by Gish Jen
First published 2008
Ralph Chang never meant to stay in America. Neither did his sister Theresa or his wife Helen. They came as temporary visitors, but when the Communists take over China in 1949, the three find themselves stranded. At first they hold tight to their Chinese identity, mocking everything they see as "typical American." But slowly, inevitably, America begins to change them. Ralph starts chasing business dreams. Helen adapts to new ways of living. Theresa finds her own path between two worlds. The very behaviors they once criticized in Americans become their own. Gish Jen follows the Chang family through their transformation from reluctant refugees to something they never expected to become. The story captures both the comedy and the cost of reinventing yourself in a new country.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: America, China
Period: 1949
296 pages · Paperback · Vintage