Paper Names

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Synopsis

An unexpected act of violence brings together a Chinese-American family and a wealthy white lawyer in this propulsive and sweeping story of family, identity and the American experience—for fans of Jean Kwok, Mary Beth Keane and Naima Coster.

Set in New York and China over three decades, Paper Names explores what it means to be American from three different perspectives. There’s Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life. His daughter, Tammy, who we meet at age nine and follow through adulthood, and who grapples with the expectations of a first generation American and her own personal desires. Finally, there’s Oliver, a handsome white lawyer with a dark family secret and who lives in the building where Tony works. A violent attack causes their lives to intertwine in ways that will change them forever.

Taut, panoramic and powerful, debut novelist Susie Luo’s Paper Names is an unforgettable story about the long shadows of our parents, the ripple effect of our decisions and the ways in which our love transcends difference.

Synopses source: StoryGraph

What pattern is that?
The lace coaster seen in the above photo is the Marigold Boho Coaster – Petal variation. The pattern is available here for free!

Review

Genre(s): Fiction, BIPOC (Chinese, Asian)
HB&W Rating: 3 stars
View on StoryGraph, Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

I had to sit with this for a while after finishing it before I could really collect my thoughts on it. I appreciate it what this book does showing the different experiences across generations in a family of immigrants and exploring how family expectations form and shape who we are and the choices we make. It explores the ways we try to differentiate ourselves from our parents and illustrates the ways we are the same.

I’m not sure I particularly liked any of the characters, though I liked how the author used each of the characters to illustrate the main themes in her story. Tony/Tongheng, who left a well-respected life in China for something grander in America, struggles to prove how different he is from his father. He labors to achieve the American Dream and does it, but it never seems to be enough. His daughter, Tammy/Tianfei, struggles under the heavy expectations of being a first generation American and the feeling of always falling short with her father. We watch her grow up from age nine into adulthood. Then there’s Oliver, white, privileged, the grandson of the disgraced philanthropist turned embezzler who struggles to separate his identity from his family. He cares too much about others’ perceptions of him and it influences his actions from the start.

The story jumps around a lot between perspectives and timelines, going forward and backwards in time. I found those jumps didn’t always line up with what preceded it and that made it confusing at times.

What keeps me from giving this more stars is that none of the characters really truly grew over the scope of the book, with the exception of maybe Tammy. Still, I cannot deny that their stories are engaging and kept me reading in a train wreck kind of way. Also, I felt like there was very little hope in the story to offset the abuse perpetuated across generations, the selfishness of characters acting out of so-called love for others, and the violence of the book. It felt all dark with no light.

I liked the book well enough but not sure I’d recommend it to others.

Until next time,

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