Books by Weike Wang
I read Wang's third novel, Rental House, reread Chemistry, and already read Joan Is Okay. I gave them all five stars, as I loved the way the books are written and the stories told in an often whimsical style .
Published December 3, 2024; Riverhead Books
Keru and Nate seem to be opposites, yet they meet at an Ivy League college and land up getting married. Keru's well educated immigrant Chinese family is the opposite of Nate's rural American working class family, and the couple fit each other more than they fit into their own families.
The family dynamics play out in a shared family vacation at a rental house, with both sides spending time with each other, and then later visiting Keru and Nate at their home. The imbalance of their situation and their families leads Keru to take the lead in keeping everyone together. She felt she had to be always present to "right the course" and handle their families together.
"They would take better care of each other and their dog. The unit had to be protected and she would protect them. They were codependent, she and Nate. Without her, he lost grounding, but without him, she could be relentless and too focused."
An amazing solution to a situation full of contradictions and different life styles and expectations from the families of both sides.
Weike Wang is a graduate of Harvard University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry and her doctorate in public health. She received her MFA from Boston University. Her fiction has been published in or is forthcoming from Alaska Quarterly Review, Glimmer Train, The Journal, Ploughshares, Redivider, and SmokeLong Quarterly.
Currently reading
July 23, 2024; Random House
Description
Jon M. Chu, movie director of Crazy Rich Asians and Wicked, has written an inspiring memoir of belonging, creativity, and learning to see who you really are. Long before he directed Wicked, In The Heights, or Crazy Rich Asians, Jon M. Chu was a movie-obsessed first-generation Chinese American, helping at his parents’ Chinese restaurant in Silicon Valley and forever facing the cultural identity crisis endemic to children of immigrants.
Growing up on the cutting edge of twenty-first-century technology gave Chu the tools he needed to make his mark at USC film school, and to be discovered by Steven Spielberg, but he soon found himself struggling to understand who he was. In this book, for the first time, Chu turns the lens on his own life and work, telling the universal story of questioning what it means when your dreams collide with your circumstances, and showing how it’s possible to succeed even when the world changes beyond all recognition.
What are you reading or watching this week?
I love when you find a series you enjoy and they are all 5-star reads! That's rare. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeletePresently working my way through 'Julia' by Sandra Newman. I'll be starting 'The Origins of the Anglo-Saxons - Decoding the Ancestry of the English' by Jean Manco tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm watching Season 1 of 'The Black List' (late to the party as always.....).
I haven’t read anything from this author yet but certainly have about the Chinese immigrant experience. I’m glad you’re enjoying this series.
ReplyDeleteWhat an intriguing author! Going to start with the first. I've now got Chemistry reserved.
ReplyDeleteLove it when you find an author that you love!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week
Very interesting books. I haven't read any of these.
ReplyDeleteI've been eyeing Rental House. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteAll of these books are going on my TBR list. They are a far cry from my default murder mysteries, but that seems to be how it’s going for me this year. Adventure.
ReplyDeleteI am curious about Joan Is Okay. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYou read interesting books in genres I don't read very often. I more often am looking to be entertained I guess. But I learn things in the books I read too. And I do read a variety of nonfiction which isn't books.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
Chemistry and Joan is Ok need to go on my Goodreads list. I like how you write about the plots. I am watching Burn Notice, the last season via DVD this week. Still reading a Vera Brittain book and I loved The Story of a Heart by Dr Rachel Clarke.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading Rental House. I'm on the library wait list for it. I read Joan Is Okay but didn't think much of it ... Still I want to try another.
ReplyDeleteI greatly enjoyed both Joan is Okay (review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4455632330) and Chemistry (review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2033883842), especially Chemistry. I should look for Rental House now!
ReplyDeleteAre Weike Wang's books an actual series, or just sharing the same themes? I thought they stand alone, but it's interesting that it feels like a progression!
ReplyDeleteStand alone books. I just happened to read them and list them by publication date. They do seem like a progression, I agree.
DeleteChemistry is on my TBR. You definitely caught my attention when you said they “seemed to advance the progress of the immigrant women from one book to the other.” That’s my kind of series. I also added Viewfinder to my TBR. Tomorrow I’m hoping to make it to Verbatim Books. Hopefully they’ll have copies. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI like the summary to Viewfinder. My movie buff mom might like it too. Adding it to my tbr.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to find an author who is consistently a 5 star read!
ReplyDelete