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.
The understated and quietly devastating story of a grieving 20-something woman ... The somewhat pensive tone is broken up by moments of levity, but always returns to questions of family history and the impossibility of understanding someone else’s story when one’s own memories are so unreliable.
