Real Americans / Rachel Khong / Knopf, April 30, 2024 – $29 (hardcover)

Rachel Khong’s sprawling novel Real Americans is an ambitious family saga. It chronicles the disparate perspectives of three generations in a single family: Lily, an unpaid media intern in New York City, as she navigates her romance with Matthew, an asset manager in private equity; Nick, her son, as he confronts the challenges of collegiate life at Yale and the mystery surrounding his father’s identity; and finally, Mei, Lily’s mother, as she reckons with her tumultuous past in China and her career as a geneticist. Despite their differences, these narratives dovetail into a profound exploration of identity – what defines who we are and how much of it can truly be changed.

Real Americans is truly a page-turner, driven by the constant anticipation that a pivotal revelation is just beyond reach. My only gripe lies in the novel’s expansive scope. At times, it feels like a flirty romance; at others, a heartfelt Bildungsroman. Halfway through the novel, it shifts into serious science fiction grappling with an array of moral dilemmas, only to abruptly veer into historical fiction set in Maoist China. While I admire Khong’s ambition, this genre-hopping occasionally feels vertiginous – as if too much is happening all at once – muddling Khong’s narrative focus. Yet, the novel’s greatest weakness is ironically its greatest strength. It is so thoroughly unpredictable that readers are kept on tenterhooks, enthralled by the vicissitudes of Khong’s dramatic tale.

– Andrew Hu