A coma can change a man, but the world Jack Jr. awakens to is one he barely recognizes. His advertising job is history, his Manhattan apartment is gone, and the love of his life has left him behind. He’s been asleep for two years; with no one to turn to, he realizes it’s been ten years since he last saw his family.
Lost and disoriented, he makes a reluctant homecoming back to the bustling Korean American enclave of Fort Lee, New Jersey; back into the waiting arms of his parents, who are operating under the illusion that he never left; and back to Joja, their ever-struggling sushi restaurant that he was set to inherit before he ran away from it all.
The book is a welcome twist on the quickly established (and frequently disappointing) “pandemic novel” subgenre ... Juno and Jack Jr. have a fascinating and frequently uproarious dynamic ... A gift to the reader; finally we can see something lovely emerge from such a dire time.
Chong expertly captures the family’s complicated dynamics and ratchets up the tension as they finally break the silence about the past. It’s a satisfying drama.
