Audio Book Review: Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Pages: 416

Genre: Audio Book/Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: April 30, 2024

Publisher: Knopf

Source: Personal Copy

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "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 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 so, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?

 

 

Real Americans follows three generations, starting with Lily, in New York City during the year 1999. She meets Matthew Maier, who she later finds out is extremely wealthy as he is an heir to a pharmaceutical empire. They date, and some things go well, others do not, such as her assimilating into his family and her parents' acceptance, but they eventually marry and have a son, Nick. Fast forward many years later, the narration is told from Nick's point of view. He is in high school, lives with just his mother, and doesn't know his father at all. Readers can't help but question what happened. Lily also doesn't have a relationship with her mother, May. At this point, readers can guess why this may be but do not know the full extent of it. The last part of the novel is narrated by May and her story ties together all three generations. May's story takes us back to China during the Cultural Revolution, her experiences there, and how she ended up in the US as a scientist. It delves into her interest in genetics as well. Real Americans by Rachel Khong is a well written family saga about the immigrant experience, relationships, belonging, and what it means to be a "real" American. I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook and it will most  definitely make my "best of 2024" list.

I really enjoyed the character of Lily in Real Americans. She struggled to find her place and even more so once she started dating Matthew. She has so much to offer but got stuck in this life that her mother thought wasn't good enough for her. Secrets were kept and once revealed, Lily felt she had no choice but to make some big decisions. Years later, she shelters her own son, Nick, from a lot of life and this impacts him greatly, not to mention the fact that she hasn't told him anything about his father. This makes Nick even more curious and as he gets older, he and his best friend seek out a DNA test to get some answers.

Nick's story line was also very well done in Real Americans. He portrayed what life is like for children who are mixed race and how sometimes that can be confusing. Nick could pass as white, but his mother is an Asian American, so this was especially perplexing. He must look entirely like his father, but who is he? As time progresses, Nick really only has one friend and their relationship is a bit smothering. Instead of branching out, he puts all his eggs into his friend's basket, even when it comes to applying to colleges. This will impact him later, but I was rooting for Nick and for him to get some answers regarding his father as well as his ancestors.

The last part of the story focuses on May, who is also a fascinating character in Real Americans. If you like historical fiction, you'll appreciate the flashbacks to the Cultural Revolution in China and how that impacted her life. May's story was interesting as well as her rise as an important scientist in America. She withheld many secrets from Lily and this will come back to bite her. As the story progressed, I hoped that there will be healing for not only May but her daughter, too.

Real Americans was a fantastic audiobook and I highly recommend it to fans of family stories. It was thoughtful and lends itself to a lot of discussion. It would be a great book club selection. Have you read Real Americans? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.