I think Vessel has a lot of potential, but I found the lines of his life confusing to follow, and truly didn't understand why some essays were included until the afterword. To me, it felt disjointed and at times self-reflective to a fault. But I know some people really love stories told like this--there is beauty, there's love, there's confusion and depression, and on and on. But personally, I can't get past the structure.

Chongda Cai can tell a story. Some of the episodes in this collection are as crisp and memorable as a well-crafted fictional narrative. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the book as a whole. The most significant downfall may be in the marketing - after reading the synopsis, I expected a linear account of the author’s life in a small coastal Chinese town, increasing my knowledge of the cultural essence thereof. What I found instead was a seemingly scattered set of personal essays (he even calls them such in the afterword) in which Chongda Cai reminisces on various relationships he has had at different points in his life and gleans lessons from the memories. I don’t know why they are in the set order, and the cultural knowledge I gained was tangential at best.

Rarely do I choose to read personal memoirs unless they have a broad historical or social relevance. Had this one been depicted more accurately, I probably would not have selected it, and I would have saved myself a disappointing read. The book is not bad in and of itself; it is just not a good match for me.

Thank you to Chongda Cai, Harper Via, and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.