The Wangs vs. the World
Ratings12
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings12
Average rating3.3
"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"--
Reviews with the most likes.
2.5 stars. I love lit fic but this felt thin and not well-developed with little character growth. Library or skip.
Started this in August 2017 and somehow didn't get back to it till January 2018 - I'm not sure whether I would have liked it more if I'd managed to read it over a shorter time frame, but it was pretty easy to pick up again. The story kind of lost focus for me after the road trip ended and the last 15% or so of the book kind of meandered around with no real resolutions to most of the character arcs. The non-translated Chinese, which a lot of reviews have commented on, was a little difficult, but usually not essential to understanding (or when it was, it was pretty easy to figure out the gist from context). The strongest parts of the book to me were the characters of the children and their relationships with each other, particularly Grace. I could've read the entire book from her POV and possibly enjoyed it even more.
I found this book very slow moving and I didn't find it humorous at all.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. I went into this thinking it'd be a fun, silly, humorous road-trip novel, and while it hits some of those points, I felt the story was trapped between wanting to be funny and wanting to be dramatic. Most of the story focuses on the Wangs - there's Charles, Barbra, Saina, Andrew, and Grace. Some chapters are dedicated to one character and his/her thoughts, and others will jump around between characters. There are even two chapters that are from the car's point-of-view, which was definitely strange. There is tension between the family members, but then the story falters because it wants to be amusing. Absurd scenarios take place throughout the novel, and I was particularly annoyed with the third and final leg. If the author had focused on one or the other - either humor or drama - the story would have been much more successful. I did decide on a three star rating because the writing, at times, was very poetic and moving. I believe this is Chang's debut novel, and I would definitely pick up her next book, especially if it were more subdued and didn't strive to be humorous. Additionally, I did keep reading it! I wanted to know how it would all turn out. However, around the 70-80% mark, I was getting very frustrated and considered putting the book down. At that point, though, I figured I'd come far enough. I might as well finish it. I don't know if I would recommend this book to anyone, though. Like I said, it's trapped between two worlds - the family drama and the absurd, humorous plot devices. I suppose if you interested in both of those things, you can check this one out.
