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Title details for Real Americans by Rachel Khong - Wait list

Real Americans

by Rachel Khong
Eric Yang
Audiobook
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks

Brought to you by Penguin.
HOW FAR WILL WE GO TO BELONG?
On the precipice of Y2K, unpaid intern Lily Chen is attempting to live the American dream in New York City. But her scientist parents imagined so much more for her when they fled Mao's cultural revolution, hoping for a better life. Despite the glamour of her media job, Lily can barely make rent - until she falls into the arms of Matthew. This young financier can give her a fairy tale life of luxury, and for the first time her dreams appear within reach.
High school student Nick Chen and his best friend Timothy are plotting to break free. College promises escape from an isolated and close-knit island in Washington State, space from his strict and secretive mum Lily, and the chance to finally fit in. But when Nick sets out to find his long-lost father, a world of questions opens, and it is one unexpected member of the Chen family who holds the key to it all.
Real Americans is a family epic about identity, sacrifice, choices and fate. It is a wildly imaginative and profound story of betrayal and forgiveness that asks us how far we should go for those we love.
'Khong masterfully explores a family splintered by science, struggling to redefine their own lives after uncovering harrowing secrets. Real Americans is a mesmerizing multigenerational novel about privilege, identity and the illusions of the American dream' Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half
©2024 Rachel Khong (P)2024 Penguin Audio

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    April 30, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781804948088
      • File size: 422709 KB
      • Duration: 14:40:38

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 26, 2024
      Khong returns (after Goodbye, Vitamin) with an impressive family drama. It opens in 1999 with 22-year-old narrator Lily, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, scraping by in New York City on an unpaid internship. When she meets über-wealthy and über-handsome Matthew it feels like a fairy tale, but a sense of imbalance between them remains as their relationship develops. Khong then fast-forwards to 2021, when Lily and Matthew’s son, Nick, is a teenager. Lily and Matthew are no longer together or even in contact, though it’s unclear why. Disconnected from his family history, Nick struggles to understand his identity. He reconnects with Matthew but finds the dynamic strained and ultimately relocates to San Francisco, where he crosses paths with his maternal grandmother, May, who narrates the novel’s third section, set in 1960s China. Young, ambitious May (then called Mei Ling) attends Peking University on the eve of the Cultural Revolution. Khong is both a perceptive prose stylist and an accomplished storyteller, and she shines brightest when portraying differing cultural styles of parental love (“It wasn’t American,” Nick thinks at one point, “for to love as much as she did”). Khong reaches new heights with this fully-fledged outing. Agent: Marya Spence, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A trio of talented narrators immerses listeners in the thorny multigenerational story of a Chinese American family. The audiobook opens in 1999 as 22-year-old Lily, voiced with matter-of-fact directness by Louisa Zhu, meets charismatic, impossibly wealthy Matthew. Despite Lily's initial reservations, largely fueled by Matthew's intimidating family, the two marry and have a son. Later, listeners learn that the son, Nick, has grown up with no knowledge of his father's identity. Eric Yang's measured portrayal of Nick captures his confusion over his perplexing upbringing and growing bitterness as he uncovers long-buried secrets. Eunice Wong closes out the story with her portrayal of Lily's mother, May. Wong channels May's youthful intensity and the regretful understanding that marks her later years. A wholly absorbing family drama. S.A.H. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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