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First Published:
Feb 2022, 320 pages
Paperback:
Aug 30, 2022, 320 pages
Book Reviewed by:
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An acclaimed storyteller returns with "a gorgeous and gripping literary mystery" that explores "family, betrayal, passion, race, culture and the American Dream" (Jean Kwok).
The residents of Haven, Wisconsin, have dined on the Fine Chao Restaurant's delicious Americanized Chinese food for thirty-five years, happy to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. But when brash, charismatic, and tyrannical patriarch Leo Chao is found dead―presumed murdered―his sons discover that they've drawn the exacting gaze of the entire town.
The ensuing trial brings to light potential motives for all three brothers: Dagou, the restaurant's reckless head chef; Ming, financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest, gentle but lost college student James. Brimming with heartbreak, comedy, and suspense, The Family Chao offers a kaleidoscopic, highly entertaining portrait of a Chinese American family grappling with the dark undercurrents of a seemingly pleasant small town.
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What an amazing reimagining of The Brothers Karamazov! Had Lan Samantha Chang crafted a modern-day version of this all-time favorite classic, the novel would have been a success. But she goes further, exploring the passions and rivalries of an "outsider" family in pursuit of the American Dream (Jill S). It's been a long time since I stayed up late, unwilling to put down a book that has me in its thrall. The Family Chao is one of those books. It's a great book club pick. There's a lot to talk about (Irene H)...continued
Full Review
(651 words).
(Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).
Jess Walter, author of The Cold Millions
At once a brilliant reimagining of Dostoevsky and a wholly original and gripping story about the passions, rivalries, and searing pressures that roil a singular immigrant family. John Irving, author of Avenue of Mysteries
A Dickensian drama of family conflicts and intrigues; an insightful comedy of the American immigrant experience, and of a small town's inner workings. Chang's creation of characters through dialogue is worthy of a great playwright. Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Committed
Family drama, murder mystery, love story, The Family Chao is an oftentimes funny and sometimes sad portrait of a Chinese American family who runs that most ubiquitous of institutions: the Chinese restaurant. With nuance and slyness, wit and empathy, Chang turns the desires and deceits of one unhappy family into a moving and compelling saga of that classic American illness: ambition.
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang is a modern reimagining of the novel The Brothers Karamazov (1879) by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881). The plot of Dostoevsky's book centers around a family of three brothers — Dmitri, Ivan and Alexei (aka Alyosha) — and the murder of their father, Fyodor Karamazov. As Dmitri and his father have been in conflict over Dmitri's inheritance and their mutual attraction to the same woman, he becomes the prime suspect in the crime, and the end of the novel features his trial.
Each of the brothers represents an archetype: Dmitri is a hedonist ruled by emotion; Ivan is an intellectual; and Alexei is a deeply pious Christian, committed to living an ascetic lifestyle in a monastery. ...
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