Jen tracks the assimilation of a Shanghainese immigrant, Yifeng (Ralph) Chang, to the United States in the 1940s and 1950s (possibly 1960s as well). It is a rather unsympathetic look, as Chang gets taken in by a fellow immigrant and conman, Grover. Although Ralph is the protagonist, Jen's real focus is on women: his sister, Theresa, and wife, Helen, whose lives are perhaps constrained in a different way in the United States than they were in Shanghai. The lives of this family are told in very short chapters in a third-person, detached sort of way. Although the novel is a bit cynical and dark about the American dream, it is overall fairly melancholy, as Ralph reflects of the wreckage of their lives. For some reason Jen's style did not mesh with me, and overall I was just as detached from these characters as the Jen's narrator. ( )

Yifeng, the only son in a Chinese family, goes to the United States to study engineering, with plans to return to China. After the Communist takeover in China, Yifeng, now known as Ralph, is unable to return to China. He is reunited with his older sister, Theresa, and together they make a new, typically American, life.

This is both a family story and a character study. The family unit of Ralph, Theresa, and Ralph’s wife, Helen, is central to the novel, and the story would be incomplete without any one of them. The author’s quirky writing style resonated with me, and I look forward to reading more of her work, maybe with a reading group. ( )

Quiet young Chinese boy,, Yifeng, with big ears, moves to U.S. and becomes Ralph,
in a tedious tale of predictable failure and adultery.

As bad is Ralph accepting a job slaughtering innocent animals with zero sensitivity.

Slacker landlord Pete evolves into "Typical American."

Theresa, Helen, Mona, and Callie carry the day. ( )

This was OK, but didn't hugely click with me. I liked the first half better, but it went a bit crazy after Ralph met Grover and decided on a career change. It was good to talk about at book club, there's a lot going on and interesting characters. ( )

Pretty well-written. In terms of immigrant literature, it's definitely better than say, Amy Tan. I'd give the first half of the story (up until Ralph changes careers) 4 stars and the second half three stars. I don't know if that actually has anything to do with the quality of the novel, or if it's just me being impatient and restless and trying to finish the book as fast as possible (which I do with basically every novel).

The second half also has some more predictable elements: affairs, car accidents, etc. All these, of course, are part of the human experience, but idk, it's just so...TYPICALLY AMERICAN, YOU SAY? LOL, okay so maybe that was the point.
( )