I have mixed feelings about this novel. There are narratives from three perspectives going backwards and forwards in time: Lily, who marries ultra-wealthy Matthew; then Nick, Lily's son leaving home and discovering the truth about his father; and finally May, Lily's mother, and the story of how she escaped China to come to the US. I liked each narrative in different ways, but the effect of each was to leave the others opaque, so we never saw what Lily was feeling in the last 2/3 of the book for example.

There were some elements that seemed a bit sci-fi to me, but I don't know much about science, so maybe they are all too real, and then the family trait of time standing still, which I assumed was going to be diagnosed as epilepsy, instead was presented as a superpower. This would be a good choice for a book club, as there are plenty of 'issues' to discuss. ( )

Rachel Khong wrote the delightful Goodbye Vitamin, and now she has a new novel that takes on three generations of the same family to look at the reasons they split apart and how they might come back together. This novel begins in the middle with Lily Chen, raised by immigrants from China, she feels her mother's disappointment in her lack of purpose, as she works unpaid as an intern and struggles to get by with a series of side gigs. When she meets Matthew, the golden son of a family whose immense wealth is based on their pharmaceutical company, they feel a real connection but their differences may sink their relationship. Then there's Nick, raised by his mother in a small Washington community, feeling like an outsider. Reconnecting with his father is fraught, but that's not the only family member he's never had the opportunity to get to know. And finally, the book goes back to the beginning, with a bright, determined girl grows up in rural China, eager to find a way to get to university, but that opportunity is destroyed by the Cultural Revolution and her best chance may be to get out of the country with the young man who wants to leave too.

Often, the different timeline structure doesn't work, but here, Khong keeps the book structured into three distinct sections, so there's no jumping around. She also gives each generation's story a different tone and style to reflect the time in which it is set. Khong writes so well, and is so deliberate in her choices, yet there's an effortlessness to her writing that made the entire novel a lot of fun to read. There's a lot of ground covered in this novel, but at its heart it's the story of family and of forgiveness and learning to understand each other across the generations. I loved this book. ( )

Science paired with the lure of consumer choice leads to heartbreaking consequences in Real Americans.

A female biologist believes genetic research will allow parents to suppress unwanted genes to make a perfect, healthy, baby. She escapes Communist China and the horror of the Cultural Revolution with a fellow scientist, leaving behind her true love. They resume their research in the United States.

Their daughter Lily resists her parents’ expectations to live a purposeful life in science, and while an intern in New York City meets a man from a wealthy and influential family. To Lily’s surprise, as different as they are, he falls in love with her and they marry. But soon after the birth of their child, blonde and blue eyed like his father, Lily discovers secrets that drive her into a secluded, off-the-grid life with her son.

Years late, Nick can’t wait to leave home and his mother’s nearly suffocating love. His best friend encouraged him to take a DNA test to learn more about a father his mother has never talked about. His journey brings division and finally understanding.

This big, intergenerational family saga is a real page-turner, touching on so many issues and ideas. I especially appreciated understanding the changes in China under Mao, and the experience of being an American born Chinese American. The idea of genetic modification to eliminate disease and specific traits feels all too relevant as genetic research advances. Should we have such choices? This novel explores the psychological impact of such choices.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book ( )

Rachel Khong’s Real Americans holds a secret…the first part begins like a million other books I’ve read in the last 10 years — a self-involved young woman, Lily, struggling with her identity, etc. But then, Part 2 begins and readers find themselves in the life of a teenage boy. We soon realize the connection to Lily, and Real Americans expands into a book about a lot more than a navel-gazing young woman. This is a book about belonging, coming-of-age, science, wealth, and family written with skill and the confidence to leave gaps for readers to fill in themselves. In fact, when Khong tries to explain too much she produces the weakest section of the novel which reads like mediocre historical fiction, but I’m willing to overlook it as part of the whole. Real Americans is excellent contemporary literary fiction for readers of Celeste Ng, Brit Bennett, and Kiley Reid. ( )