Tag: cultural revolution

Real Americans by Rachel Khong (Literary Fiction)

Writing: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Plot: 3.5/5

An exploration of how we become who we are (nature vs nurture and all the permutations) through the stories of three generations of a single family: Lily — raised American (down to the bologna sandwiches she took to school) by her immigrant Chinese parents; her son Nick who looks almost completely like the rich, white father he never met, and not Chinese at all; and Lily’s mother May, who escaped from China during the Cultural Revolution with broken teeth and broken English — and a sharp mind trained in genetic research. Into this mix roam themes of wealth and poverty, racial inequalities, and the ethics of gene editing.

The book held my interest throughout — it’s a plot that thoroughly covers all sorts of interesting times and places from Mao’s cultural revolution to a pharmaceutical empire and across the different stages of an individual’s lifespan. Lily and Nick’s stories felt more real to me. May’s story felt more like a recap of documented history — all true but it didn’t feel like someone’s personal experience to me in the same way the others did (this could be my problem). I liked the depiction of the science, and I thought the descriptions of relationships — with the true intentions, unrealistic expectations, and the heaviness of eventual disappointments — felt genuine. I was sad that these genuine seeming relationships included several people not speaking to others for decades, rather than trying to work through the problems — a sad waste of love. I’m honestly not sure what the overall message of the book was — I get the ethical dilemmas the book (adeptly) portrayed, but I had a hard time understanding what led to individuals literally breaking off all contact with the most important people in their lives. I’m open to someone explaining this to me!

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 30th, 2024.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Writing: 4 Plot: 5 Characters: 4

The sweeping, emotionally intense story of an Akha village girl in the Yunnan Province. Spanning 1988 through 2016, Li-Yan (commonly known as “Girl”), goes from tea picker in Yunnan to Guangzhou Tea Master to global businesswoman.

While the characters are well developed and the plot riveting, my favorite aspect of the book is the way the author brought recent Chinese history, American adoption of Chinese children (usually girls), and the tea trade to life.  Especially the extensively researched tea trade — a fascinating discussion of pu’er tea — from the resurrection of the old methods of production (which were discouraged during Mao’s reign) to the history, economy, and medicinal applications going back centuries. Supporting this thread was the impact of various Chinese policies, and slogans on regular people — from the Cultural Revolution to Deng Xiaoping’s slogan “ To get rich is glorious” to The Thirty Years No Change Policy, the One Child Policy, and the Great Leap Forward. and the recognition of the 55 ethnic minorities (even though there were actually many more).

Another thread follows the experiences of Li-Yan’s baby girl, adopted by Caucasian parents in California with only an ancient tea cake to connect her to her birth parents. While happy with her parents and life, Haley and other Chinese adoptees face the issue of not fitting in — with either the Caucasians or the other Asians. Interestingly, while the bulk of the book is in Li-Yan’s voice, all information about Haley comes through letters, school reports, and other external forms of documentation.

Lisa Yee is a master at sweeping you into a story that you can’t help but care about. Warning — I found the events of the second chapter so disturbing that I almost stopped reading the book but I’m very glad I kept going. I found the descriptions of China fascinating — it was constantly surprising to me to be reminded that some of the things that sounded so “primitive” had been a way of life only 30 years ago. Intriguing plot, well-developed characters, and a rich and historically accurate background environment.

I’m looking forward to reading Lisa See’s upcoming book “The Island of Sea Women.”