They say don't judge a book by its cover, but this cover is
just lovely with its embossed and gold foil pattern on
bright red. And because it is so pretty I'm not going to
"knock it" for playing to the stereotype of a red Chinese
New Year packet, but if you didn't know this would be a book
about Asians, the art department at William Morrow is ready
to knock you over with a Chinese gong with their subtlety.
After coming off the bender of Kevin Kwon's CRAZY RICH
ASIANS series (which I highly recommend) I was
immediately drawing comparisons between Kwon's and Wang's
writing and the Chinese characters and personalities. (Yes,
I know. This is completely unfair.)
Wang's story of the Huang family was not unfamiliar to me:
the story of a broken family and its key players: 1)
Stanley, the often overbearing, and at times delusional,
patriarch, 2) Mary, the "greedy", significantly younger
second wife, 3) Linda, Stanley's more cunning first wife,
hell-bent on protecting her children's inheritance, and 4)
Kate and Fred, Stanley and Linda's children, first
generation Americans or "ABC's" ("American Born Chinese"),
caught between the world of their parents traditional views
and simultaneously adapting to a life in California's Bay
area where full-size SUVs battle for the a parking space at
the local Whole Foods and Farmers Market. As Stanley nears
his inevitable death after a cancer diagnosis, his family
rallies around him in an attempt to nail down the actual
figures of his net worth and any individual gifts in order
to plan for their individual futures boosted by a gift from
the soon to be Estate of Stanley Huang. Although called FAMILY
TRUST, there is little trust amongst this family as
Stanley remains evasive and provides different answers to
different people. If you are paying attention, you will see
the writing on the wall from Chapter Two, but that did not
stop me from finishing FAMILY
TRUST because I was committed to knowing the fallout and
the each characters' reactions in the end (some are so
deliciously selfish you almost want to skip to the end like
skipping to dessert).
So about that comparison to Kwon's writing. While Kwon's
series is a rampant hyperbole of Asian consumerism, private
clubs and satire with a strong sense of Singaporean
nationalist identity; Wang's story is not so "over the top."
Yes, there is still an obsession with designer clothes,
property development, and reverence towards one's elders,
but there is a deeper insight into each of the Huang family
member's idea of "what s/he deserves" and how much others
around him or her must suffer as the rewards of "hard work"
are reaped. Some of Wang's most compelling moments for me
were the different characters reflections on luck, and what
sort of role luck had played in each person's life; whether
it got you that hot job or the lack thereof caused you to
miss an opportunity literally worth millions. How much does
one's "hard work" really contribute to one's success? These
are all real questions Wang explores to some of the extreme
poles of personality (there are some seriously messed up
people in this book).
I would recommend FAMILY
TRUST to anyone who enjoys reading stories that involve
the "every day" type of life for an ABC or many other first
generation Asian. No, not all of it is typical, but a lot of
it is: the parental pressures and expectations, social
calculations, and everyday frustrations that confront Asian
minorities in America. Wang gives voice to many of the
feelings and experiences I can only wish I had the talent to
articulate.
Meet Stanley Huang: father, husband, ex-husband, man of
unpredictable tastes and temper, aficionado of all-
inclusive vacations and bargain luxury goods, newly
diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For years, Stanley has
claimed that he’s worth a small fortune. But the time is
now coming when the details of his estate will finally be
revealed, and Stanley’s family is nervous.
For his son Fred, the inheritance Stanley has long
alluded to would soothe the pain caused by years of
professional disappointment. By now, the Harvard Business
School graduate had expected to be a financial tech god –
not a minor investor at a middling corporate firm, where
he isn’t even allowed to fly business class.
Stanley’s daughter, Kate, is a middle manager with one of
Silicon Valley’s most prestigious tech companies. She
manages the capricious demands of her world-famous boss
and the needs of her two young children all while
supporting her would-be entrepreneur husband (just until
his startup gets off the ground, which will surely be
soon). But lately, Kate has been sensing something amiss;
just because you say you have it all, it doesn’t mean
that you actually do.
Stanley’s second wife, Mary Zhu, twenty-eight years his
junior, has devoted herself to making her husband
comfortable in every way—rubbing his feet, cooking his
favorite dishes, massaging his ego. But lately, her
commitment has waned; caring for a dying old man is far
more difficult than she expected.
Linda Liang, Stanley’s first wife, knows her ex better
than anyone. She worked hard for decades to ensure their
financial security, and is determined to see her children
get their due. Single for nearly a decade, she might
finally be ready for some romantic companionship. But
where does a seventy-two year old Chinese woman in
California go to find an appropriate boyfriend?
As Stanley’s death approaches, the Huangs are faced with
unexpected challenges that upend them and eventually lead
them to discover what they most value. A compelling tale
of cultural expectations, career ambitions and our
relationships with the people who know us best, Family
Trust skewers the ambition and desires that drive Silicon
Valley and draws a sharply loving portrait of modern
American family life.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy