The Wangs vs. The World
Summary:
A hilarious debut novel about a wealthy but fractured Chinese immigrant family that had it all, only to lose every last cent - and about the road trip they take across America that binds them back together.
Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he's just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family's ancestral lands - and his pride.
Charles pulls Andrew, his aspiring comedian son, and Grace, his style-obsessed daughter, out of schools he can no longer afford. Together with their stepmother, Barbra, they embark on a cross-country road trip from their foreclosed Bel-Air home to the upstate New York hideout of the eldest daughter, disgraced art world it-girl Saina. But with his son waylaid by a temptress in New Orleans, his wife ready to defect for a set of 1,000-thread-count sheets, and an epic smash-up in North Carolina, Charles may have to choose between the old world and the new, between keeping his family intact and finally fulfilling his dream of starting anew in China.
Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America - and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This book was fine and was a good whim, but it had so many reviews saying it was “hilarious” and “laugh out loud” and it just wasn’t. The characters all have their own flaws and certainly major issues with each other, which definitely could have been funny, but instead made me struggle to connect to any of them. Granted, the sisters did grow on me, and I liked that they became a little deeper through the book.
I think that Chang is a great writer, I just wish we had a little more plot to drive the shenanigans rather that depending on the dialogue. There were some cute moments, but the book quickly faded and won’t be one I remember. Definitely would give Chang another shot in the future if she releases another book.
Rating: 3 stars!
Who should read it? Folks who want to hear what all the fuss is about.