Family Trust

This book appealed to me for several reasons.

– it’s set in the San Francisco Bay Area and perhaps more importantly, not just the city itself but also the rest of the Bay Area. Don’t get me wrong, I like the city (well parts of it at least), the husband works there and all, but we live in the East Bay and it’s nice to see other parts of the area talked about.

– it’s a story about East Asian immigrants. They are originally from Taiwan, as are many of those in the Bay Area and I’m always interested in stories about immigration, particularly from Asia.

Also it opens with a whopper of a first sentence.

“Stanley Huang sat, naked but for the thing cotton dressing gown crumpled against the sterile white paper in the hospital room, show more and listened to the young doctor describe how he would die.”

He’s been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and this is the story of how he and his family deal with it.

He has a son, Fred, Harvard Business School grad, who’s been trying to make it big in the fintech industry but hasn’t quite yet. His daughter Kate is doing well at a well-known Silicon Valley company but is struggling with the balance of home and work. Also something seems to be up with her husband who is trying to get his start-up going.

Then there is their mother, Stanley’s ex-wife, Linda, perhaps a less-than-usual Asian woman of her time, one who continued working for decades, and yes, even divorced her husband. She’s even been thinking of dating again!

“What was one supposed to say, when one’s now-ex-husband of thirty-four years was struck with such a diagnosis?”

Stanley’s current wife Mary is 28 years younger than him. She’s a former waitress and has devoted her new life to caring for Stanley but now with Stanley dying, his family is suspicious of her motives.

For Stanley has often hinted at his riches – in the millions! Who deserves it more, the one who’s been caring for him in recent years? His children? Linda is determined to make sure her kids get their fair share.

Family Trust is a Silicon Valley story. It is also an Asian family story. It is also an American story. It’s a story about the pursuit of success, about money, about family obligation. There probably will be Crazy Rich Asians comparisons but as someone not a fan of that series, let me just say that Family Trust is better. Its characters are complex yet relatable, its observations of Silicon Valley life and family relationships are astute and witty. A great debut!

Honestly, Linda has some of the best lines.

“The woman likely didn’t even think she spoke English, regarding her as just another sexless Asian dotting her periphery – someone who could be ignored at will, like a houseplant.”



And here’s another – apparently there are differences according to where you landed up as an immigrant.

“Everyone knew that the best Chinese immigrants of their generation were settled in California, and mostly in the Bay Area. There were some in Los Angeles, but then you ran the risk of ending up with some sleazy import/exporter. And Linda had no intention of being matched with some grocery store operator in, say, Reno.”



“She knew exactly how Americans saw women like the Mercedes driver – as indistinguishable from herself. An Asian lady consumed with the creation and consumption of money, who neglected to hug her children. Why did white people like to pick and choose from cultures with such zealous judgment? Of course they just loved Szechuan cuisine served by a young waitress in a cheap cheongsam, but as soon as you proved yourself just as adept at the form of capitalism they had invented? Then you were obsessed. Money crazed. Unworthy of sympathy.” show less

Money. And the expectation of future money. There's probably nothing else in this world more easily able to tear apart a family, at least a wealthy family. Children want their (unearned) inheritance. First wives and second wives are at odds. First (ex)wives want their children to come into the cash while second wives want compensation for the time they spent catering to the dying. It all sounds so privileged and crass. But that's what makes for such fascinating reading, right? The low, grubbiness of it all. Kathy Wang has certainly captured this, and so much more, in her new novel, Family Trust.

Stanley Huang is dying of pancreatic cancer. His ex-wife Linda, who spent more than three decades with Stanley and is the mother of his show more children, wants to make sure that Fred and Kate inherit Stanley's wealth, a wealth she spent a lot of time building up for Stanley through shrewd investments and the like. Mary, Stanley's second, much younger wife, has no knowledge of his financial situation other than that they have money. With Stanley actively dying, she now has to worry what she will do once he's gone. Kate and Fred want to have some idea how much they each stand to inherit so they know how much their lives will be eased, especially once those lives descend into turmoil. But Stanley's cagey, not wanting to disclose anything to anyone. He just wants everyone to be there for him, doing his bidding whenever he wants. With who knows how much money on the line, Stanley's family tries, at least half-heartedly and sometimes more than a little grudgingly, to give him what he wants in the few months he has left.

Before his diagnosis, Stanley was self-involved, possessed of a nasty temper, and desirous of being seen as a successful and smart man. First wife Linda is financially savvy, emotionally remote, and generally content in her life post-divorce, even if divorce is still a little scandalous in her group of friends. She has washed her hands of Stanley as best she can but their shared children and this terminal diagnosis mean she cannot completely walk away from him. Along with tending her garden, occasionally babysitting her grandchildren, and astutely managing her money, she is discovering the appeal of online dating for the first time. Fred is a Harvard Business School grad who bemoans his mediocrity, at least as measured by Silicon Valley culture. He is dating an attractive, blonde, Bulgarian woman who works in sales at Saks and he is generally content with her except when she pressures him about marriage and blithely spends money he can't really (or doesn't want to) afford to spend. Kate is a director at a highly successful tech company. Having gotten in on the ground floor of the business before it took off, ala Google and Apple, means that she can afford to support her husband after he quits his job to attempt his own start-up, even if his presence in his attic home office doesn't translate into a bigger role in raising their two young children. In fact, Kate doesn't have any idea what Denny does up in the attic all day anyway. She is afraid to want more for herself than the life she's settled for. Mary, Stanley's second wife, speaks very little English and her step-children don't seem to like her very much although it is clear that Stanley dotes on her. She has been devoted to his care and comfort for the nine years of their marriage but the months after his diagnosis are the most pressure filled and fraught of all as she faces her own family's interest in her future financial situation and her step-children's interests being diametrically opposed to hers.

Wang carefully draws each of these characters and all of the factors going on in their lives as the novel progresses, slowly revealing what each character's ultimate desire is. The chapters alternate between the five main characters, although Mary doesn't have a chapter from her point of view until quite late in the novel, leaving her motives murky and subject to interpretation by the others for a long time. Because the reader sees each character's circumstances, Stanley's diagnosis is almost an after thought and the greedy need to know Stanley's intentions and the size of their bequests comes across as grasping and selfish. Of course, Silicon Valley, as portrayed here doesn't come off much better, nor does the insular, wealthy Taiwanese-American community. The Huang family's strained dynamic is on full display, only complimented by professional pressure and presumed, or sometimes very real, racism, sexism, nepotism, and cronyism. The novel starts off quite slowly and somewhat less than engagingly but it does eventually pick up, with the reader interested in finding out just how much money Stanley has, what Kate's husband is doing and whether she'll finally have the push to go after what she really wants, the truth about Linda's new online beau, and how Fred is going to improve his business standing and where his relationship is headed. Yes, there really are that many plot threads, and a few more besides. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic but their status seeking, family loyalty, and reactions to cultural pressures are interesting to watch as an outsider. This is very definitely a novel of "rich people problems" but don't we all sometimes fantasize about having these sorts of problems? Spending a few hours between the covers of this one will deliver just that, and maybe an appreciation for your own problems instead. show less

Family Trust is a story of how a Silicon Valley Chinese family behave when the patriarch is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. When Stanley Huang discovers that he only has a few months to live, his adult children, ex-wife and wife all react to the news differently. Stanley has had a successful career and has been lavish with his spending, so everyone is eagerly anticipating a possible windfall. But will all the money go to Mary, the new wife? What about the kids? And shouldn't grandchildren count for something? With abundant dark humor, the story of a greedy dysfunctional family unfolds.

Although it's hard to really like any of the characters, I found the descriptions of Silicon Valley and my home town, to be amazingly show more accurate. Yes our Whole Foods really does have a local craft beer section, dosa bar and more varieties of hummus than you can imagine. And it has the tiniest parking lot for any supermarket in the area. The descriptions of greed and the constant drive for success and wealth was also scarily accurate. Maybe I have my Pollyanna glasses on, but I do think that most people aren't as heartless as the Huang family, which made it difficult for me to really connect or care about their lives, but I still found myself not being able to put the book down.

There are many human flaws discussed in this book which would make for a fascinating book club discussion. show less

Kathy Wang gives us a portrait of an Asian-American family in crisis. Its patriarch is at the end of his life but instead of coming together to recognize his life, his family maneuvers to acquire shares of his financial legacy. In the final analysis, FAMILY TRUST is not a novel about trust at all but one about its absence. No one seems to be working in Stanley’s best interest, including Stanley himself. Thus none of Wang’s characters is particularly likeable. All seem to be motivated instead by things like greed, status, careerism, materialism, and self-interest. Despite an attempt at an uplifting finish, ultimately Wang fails to generate any real empathy for these people.

As an Asian-American with a Harvard Business School and show more Silicon Valley background, Wang is eminently positioned to write about her chosen themes. Her main focus is the cultural and family pressures toward high achievement that seem to be common in certain Asian families living in America. Elite business school connections and the Silicon Valley setting only add gasoline to this fire. Wang uses these milieus to tackle some intriguing questions however. These include: What roles do luck vs. hard work play in success? How does racism manifest in these high-pressure environments? What are the pressures, expectations, and social calculations in high achieving Asian-Americans? How has American culture impacted the traditional Chinese values of family loyalty especially toward elders?

Wang dedicates individual chapters to each family member. Stanley Huang is the patriarch with terminal cancer. He can be overbearing with a quick temper. He is not particularly adept with financial matters and is always on the lookout for a bargain. He tries to give his “Rolex” to his son without realizing that it is battery-operated and Rolex doesn’t make battery-driven watches. He has led his family to believe that his net worth is substantial but one senses early in the novel that this may not be the case.

Stanley’s son, Fred, is a Harvard Business School graduate who always thought he would become a financial success, but feels that his career is floundering (The poor guy only makes $325,000 per year and doesn’t get to fly business class). He is divorced and dating a knockout Hungarian who sells high-end merchandise at Saks. He is beginning to sense she is too high maintenance and simply after marriage and his money. Their break-up leads to some dire but humorous consequences for poor Fred.

The daughter, Kate, is struggling with trying to have it all. She is a middle manager at a prestigious tech firm. She works hard catering to the whims of her famous boss and two small children. Her husband is struggling to launch a start-up and thus has no income. Likewise he provides little help in raising the kids. For obvious reasons, this guy turns out to be the least likable of the lot.

Wang portrays Fred and Kate as fairly generic American born Chinese (ABC’s). They reside at a nexus between the more traditional views of the previous generation and the high-tech society of their Bay Area peers. Much has been expected of them and both are indeed high achievers. However, both also struggle with low self-esteem. Fred thinks Kate has just been lucky, while he has struggled to launch his career. On the other hand, Kate feels like her career has been limited by her gender and race. A divorced female acquaintance urges her to be more assertive, advice she struggles to follow.

Stanley’s two wives are represented by #1 Linda Liang, and #2 Mary Zhu. Linda views Stanley skeptically and makes an effort to keep her distance. She got little from him in the divorce settlement and is determined that her kids will get their fair share of his inheritance. Her success at achieving a comfortable life at age 72 speaks to her greater ability at managing money than Stanley. Although she clearly does not need another man in her life, she gets involved with a dubious Internet dating site with humorous consequences.

Mary is much younger than Stanley. She is newly arrived from China with modest resources. She has catered to his every whim but has begun to tire from his needs in the waning months of his life. She clearly seeks the financial independence that she feels is her due for providing Stanley’s care. This leads to tawdry scenes of bickering between her, her sisters, and Stanley’s first family.

Wang develops separate plots for each of the children as well as Stanley and Linda. These explore her various themes including the excesses of Silicon Valley, family dynamics among Asian families, marriage and relationships, ageing, and end of life issues. She injects enough humor and irony in the stories to make them engaging. However, their TV sitcom feeling and Wang’s third person narrative give the stories a superficial quality that seems to interfere with a deeper examination of her themes. show less

Kathy Wang's fantastic novel Family Trust opens with Silicon Valley resident Stanley Huang being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Divorced from his first wife Linda, married to his second, decades-younger wife Mary, father to two grown children, Fred and Kate, suddenly Stanley's life is turned upside down.

Each chapter is narrated by one of the main characters- Linda, Fred, and Kate take the lead, with Stanley and Mary each taking on a smaller role. Linda has been divorced for many years, and has decided to take the advice of her friends and try online dating with Tigerlily, a dating service geared towards Asians.

She connects with Winston online and he seems to be the opposite of Stanley. Winston appears to be an open, caring, outgoing show more man. Stanley was prone to violent outbursts, sometimes frightening his children.

Linda was the financial wizard in the family, and although Stanley liked to portray himself as worth millions, Linda had her doubts. She kept pushing Fred and Kate to talk to Stanley and get information about his will. Whenever the topic was brought up, Stanley was very vague about details.

Fred worked in finance, but he felt stuck in his role at Lion Capital. When an old college friend dangles a huge opportunity in front of him, Fred finally feels that his luck may be changing.

Kate is married to Denny, and a mom to two young children. She works for X Corp, a huge Silicon Valley company, where she has been for several years and is a valued employee. Denny is trying to get a startup going, with little success (or ambition) so far.

Fred and Kate both could use the money from their father's will to make their lives easier. Linda fears that Stanley will leave most of his money to his new wife, leaving their children out in the cold.

I found Linda's story to be the most intriguing. She is a smart, tough, hardworking, clear-eyed woman. Her interactions with her circle of female friends and her sharp-tongued observations made me laugh.

Mary had one chapter to tell her story and I found it surprising. Up to this point, we only saw her through the eyes of the others, it was a revelation to see her innermost thoughts.

Family Trust is a remarkable novel. Each character's story draws the reader in, and each person''s story could stand on their own in their own novel. The ingenious way that Wang weaves their stories together is a marvel.

It is a novel about a family who came to here to find the American dream. Both Stanley and Linda worked hard to make a good life for their children, pushed them to go to good schools and be successful. It has been compared to The Nest and Crazy Rich Asians, both of which I read and enjoyed, but Family Trust is the best of the three. Wang successfully combines humor and pathos in a deeply rich novel. show less

Stanley Huang is an asshole and I'm so glad his first wife escaped him. It's too bad she was too adult to tell her kids what an asshole their dad was. Nevertheless, it was fun to spend time with this family and the debacle of the dating app was pretty clever.

Family Trust by Kathy Wang is a very readable, somewhat humorous take on the family drama. Wang’s prose flows nicely, conversations flow well, and the characters, though stereotypical, are well developed.

That being said, I didn’t like the characters enough to care what happened to any of them and was repulsed by their greed. For me, this book didn’t live up to it’s hype.