Published: 12 September 2017 by Penguin Press
Format: Audiobook, 338 pages (in HC), English

“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you.”

summary.

Shaker Heights is an over-planned community and the home of the Richardson family with a Mr. and Mrs., 2 boys, and 2 girls (all in high school). Enter Mia and Perl, mother and daughter who have thus far lived an under-planned life. While uncovering layers of Mia's past gives Mrs. Richardson a thrill, Mia is just trying to do what's right by another mother, provide the best life she can for her daughter, and create art. Naturally, chaos ensues.

what is everyone raving about?

★★★ (3.5 / 5 stars) ​Why is this book on every book club, TBR, reading rec list known to man? Is it because it deals with hot-button topics, like abortion, appropriation of Asian-American identities, and the forced suburban line between haves and have-nots? Is it because we dissect an entire family, peeling back layers of unseemly secrets and tangled emotions behind the shell of the image the mother wants everyone to see?

You may think this is the start of a rave and that these qualities make the novel a wonder to behold—a complex beauty deserving of such widespread attention. You might think this...but you would be wrong.

a lukewarm experience.

First, let's talk about what this book did do. Because throughout this story, Ng did in fact do a lot of things. Weaving in and out of different characters' consciousness(es) put a Mrs Dalloway effect on the entire thing, like everything was to be seen and understood through this haze of same-size houses and color-restricted paints that is the "utopia" of Shaker Heights.

Unfortunately, this effect pulled me further and further away from our characters. From abandoned children to abortion to white privilege to coming-of-age journeys, this book sets out to talk about so much. But the more it dragged on, the more desensitized I became to the events.

I was drawn into the story by the who-set-the-fire premise and grew appalled by so much of the Stepford-like families’ behavior. But in the end, I felt like I had gained so little. Even the “gifts” left behind representing each of the family members just felt so lackluster to me. I didn’t feel the connection between her creations and the characters they represented, nor did I feel it was that powerful a result of her so-called project.

Overall, you can tell I left this book feeling disappointed. But, hey! I’m just one reader. What do I know? Give it a try for yourself, or if anything, skip the book and watch Reese Witherspoon’s adaptation. ;) I may have to try that myself and see if I like the on-screen version better.