Eleanor is doing just fine. Yes, she's keeping secrets from her husband. Sure, she quit her PhD program and is now conducting unauthorized research on illegitimately procured mice. And, true, her mother is dead, and Eleanor has yet to go through her things. But what else is she supposed to do? What shape can grief take when you didn't understand the person you've lost?
Chang’s storytelling is beautifully subtle, often studded with sublime wit, stating the facts simply and allowing the reader to make their own judgments ... The multiple perspectives are presented in various time periods without a consistent pattern, which is intermittently confusing and occasionally frustrating. Still, this story of family estrangement and the immigrant saga in America is compelling.
Exploring the intersections of love and obligation, duty and commitment, the independence of new lifestyles and the appeal of old traditions, Chang’s novel will appeal to fans of Helen Fisher’s Faye Faraway and Tracey Lien’s All That’s Left Unsaid.
