Synopses & Reviews
From the highly praised author of
Mona in the Promised Land and
Who's Irish? a generous, funny, explosive novel about the new "half-half" American family.
Here is Carnegie Wong, second-generation Chinese American warm heart and funny guy. Here is his WASP wife, the delicious "za-za-vavoomy" Blondie. Here are their two adopted Asian daughters, and their half-half bio son. And here is Mama Wong, Carnegie's no-holds-barred mother, who, eternally opposed to his marriage, has arranged from her grave for a mainland Chinese relation to come look after the kids. Is this woman, as Carnegie claims, a nanny? Or is she, as Blondie fears, something else?
What happens as Carnegie and Blondie try to incorporate the ambiguous new arrival into their already complicated lives is touchingly, brilliantly, intricately told.
Powerfully evoking the contemporary American family in all its fragility and strength, Gish Jen has given us her most exuberant and accomplished novel.
Review
"[A] hugely entertainingly American family...a vibrant work notable for its unusual and arresting dialogue-saturated style....[A] smart, piquant, and far-reaching tragicomedy." Booklist
Review
"Psychologically and politically astute....Jen's eye for the complexities of American life is shrewd, her characters utterly believable." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Poignant, funny, and powerful...Jen's latest raises many questions about the significance of race relations within family life and provides an illuminating portrait of Chinese Americans. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"For the first time, Jen's writing is bland and unremarkable. In striving to create credible voices for her characters, she's abandoned her own." Craig Seligman, The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Gish Jen is the author of two previous novels and a book of stories. Her honors include the Lannan Award for Fiction and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives with her husband and two children in Cambridge, Massachusetts.