This story is one that’s going to sit with me for a while as I reflect.

The first two parts left me with so many questions. Part 3 was my favorite. I felt as if I couldn’t put it down once I had Mei’s perspective.

• Multiple POV
• Multiple timelines

Read on audiobook and would recommend a listen.

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.

 "Chinese is a language that exists in the present tense. In this way it’s unlike English…”

Format: Audio
Source: Penguin Random House Audio
Narrator(s): Louisa Zhu, Eric Yang, & Eunice Wong

**Read for #bnbookclub**

Themes:

Characters:
• Lily Chen: MC
You first meet her in her 20's, then as a single mom, and then finally as a middle-aged women working at a nursery home. Lily literally goes through life not knowing what she wants. She always feels the dissatisfaction she gives her mom, the inability to follow in her footsteps. She is raised in a very "American" lifestyle; not learning her parents' native language, not learning their customs, or how to make their food, etc. Eventually she has a falling out with her mother, her dad since being in a home. She finds solace in motherhood, but it's still not enough. It isn't until later in life that she finally feels happy with herself and the life she has.

• Nico “Nick” Chen: MC #2
Nick is Lily's only son. Lily raised him alone, and never really answering his questions in regards to his father, or other family for that matter. He grows up not feeling complete because of this. His friend, Timothy, is the one that pushes him to take one of those take-home DNA tests. When he gets his results, he's disappointed although not surprised. Later in the story he does find out who his dad is, who he meets behind his mom's back. He goes to Yale for college, having lied to his mom about his scholarships, and feeling like a sham. That's when he discovered his "power"(?) of stopping time. With that, he was able to get better grades, eventually landing a job with his dad, and then other companies relating to Biology. Years later, he finds his grandmother, no hard feeling towards her.

• Mai: MC #3
She's Lily's mother. She immigrated from China with her husband "Charles." She's a scientist, and gets a job at a some lab, who gets support from Otto Meyer. She studied/works in genetics & DNA manipulation practically, which eventually both her and Otto used their first borns for experiments. Lily find's out, which is when they become estranged. In her pov, she divulges in her past living in China, from her childhood to living under Mao's Cultural Revolution. She eventually meets her grandchild by practically stalking him. He's the first to hear her side of things.

• Matthew Allen “Meyer”: Important side character
Matthew is Lily's ex-husband, Nick's dad. He is present in everyone's pov, some with more presence than the others. He didn't know what Mai or Otto, his dad, had done to both his brother Thomas or to Lily. And when it came to choose between leaving that life with Lily or staying, he chose to stay. He seemed unempathetic every time he was mentioned by anyone other then Lily. I couldn't connect with him, but at the same time I understood. He tried to by his kid's forgiveness rather than genuinely apologizing, which to me, is a very American thing to do.

Review:
I don’t know where to start honestly. I liked it, but somehow I wasn’t satisfied.

The story is told from three generational POV: daughter, grandson, grandmother. I appreciated this, a lot actually. It made sense in the story. Having the grandmother’s pov come last is clever, especially when it came to the theme of time.

I saw many similarities between Lily, Nick & Mai. Like the whole being raised as an US American, I've actually seen this happen in my own culture, especially in first generation kids.

There is also a common trend among immigrants and their parents when it comes to not sharing personal information. Yes, some may be trying to forget their past experiences, others just don't know how. My grandparents were the same and my parents are currently doing this, although they've opened up more. I also see the trend of this happening as they grow older. Which goes hand in hand with Khong's theme of time.

I don't know if this book is being advertised as "magical realism." If it is, it's probably because of that "time" power that all three share. And of course the mentions of the Chinese Moon Goddess mythology.

I listned to this, even though I bought the book. I appreciate how they used different people for the main characters, it made it easier to follow, considering there wasn't a part/section separation/identifier between the character's povs. I think that's what made me have a little bit of a hard time following, but it was momentarily.

Overall, it's a good story. It's well written.

Rating Breakdown:
Characters: 4
Plot/Storyline: 4.5
Pace: 5
Writing Style: 5
Narrator(s): 5
Overall Rating: 4.7 rounded to a 4.75

Quotes:
"...'the rocks were earth,' Matthew said. 'Meant to remind us of our smallness'"

"...that we were so insignificant, that we didn't matter. Even now, it's something I understood in the abstract, not in any real way."

"Time, it's the one thing [rich people] can't but."

"'They buy my paintings because they want to own time itself. A painting is the next best thing.'"

"Meaning was a slippery fish I was trying to catch with one hand."

"Can a life be meaningful if it's foundation is anything besides work?"

"Was motherly-ness something that could be cultivated?"

"What does say about me? That I can only understand myself in relation to another person. Alone, I was a blank."

"Without time, ambition is worth nothing. It's only frustration."

"How could one man have done so much damage. That was power that one person could wield so much influence over the lives of strangers."

"So much of my life I've let slip by because I have not attended to it. All this while instead of seeking more time, I could have been paying attention." 

Thank you to A.A. Knopf for the free copy of this book.

 - I hardly even know how to review REAL AMERICANS. It’s a multigenerational masterpiece that I could not put down.
- Khong guides us through three generations, back and forth in time and place as each POV character tries to sort out their place and purpose in the world.
- There are a few excellent plot twists as well as callbacks, items and motifs repeating through the generations, but never in an over the top way.
- There’s also a slight sprinkle of sci-fi/fantasy in the story, and it’s so satisfying when those threads come together.