My first draft of this review contained a typo: instead of Real Americans, I wrote Good Americans. It’s a small mistake, but it’s inspired me to mull over what exactly a “Good” American is. Is this in conflict with being a “Real” American? Are they one and the same? These are questions without easy answers, and, more importantly, questions that are explored poignantly in Rachel Khong’s beautiful book.
This is a story of three generations: Lily, an art history major in the early 2000s, Nick, her son, coming of age on Puget Sound, and Lily’s mother Mei, a biologist and survivor of China's Cultural Revolution. Each of our three protagonists offers a fresh perspective on the events of the novel. We watch Lily as she grapples with the conflict of her marriage and decision to leave it; Nick as he discovers family secrets and evolves from a curious teenager to a determined truth-seeker; Mei as she flees Maoist China and grapples with the ethical implications of genetic research. Although the POV chapters are separated into three distinct parts within the book, the stories are tightly interwoven, offering us a panoramic view of their interconnected lives.
This is an exceptional book. I’m reminded, like so many other reviewers, of Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, which was one of my favorite releases of last year. So many ethical quandaries are discussed within these pages: are we right to play god? How do science and consumerism intersect? What is the role of our family in free will? Despite all the philosophy, this is an immensely readable narrative. The plot twists and turns, and yet it never feels unrealistic. More importantly, given that this is a character-driven book, the characters are incredibly well-developed. Not only our main trio but our side characters as well: Mei’s husband, Lily’s husband, Nick’s best friend all leap off the page just as much as our main cast.
Real Americans is a richly-imagined world of complex characters. There are no easy answers, and there are no “good” people — only “real” people, who often do good things, but just as often do bad ones, too. I absolutely devoured this novel, and I’m incredibly excited to see what else Rachel Khong has in store.

This was a 5 star read for me. It starts with Lily’s story and I was captivated from page 1. When it switched to Nick’s point of view, I took a moment to to readjust to the new perspective. Then it added this mystery element in the mix so again, I was all in. Lastly, we have May’s POV, which made me shift again. But everything tied into such a rich, thought provoking story.

I loved everything about it from the writing, the plot, and the story style. It has so many great discussable moments that it aches to be a book club read. Family is hard. Expectations of how one person wants to be loved versus how a person shows love is a very impactful insight into human personality. Right and wrong become blurred. Communication is key. Honesty, is a gray area. And hardships vary from generation to generation.

There is just so much I could go on about with this book! This is a favorite read this year and now I definitely want to read the author’s previous novel, “Goodbye, Vitamin.”

Posted Instagram @carolinehoppereads

📚: Real Americans by Rachel Khong
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

Spanning across three generations and 50 or so years, Real Americans asks the question, what makes us who we are? (And what is a ‘real American’ anyway?)

The story is broken down into 3 parts - the first being Lily’s in the late 1990s. After graduating from NYU, she finds herself working an unpaid media internship, incredibly broke, and meets Matthew. Fast forward to 2021, Nick is 15 years old, living on a remote Washington island with his single mom, Lily. She’s been less than forthcoming about his roots, and he’s searching for answers as he comes of age. Rewind back to 1950s communist China, and matriarch May’s story is told of survival.

There were so many parts of this book that were beautiful to read, fascinating to think about after, and emotional to connect with. That said, it suffered from trying to do too much. The thread that ties all three narratives together should (theoretically) be the main plot line - and honestly, it’s the weakest. It comes in strongest in the last 10% of the book, when it feels more like an afterthought that needs explaining than anything else. It felt distracting from so much thoughtfulness of the story around race, class, and acceptance across generations.

Thank you to Knopf via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Real Americans is out at the end of the month, on 4/30.
1m

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for the galley of this book.

This book took me forever to read- I think this book is better to read in a couple large doses instead of little by little (which is unfortunately how I read it). There are a lot of characters, a lot of shifting back and forth in time and place, and you need to have the characters and plot fresh and top of mind to get the most of it.
This is an inter-generational story that really packs a punch. You are engrossed in everyone’s lives, past and present- Mae, Lily, and Nick. As a reader, time isn’t chronological throughout the book- you are constantly reseting yourself in a new time and space.
Real Americans is about privilege, fortune, time, grief, power, control, race (lots more themes than this too) and what it means to be human and how we come to grips with our humanity and what we can and can not control. Spoiler alert: it’s not a lot. I found myself thinking about the themes of this book quite often- would be a great book club book, because there is so much to discuss.

Excellent generational story. This is the kind of book where I miss the characters once I'm done. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Highly recommend.

Lily Chen meets Matthew and they couldn't be more different, but despite this, they fall madly in love. In 2021, Nick Chen lives with his mother Lily in Washington state. He's never known his father and along with his best friend, sets out to find out who he is.

This three generation family drama is wonderful. We start with Lily, and then move to her son Nick, and then back to Lily's mother May. Learning all of their stories, we see how they are the same, but also so very different. This is so well-written and touching and the perfect read for me at the perfect time. I kind of never wanted it to end. There's some science stuff that I worried would become more but I think it stayed very surface level and didn't leave me feeling confused.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available April 30, 2024

Wow, REAL AMERICANS will absolutely be one of my top novels of 2024! Thank you so much @knopf for my early copy and @prhaudio for my early audio copy.

I can’t remember the last time a novel stunned me as much as this one. The ending LITERALLY had me jarred to my bones and heaving my breath on the side of a road in the middle of my run. So powerful, so beautifully written, so thought provoking, and SO WORTH THE READ.

Beautifully written, the novel is tied together by parents/grandparents’ decisions, repeating decisions for children, money, and family. It is an introspective look at what it means to be “American” how those are treated that “look different”...but what does it truly mean?

REAL AMERICANS is written in 3 parts, one for Lily, one for her son Nick, and one for her mother Mae. The narration of these parts is perfect- I couldn’t have thought of better narrators!

As each part weaves a portion of a generational story of science, genetics, life in China, life in America, and the stories we keep from those we love? And why?

Each character has their own heartbreak, the way they flesh out the ways we love and the ways others need to be loved- the same, different? Mothers and their children. Decisions and the impact of those decisions, generationally down the line.

It even has a dose of Magical realism with the pausing of time, a unique nod to a storyline that flows across time and generations. Bringing the novel truly to a social commentary on what we value and why we do what we do, societally.

I am waiting to see which of the major book clubs pick this as their book of the month, because EVERYONE should read it.

A book spanning three generations, this book asks, are we real or are we made? What makes one a real American?

Aside from some off-putting confusion in switching timelines, I found this to be an interesting family saga with some plot lines I didn’t expect. It held my interest and I feel like this is a book that would make for a thought-provoking book club discussion.

Read this if you enjoy |
•family secrets
•Chinese culture and history
•science
•character driven novels

I think this is a good book to go into blind. It did have parts that left me feeling a bit melancholy, yet not overly emotional, if that makes sense.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher, Knopf, for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CW | Contains scattered strong profanity. Mentions of sexual abuse and suicide, not explicit. Also, it contains a few brief scenes depicting intimacy, not overly descriptive.

A multi-generational story from three POVs - a mother, son, and grandma. The first part starts as a meet-cute story between Lily and Matthew on the brink of Y2K. The ease of reading these chapters reflected the simpler pre-smartphone times and the awestruck feeling of young love.

As the story develops and fast-forwards to 2021 from the perspective of Lily’s son Nick, it explores identity, belonging, and the tight bond between single mother and son. Finally, as the book reaches its third perspective, from Lily’s mother, the writing becomes heavier and more complex.

I enjoyed reading through the lens of an American-born Chinese woman and her struggles with identity through ethnicity, income levels, and simply being a woman. I was surprised and intrigued by the sci-fi-esque element and how much it deepens the story.

Character-driven novels normally aren’t my thing but guess when their stories are interesting enough, I can easily become invested. It makes you want to talk to your relatives and shake out the secrets stories they’ve kept hidden.

A multigenerational family saga (my fav) that explores themes of identity, class and how far you would go to ensure a better life for the ones you love. There’s some science/borderline magical elements that gave an ethereal feel to what was often an extremely heavy read. The storytelling is so smart and nuanced but done in a really accessible way. I loved this a lot.

An intriguing story (or rather stories) that explores fate, genetics, technology, familial bonds, wealth, etc.

The novel is divided into three parts spanning four decades. In the late 1990s, Lily meets Matthew at a party and they fall in love. They are an unlikely but well matched pair until Lily discovers a devastating secret. In 2021, Lily’s son is in high school trying to figure out where he wants to study and “how to be normal”. In 2030, Lily’s mother reflects on the decisions she has made throughout her life.

I enjoyed the author’s writing and was riveted by Lily’s and Matthew’s story - so much so that I was disappointed to move to the next timeline/storyline (however, I soon became invested in Nick’s story as well). By the time we get Mei’s turn, I felt like there were a lot of plot threads that were not addressed or underexplored. Overall, a compelling read.

Thank you very much to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Khong’s writing of this multigenerational story. It was captivating and revealed many ethical questions about identity and relationships. This story is told in three parts by each member of the generations and each perspective unearths more depth to the story. I love a good family drama and I kept reading to find out what happened in the past and what would happen next, but ultimately was disappointed that many difficult questions regarding the relationships in the story were left unanswered.

Thank you NetGalley and The Knopf Team for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

I love multigenerational family stories and Real Americans is one of the best. Khong's writing is easy to get swept up in. Structuring the story to go from Lily (middle generation) to Nick (youngest generation) to May (oldest generation) worked incredibly well - I couldn't wait to read May's part to fill in some of the mystery. The mix on genres made this book feel really special - it's literary but has bits of magical realism (which I don't even usually like) and science fiction.

I was fascinated in this story start to finish, really felt the emotions of characters throughout, and adored the ending. I've already heard a lot of folks talking about how good this book is, and I can't wait for even more people to read it.

Real Americans presses into the crevices between generations, thickening the connective tissues with stories of befores and afters, whys and wherefores.

Over the course of the novel, spanning three generations and fifty years, Khong hands the narrative reigns over to her main characters in sections. Aside from a prologue-like beginning, we first meet Lily Chen, a 22-year-old New Yorker who is a first generation American. It’s 1999 and Lily carries us through some turn-of-the-century milestones: Y2K, 9/11, among others. When Lily meets Matthew and the two fall in love, the path ahead for them seems laid out. But, just as we’ve gotten settled into the story following the birth of Matthew and Lily’s son, Khong delivers the reader over to the future of 2021 with 15-year-old Nick Chen at the helm.

Nick lives in Washington with his mother, Lily, and has never known his father. As he goes through the pangs of late teenagedom and early adulthood, he tries to reach out to meet his dad.

Lastly, we get to hear from May / Mei, Lily’s mother — both from now and from decades before, as she relays her past in a sort of oral retelling of how and why she emigrated from China.

A really interesting aspect for me was the way Khong crafted and revealed her characters. For instance, Lily isn’t a fully-formed person, with agency and self-awareness, until she is no longer the narrator. It wasn’t until I could see her in the shadows of Nick’s story that Lily felt real and filled in with more vibrant, knowable colors. But a lot of the major plot points felt forced, and almost everyone beyond this trio of MCs remained distant and half-realized.

Khong goes after a lot in this novel, coming at it indirectly. It’s as if she just has so much to say, but not quite enough structure in which to say it. Her style was odd and a little hard to get into — with a whiff of a bullet-style delivery, pelting the reader with characterizations and scene settings, while keeping the narrator a little closed off and distant. It’s the kind where you’re either immediately going to get right into it and not notice it, or you will notice the entire time. She hints at deep understandings and ideas, but I never felt like we quite got there. The entirety of Real Americans feels like she held back; she knew the right questions, but hesitated to ask.

4.25⭐️

Real Americans weaves together three viewpoints and timelines into a rich if occasionally less than cohesive tapestry. We follow Lily, the American daughter of Chinese immigrants, her son, Nick, and her mother, Mei/ May. Journeying through time and space from Mao’s Cultural Revolution to the modern US, there’s a lot to like and a lot to learn from this story. There are also some elements that don’t really work. I’m a huge fan of magical realism done well, but I think in this case the story suffers for it- and it would have perhaps been better in an entirely different book. But there’s still so much cultural and personal insight in Real Americans to make it a worthwhile read.

Thank you Rachel Khong, Knopf, and NetGalley for providing this gifted copy for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This author is just so incredibly talented at what she does. She can make you so so interested and care so much for her flawed and deeply human characters. I genuinely loved and was fascinated by all of these people by the end of this book. I could truly see them. Their clothes, their homes, their backpacks, their worlds. I would say I think this was book was too long and was also sort of boring at times, especially because I find it jarring when books drop main characters and start new ones, but I also thought the twist or whatever you would call it was fascinating and kind of wish more would have been done with it.
3.5 stars rounded up because it really is too long. But it’s also just really very very well written when it’s not boring.
From NetGalley, thank you.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an arc of Real Americans by Rachel Khong. This book follows three generations of a Chinese American family through many decades and povs. What makes you who are you? Family drama with love and a bit of science fiction.

Real Americans follows Lily, her son Nick, and her mother May/Mei through the turmoil of unanswered questions about their own lives and who they are. Their stories unfold to answer the question “what would happen if we could make choices for our children instead of leaving things to fate?”

I found this book to be gripping - Lily and Nick, in particular, were complex and interesting characters facing the consequences of choices made for them. May’s story was slower paced, but it was harrowing to read about the rise of communism in China and the implications for young people.

If you liked Pachinko or The Island of Sea Women, or other multi-generational stories, this novel is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, and Rachel Khong for the ARC of Real Americans!

Real Americans is a multigenerational tale that spans China to America, from the 1960s through 2030. The novel begins with Lily, a first-generation American living in New York as she is finishing college. Unlike her extremely driven scientist parents, Lily feels a bit rudderless as she floats through adulthood. This first section spans her twenties, during which she falls in love with a man from a powerful family. The second section jumps to Seattle in 2021 and focuses on Lily's son Nick's teenage years. Finally, we move to 2030 and learn more (primarily in flashback) about Lily's mother's experiences growing up in China and moving to America.

This novel is phenomenal, and certainly upended my expectations of a multigenerational tale, both in chronology and in character development. While not overly long, Khong gives an extremely detailed and nuanced portrait of each character. She then weaves these characters and their choices together in a way that addresses meaningful questions about family, free will and choices, and what it means to be an American. As the reader moves from section to section, large holes are left in the plot that are filled in satisfyingly in the final chapters.

Real Americans is a multi-generational family drama that explores identity through a beautifully layered story told in three parts. It begins at the end of 1999 with the dawning of the new millenium from Lily Chen's perspective. She's a recent NYU grad and unpaid intern trying to pay rent and find her career path. As the American-born only child of Chinese immigrants, she's struggling to find a passion that drives her like science did for both of her parents. When she falls in love with Matthew, things become both easier and much more complicated. In the second part of the book, the story moves on to 2021 on a small island off Seattle and a high schooler named Nick who is navigating college applications and an overbearing mom. In the third part, we are transported to China where Mei/May grew up during Mao's takeover of China. The characters in all three parts overlap and layer on top of each other to create a rich and deeply thought provoking book.

The first part starts a bit slow and clunky. It's hard to get a grasp on Lily and where the story is headed. But then the book seems to settle into itself and I was engrossed. The writing is strong and beautiful and the story is fascinating! Khong deftly uses her characters to explore so many interesting themes - inherited traits and the impact of our genetics, time and how we use it, productivity and purpose, race and how it fits into identity, love and forgiveness, luck and the things we can't control. I mean, so much!! There is a love story in each part which enriches the characters and breathes life into them. The third part dips into historical fiction with some heartbreaking moments in Mao's China. It also dabbles with a touch of magical realism, which I thought worked very well. This would be a juicy book club pick with something for everyone.

A few characters are underdeveloped in order to simplify the plot a bit and it isn't a perfect book. But! I absolutely love what Khong attempted and accomplished with this novel. It was ambitious and I think it paid off. I couldn't put it down and I will miss these characters! Five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!