Real Americans

A Novel

De: Rachel Khong

Narrado por: Louisa Zhu, Eric Yang, Eunice Wong

Duración: 14 h y 40 m

Resumen del Editor

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA’S MAY BOOK CLUB PICK • From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?

"Mesmerizing"—Brit Bennett • "A page turner.”—Ha Jin • “Gorgeous, heartfelt, soaring, philosophical and deft"—Andrew Sean Greer • "Traverses time with verve and feeling."—Raven Leilani

Real Americans begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when twenty-two-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster, and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love.

In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.

In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance—a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home.

Exuberant and explosive, Real Americans is a social novel par excellence that asks: Are we destined, or made? And if we are made, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?

©2024 Rachel Khong (P)2024 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2024, at publications including: The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Today, TIME, and more!

"If you liked Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, read Real Americans by Rachel Khong."—The Washington Post

"It's a tale as old as time: Poor girl meets rich boy, they fall in love, and they live happily ever after. Well, not quite... A profound read."—People

"Remarkable... Folded into [Real Americans] are doomed love stories, fancy parties, a subplot about epigenetics, Chinese people who look white and yummy treats... The book also poses a dizzying array of questions: What does it mean to be American, and who gets to say who is one?”—Robert Ito, The New York Times

Didn't do it for me

This was a book that a lot of people said made it to one of their greatest reads of the year. Sadly, it didn’t do the same for me. I loved the narration as I listened to this on audio. It is very easy to listen to. I was listening very intently up until the last leg when it switched to the 3rd POV. It just got boring for me. Am I alone in this?

Narrators Poor - Story Not Engrossing

I was hoping the hype was real. This story is a mixed bag, I really didn’t care about any characters.
The narrators often mispronounced words.

Chinese perspective broadened my perspective.

Towards the end, the voices didn't seem to match the POV. It was confusing. Multiple stories converge in the end, getting there required paying attention.

A long descriptive menu with no meat on the plate

Really wanted to like. Enjoy how she writes about food, but over all there is just not much to this story. The main character makes a few interesting observations, mostly when she is in uncomfortable situations, but otherwise it’s a lot of descriptions about things that do nothing to progress the story. Reader tries to add drama and just makes the conversations seem unlikely or unbelievable.

A pleasant thought provoking surprise

I did not have any expectations of this book. It was both tender and thoughtful. You cannot help but be drawn in. Worth a listen…

How little we have understand each other

I found the thread of this story to weave through what happened to this Asian family to be surprising. I was touched by each character study. It was insightful and full of courage. I think it is meaningful to see every perspective of this family!

An enjoyable book spanning three generations.

I was a little confused which way things were going to go. It all worked out. Really liked it .

Very thought provoking about Chinese decedents with American born children and the difficulties they face…

May going into her crazy thoughts, but I loved learning all she had been through getting to America

Kept me interested

I felt invested in this story. The narration was top notch and the story was captivating. But it never really went anywhere. I like stories to be tied up good/bad and it didn’t have much resolve.

Engrossing, symbolic, really well written

I devoured this. The story is rich and moving, with memorable and relatable characters. I recognized a lot of myself and my immigrant family, in this story. I’ll be thinking about this story for a while.