance to pick this one up first though, I definitely recommend it!

Last One Out Shut Off the Lights (by Stephanie Soileau)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

Last One Out Shut Off the Lights is an interesting collection of short stories, all set in Louisiana, and featuring ordinary people going about their everyday lives.  The various protagonists in these stories range from teenagers to senior citizens, and through their voices, we get a glimpse of what life is like living in the type of last-chance town where things always feel as though they are in a constant state of flux.  The setting looms large in these stories, and in many ways, can be considered a character in and of itself, lending a hugely atmospheric nature that serves as a backdrop to each story.  

Of course, as is usually the case with short story collections, some were hits and some were misses, though all shared the common feelings of incompleteness and lack of closure to them.  With that said, I did like how all the stories explored issues of identity and belonging in ways both subtle and obvious — but most significantly, each story felt realistic and relatable in some manner. One of the things that struck me after I finished reading was how "ambivalence" could manifest itself in such varied ways — a sentiment that the author, Stephanie Soileau, demonstrated in a masterful way through the very different characters in each of the stories.  

Overall, I enjoyed this collection, even though I wasn't necessarily able to resonate with each character or with each story.  The many blurbs for this collection describe the stories as striking, fierce, evocative, empathetic, engaging — I agree with all of these, though I would also add "cleverly and thoughtfully" written, as each story gave me pause and made me ponder, in a way that I wasn't expecting.  I also learned a lot about Louisiana  — a state that I knew little to nothing about outside of the city of New Orleans being located there and also what had been in the news about Hurricane Katrina.  This is a collection I definitely recommend, a worthwhile read that I'm glad to have discovered (this was Jesmyn Ward's July pick for her book club on Literati).  It's also a relatively short read, but one that doesn't skimp on details in its depiction of Louisiana life and culture.

Review: Great Circle (by Maggie Shipstead)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

Wow, what a story!  

Before I go into how much I enjoyed this book, let me start things off by honestly admitting that, actually, I "almost" didn't end up reading this one, for various reasons. 

First and foremost, I was intimidated by the page length — when I initially accepted an ARC of this book from the publisher in NetGalley, I had no idea that this would be a 600–page tome.  With a TBR a mile high and so many books already lined up to read for the month of July, I definitely felt like I didn't have the time to spend on a long book (this is exacerbated by the fact that I'm a "one-book-at-a-time" kind of reader who also has problems DNFing books once I start them, no matter how bad the book gets).  Second, I was torn by the book's premise. While I love reading about strong women protagonists, and epic historical stories are usually right up my alley, the part that made me wary was the overarching subject matter.  Going into this, I knew that it would be about a female pilot circumnavigating the globe and undoubtedly, there would be a lot of technical language and details involving the mechanics of flying a plane and getting from one point to another (on the first 2 pages, before the story even starts, there is a detailed map charting the main character Marian Graves' journey - which, being someone who has no sense of direction and is incapable of reading maps, I was completely lost even after staring at the map for several minutes) — given my lack of interest in aviation and airplanes / flying, as well as my general aversion to books that go a bit too much into the "science-y" side of things because much of it usually goes over my head and therefore impacts my ability to enjoy the story, this of course added to my anxiety about reading this book.  Third, I had never read this author before and as such, didn't have the benefit of a positive or negative reaction to previous works to sway me either way.  In the end though, I decided to go for it — start the book and hope for the best. And now, after finishing this epic story, I can say for sure that it was absolutely worth the time and effort!

This book actually turned out to be completely different from what I expected (in a good way, of course).  Surprisingly, none of the fears that I initially had about the book ended up materializing.  Yes, there was a lot of technical detail about aviation and airplanes and flying, but it was done in a way that was accessible and didn't detract from the story itself.  Most importantly though, the story wasn't just about that — in fact, it's actually one of those stories that truly has something for everyone in terms of the themes and topics that it explores (i.e.: history, adventure, romance, relationships, complex family dynamics, war and sacrifice, love, heartbreak, contemporary societal and gender conflicts, etc.).  So far, this is the only book I've read that can truly be classified as having a multitude of settings that span the depths of time and space — from modern day Los Angeles in 2014 to a doomed cruise ship in the North Atlantic in 1914, to Prohibition-era Montana, to London and Europe where female pilots helped ferry warplanes for the ATA during WWII, to the wilds of Alaska, to Vancouver (Canada) to Seattle and New York, to the icy depths of Antarctica, to the unknown expanse of the skies above and beyond the clouds — from land to air to sea, this is a story that traverses the globe in a "great circle" worthy of its title.  

This magnificent, epic tale is beautifully written in prose that is lyrical, poetic, lively, descriptive, and as mentioned previously, also incredibly accessible, given its content.  Normally, a big book such as this one would take me more than a week to finish, but I found myself so absorbed and invested in the story and its characters that I felt compelled to keep turning the pages, which resulted in me being able to finish this massive tome over the course of a 3-day holiday weekend. Maggie Shipstead is indeed a gifted writer — I admire so much of what she tried to do with this story, from the impeccable research to the near flawless execution of the story, to the well-developed, realistic rendering of the characters (especially remarkable given the fact that many of the characters in the story were actually unlikable) — all of it came together in fantastic, epic fashion.

With all that said, the one complaint that I did have — and the main reason for why I gave this book 4.5 stars rather than 5 stars — is that I didn't really like the present day story arc involving Hadley Baxter.  While I understand the critical role that Hadley played in terms of helping Marian's story unfold as well as the parallels we are supposed to infer with their personalities and the paths their lives ultimately take, etc., I honestly could not bring myself to like Hadley.  She came across as annoying to me and I actually had no interest at all in her background or her "struggles" in Hollywood where she is seemingly "misunderstood" by everyone. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but I just couldn't stand her — thankfully, the chapters about her were extremely short, so I was able to skim majority of the pages about her until I got to the passages actually related to Marian's life.

With such an epic story, it's pretty much impossible to relay its scope and magnificence through a brief review.  This is a story that is guaranteed to be an immersive experience — a rewarding journey that is absolutely worth the time it takes to get to the end.  I am definitely glad I got the chance to read this one and of course there is no doubt that I will be exploring Shipstead's backlist now while looking forward to what she might have in store for us next!

Received ARC from Alfred A. Knopf publishers via NetGalley.

Review: The Sixth Wedding (by Elin Hilderbrand)

My Rating: 4 stars

I read Elin Hilderbrand's 28 Summers last year and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book (I'm not usually a fan of contemporary romances).  In addition to the well-developed characters, there was also depth to the story that made it a compelling read for me, though what I had loved most about that book was the structure, with each chapter starting off with various current event and pop culture references from that year – I definitely had a lot of fun taking that trip down memory lane!

 

The Sixth Wedding, which is out today, is the sequel to 28 Summers.  In this super short novella, the story opens in 2023, when the gang decides to reunite at the Nantucket cottage for one last Labor Day weekend.  We get a chance to find out what happened to each of the main characters since that fateful summer in 2020 and later, we get to see how their stories wrap up.   I love that Hilderbrand kept the same format with the current event and pop culture references, though instead of starting each chapter with them, she summed them all up in the Introduction, then after that, we got to hear from each of the characters.  While it was nice getting to catch up with these characters again, it was also bittersweet knowing Mallory wouldn't be a part of it.  Mallory was a one-of-a-kind character who was also the heart and soul of the story, so without her, of course things wouldn't be the same.  

 

Overall, I enjoyed this sequel, though I do wish that this had been longer (maybe not a full-length novel but definitely something more than 76 pages).  If you read and enjoyed 28 Summers, I definitely recommend reading this one too!  

 

 

Review: We Two Alone (by Jack Wang)

My Rating: 4 stars

Those familiar with my reading tastes have probably heard me say this way too many times:  I'm not usually a huge fan of short story collections because I don't like the "incomplete" nature of the format, as I always feel like I'm left hanging somehow, plus I oftentimes don't get the chance to connect to the characters the way I would in a full length novel.  Even though it can be a "hit or miss" reading experience for me, I will still pick up a short story collection if the themes or subject matter sound interesting enough to me – especially since, at least recently, I've encountered "hits" more than "misses" in the ones I've decided to try.  Such is the case with Jack Wang's debut short story collectionWe Two Alone, which I finished over the course of a busy weekend.  This well-written collection consists of seven stories, each of which features a Chinese protagonist from different walks of life, but with the common experience of having to navigate the world as immigrants.  

 

Over the years, I've read plenty of stories about the Chinese immigrant experience, but this particular collection stood out in several ways.  First was the setting of each story, which spanned not only continents but also decades -- starting in the 1920s and spanning to the modern day, each story takes place in a different part of the world:  Canada, China, Austria, South Africa, UK, and 2 states in the U.S. (Florida and New York).  Second was the characters, all of whom hailed from different backgrounds (from the poor, uneducated, disenfranchised, to the wealthy and privileged, to the middle class) and professions (doctor, actor, hockey player, student, teacher, etc.).  Not only that, each story was also told from a different life perspective -- ranging from an orphaned teenager struggling with identity and acceptance, to a mixed race couple navigating the complexities of an unconventional relationship, to a middle class family experiencing unexpected hurdles when buying a house, to an innocent child inadvertently witnessing the atrocities of war, to an itinerant actor endlessly trying to figure out his life while yearning to reunite with his ex-wife, etc. 

 

Taken together, this is a collection that truly does highlight the diversity of the Chinese diaspora, yet at the same time, it also infers that there is a certain universality to the immigrant experience in terms of discrimination, bias, and racial prejudice that so many of us can relate to, regardless of whether we are from the same cultural or socio-economic background.   In this regard, I was actually able to resonate with some aspect of every single story, which is a rare occurrence for me with short story collections (and especially with a collection as diverse as this one).  With that said though, this also made the feeling of disappointment greater for me knowing that I was only getting a snippet of each character's story and would be left to ponder their fate on my own.  This is one of the things with short story collections (specifically the ones with no inter-connected characters) that I can't stand – the feeling of being left hanging.  With whatever story I read, I need to have closure – whether good, bad, or ambiguous, doesn't matter as long I don't feel like something's missing or the story is incomplete.  But of course, that's just me -- aside from the lack of closure issue (which is a common feature of most short stories and definitely not exclusive to this book), I still enjoyed this collection immensely and absolutely recommend it.  Prior to reading this collection, I had actually never heard of this author before, but I'm happy to have discovered his work and look forward to reading more from him in the future.

 

Received ARC from HarperVia publishers via Edelweiss.