Reviews with content warning for Violence - Real Americans

The reviews for this book among my friends were all over the place, so I didn’t know what to expect. But I really liked this one. I would teach this book if I were a college professor. I love contemplating existentialism and ethics in conjunction with each other and some of the biggest what ifs of our lives.

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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is really excellent — I read a comp that suggested this is for readers of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, but I think Pachinko is a more accurate comp for me. It has a similar grandly-sweeping time span, with deep and devastating insights about history and humanity through the lens of more closely personal and interpersonal moments.

I struggled a bit with the back third — the pacing of it overall and the use of the second person made it slower for me, and somehow it felt more practical: it landed more like the way the book needed to wrap up structurally than what needed to take place by emotional necessity. Ultimately it didn’t hit as deeply and personally as I wished, though as I said it’s totally excellent; I longed for more catharsis, more emotional outpouring perhaps, but that is also not the affect of the book or of the storytellers inside it.

Definitely recommend — I am curious about Goodbye, Vitamin now, though it make take me a while to get to Khong’s backlist. I’ll for sure take note of her future novels, if not immediately dive into them.

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bdombi's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookshelfmystic's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Real Americans is one of those books where the plot is different than what it's about. There are only a few major events (with the exception of the flashbacks in the third section, which I found the most compelling and, incidentally, plot-driven), but they're woven together with so many little scenes that tell a rich story that goes beyond the plot.

The story we're told is about race, about class, about belonging in America, in a hundred different ways. Lily's experiences as a Chinese-American are heavily contrasted with her son's, who looks entirely white and has a wealthy father, and both of them have a distinctly different experience than May, who grew up in China during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. The three narrators give us three different perspectives on these intersecting lines of privilege and power, and they illuminate the question posed by the book's title: What makes a real American?

I enjoyed each section of this book, but my favorite was the last third, especially as May describes her childhood in China. I'm increasingly drawn to historical fiction set in times and places I'm unfamiliar with: it brings a human element to history that is just fascinating to me. Learning more about May makes Lily's section more poignant, too; I think particularly of how May is so lively and happy chatting with Lily's hired help Jenny in Mandarin, but becomes much quieter when English is being spoken.

Overall, Real Americans was an entertaining and fulfilling read, especially once I understood that most of the story was going to take place at parties, in dorm rooms, and in little moments between friends and lovers.

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kirstym25's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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nlgauvreau's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Real Americans is easily the best book I've read so far in 2024 (and I think it's book 55). The fractured relationships over multiple time lines, with answers you really only get in the final section make a beautifully woven story with three flawed, and not always likeable, main characters.
I Will definitely be recommending this to as many people as I can.

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