This humorous novel centers on Charles Wang, an immigrant who had tremendous luck and success in the United States.....until he didn't.
Growing up, Charles Wang couldn't have predicted the direction his life would take. Charles' family lost their ancestral lands in China to the Communists, fled to Taiwan, and started a company that sold chemicals for fertilizer.
When college graduate Charles is dispatched to the United States to expand the family business, an airplane bar of soap triggers an epiphany.
As a result Charles launches a cosmetics business that becomes a phenomenally successful empire - and multi-millionaire Charles soon has a wife, three children, and an uber-luxurious lifestyle in southern California.
Charles is on vacation with his wife and kids, one of whom is a baby, when his spouse dies in a tragic accident. Hearing about this, a young Taiwanese woman - who's always hankered after Charles - abandons her life in Taiwan, hurries to America, and becomes Charles' second wife....and the stepmother to his children. The woman, who renames herself Barbra, quickly adapts to the upscale life she's inherited.
Things seem to be going smoothly for Charles until the financial crisis of 2008, when his luck runs out.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
Charles' new 'minority cosmetics line' is a colossal failure, the huge loan to finance it is called in, and Charles is bankrupted. He loses EVERYTHING - from houses, furniture, boats and cars to computers, watches, jewelry, clothing, toiletries, kitchenware, and sundries.
Left with nothing except a bit of cash he hid away, Charles decides to move his entire family to the upstate New York home of his 28-year-old daughter Saina. Until recently, Saina had been a successful, much-fêted conceptual artist living in New York City.
However an ill-considered exhibit derailed Saina's career, and a philandering fiancé soured her on the city. Thus Saina left her small Manhattan apartment and bought a country farmhouse, which - serendipitously - can house her entire pauperized family.
Charles' long-term plan is to drive his family to upstate New York, deposit them in Saina's house, and take off for China. There, Charles hopes to reclaim the family's ancient lands and reestablish the Wangs' vaunted place in the universe.
Charles no longer has a vehicle to transport his wife and children, but Ama (the family's nanny since Charles was a baby) offers up the used car Charles gave her years before.
Thus Charles, Barbra, and Ama set off to pick up boarding school student Grace - who has a fashion blog, and college boy Andrew - who aspires to be a stand-up comedian, from the expensive schools they can no longer afford.
Ama is dropped off at her daughter's house, and the Wangs embark on a road trip across the country. Thus begins a raucous journey - during which the Wangs experience a different side of America, and ultimately grow closer as a family.
En route to New York the Wangs eat hot dogs that look like 'skinny penises on buns';
break into a cosmetics warehouse that's been seized by Charles' creditors;
party with relatives in New Orleans;
have car trouble and stay in cheap motels;
deliver accidently melted cosmetics to off-the-books customers; and more.....until they finally reach their destination.
Along the way, Andrew takes off with an older woman named Dorrie; has new sexual experiences; lives rough; and obsessively looks for open mic nights to perform his comedy routine.
Interspersed with the Wangs road trip are scenes from Saina's life. We learn about her fall from grace in the art world; her former boyfriend Grayson - a selfish cheater;
her current boyfriend Leo - a sensitive farmer who sells produce; and the steps Saina takes to get her life back on track.
Saina is unusually sanguine about the upcoming 'visit' by Charles, Barbra, Andrew, and Grace, even though she has reason to worry about her own financial prospects.
Left with nothing except a bit of cash he hid away, Charles decides to move his entire family to the upstate New York home of his 28-year-old daughter Saina. Until recently, Saina had been a successful, much-fêted conceptual artist living in New York City.
However an ill-considered exhibit derailed Saina's career, and a philandering fiancé soured her on the city. Thus Saina left her small Manhattan apartment and bought a country farmhouse, which - serendipitously - can house her entire pauperized family.
Charles' long-term plan is to drive his family to upstate New York, deposit them in Saina's house, and take off for China. There, Charles hopes to reclaim the family's ancient lands and reestablish the Wangs' vaunted place in the universe.
Charles no longer has a vehicle to transport his wife and children, but Ama (the family's nanny since Charles was a baby) offers up the used car Charles gave her years before.
Thus Charles, Barbra, and Ama set off to pick up boarding school student Grace - who has a fashion blog, and college boy Andrew - who aspires to be a stand-up comedian, from the expensive schools they can no longer afford.
Ama is dropped off at her daughter's house, and the Wangs embark on a road trip across the country. Thus begins a raucous journey - during which the Wangs experience a different side of America, and ultimately grow closer as a family.
En route to New York the Wangs eat hot dogs that look like 'skinny penises on buns';
break into a cosmetics warehouse that's been seized by Charles' creditors;
party with relatives in New Orleans;
have car trouble and stay in cheap motels;
deliver accidently melted cosmetics to off-the-books customers; and more.....until they finally reach their destination.
Along the way, Andrew takes off with an older woman named Dorrie; has new sexual experiences; lives rough; and obsessively looks for open mic nights to perform his comedy routine.
Interspersed with the Wangs road trip are scenes from Saina's life. We learn about her fall from grace in the art world; her former boyfriend Grayson - a selfish cheater;
her current boyfriend Leo - a sensitive farmer who sells produce; and the steps Saina takes to get her life back on track.
Saina is unusually sanguine about the upcoming 'visit' by Charles, Barbra, Andrew, and Grace, even though she has reason to worry about her own financial prospects.
END SPOILER ALERT END SPOILER ALERT
The characters in the novel occasionally speak in (untranslated) Mandarin, so it's not always clear (to me) what they're saying, but the jist of the conversations come through.
Though they're not completely likable, the Wangs grew on me. In the end I wished them well despite their once ostentatious lifestyle.
This is a well-written debut novel that provides a peek into a culture that's novel to most Americans. Recommended to readers who enjoy humorous literary fiction.
Rating: 4 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment