The Family Chao Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Brothers Karamazov and our BookBrowse Review of The Family Chao.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Lan Samantha Chang's The Family Chao is rife with lost possessions: Alf, the blue carpetbag, and the jade ring, to name a few. What else was lost? How do these lost items progress the plot? What is their symbolic function?
2. Why is Katherine's appetite for Chinese food full of "complications" that are "played out in the real world, not in her palate"? (p. 81) How does this compare to Ming's rejection of Chinese food? What does this suggest about the relationship between food and belonging? Are there any foods or meals in your life that help you perform particular identities?
3. The Family Chao is divided into two parts: "They See Themselves" and "The World Sees Them." How do these sections differ in terms of tone, narrative voice, and subject? Who is "the world"? Who are "they"? How do both interrelate? What does this distinction imply about your presence as a reader?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of W.W. Norton & Company. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.