Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

10 reviews

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book had so much more than I was expecting! Meet Lilly she is just one branch of this dysfunctional Chinese American family that is full of secrets. In this book you will find commentary of what does it mean to be an American and if you could change things, would you?

This is a 600 page literary fiction, she really gives time for each family member to tell their journey and for reader to understand how their story contributes to the family whole.

This book also has a touch of magical realism (Chinese fable come to life) and a science fiction (or is it?). This ended being the perfect book to read for the holidays.

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hungry_wombat's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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lauren_lovestoread's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

I liked lot, but didn’t love it. I felt there was some loose ends that were left unfinished and some parts of the story could have been spent on those plot points. Sometimes it felt that the author didn’t quite know what the story should be, with all of the different plot lines and characters. That being said, it was a fascinating family saga and I recommend it!

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Based on all the hype surrounding it, I expected something different from this book. I enjoyed the story, but it didn't amaze me.

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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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emily_koopmann's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

2.75


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emmy_likes_2_read's review against another edition

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

2.5


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abaighritz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book sucked me in right away. Maybe it was the coming of age around the same time as myself, with the turn of the century talk and 911, and the writing kept the story moving along and really only gave you what was needed and not a lot of extra fluff. 
When I got to the end of Lily's section, ending on a cliff hanger, I was annoyed that it started over from her son's POV 17 years later, so I knew I wasn't going to find out what happened with her mom. Not long after my frustration I was again sucked into the story. It was predictable enough but at the same time a bit unbelievable with what Nick had and didn't have and what would be hidden from his mom.  Again, with a cliff hanger at the end lead into May's story.
I'm not sure the title or the synopsis I read before starting gave me an idea of what to expect. It did give a lot of real examples of where we are today, how we got here, and what to be cautious of when wanting a future for our country and world. The messaging was subtle which I enjoy. Nothing felt forced, the story kept moving. I would and have been recommending this to anyone who loves to read.

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