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Title details for The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang - Available

The Family Chao

by Lan Samantha Chang
Brian Nishii
Audiobook
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The residents of Haven, Wisconsin, have dined on the Fine Chao restaurant's delicious Americanized Chinese food for thirty-five years, content to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. Whether or not Big Leo Chao is
honest, or his wife, Winnie, is happy, their food tastes good and their three sons earned scholarships to respectable colleges. But when the brothers reunite in Haven, the Chao family's secrets and simmering resentments erupt at last.
Before long, brash, charismatic, and tyrannical patriarch Leo is found dead—presumed murdered—and his sons find they've drawn the exacting gaze of the entire town. The ensuing trial brings to light potential motives for all three
brothers: Dagou, the restaurant's reckless head chef; Ming, financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest, gentle but lost college student James. As the spotlight on the brothers tightens—and the family dog meets an
unexpected fate—Dagou, Ming, and James must reckon with the legacy of their father's outsized appetites and their own future survival.
Brimming with heartbreak, comedy, and suspense, The Family Chao offers a kaleidoscopic, highly entertaining portrait of a Chinese American family grappling with the dark undercurrents of a seemingly pleasant small town.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 1, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781705057322
      • File size: 315673 KB
      • Duration: 10:57:39

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from December 6, 2021
      Chang follows up All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost with an ingenious and cunning reboot of Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. The harrowing and humorous family drama is wrapped in a murder mystery about a family of Chinese immigrants headed by patriarch Leo Chao, who builds a successful Chinese restaurant in Haven, Wis., with his wife, Winnie. Like Leo’s Dostoyevskian equivalent, Fyodor Karamazov, he has three sons: the youngest, James, who’s lost his Mandarin; the middle, Ming, who now lives in Manhattan; and the eldest, Dagou, the restaurant’s head chef. All is not well in the family. The sons reunite in Haven for the annual Christmas party to find that Winnie has tired of her tyrannical husband and has left him to seek spiritual enlightenment. The locals, meanwhile, have turned on Leo, as well: some in response to his cutthroat business dealings, others out of racism. After the party, Leo turns up dead, the authorities suspect foul play, and Dagou is charged with murder. As in Dostoyevsky’s novel, there is a trial, and important Chao family secrets will come to light, but Chang retells the story in a manner all her own, adding incisive wit while retaining the pathos. In this timely, trenchant, and thoroughly entertaining book, an immigrant family’s dreams are paid for in blood. For Chang, this marks a triumphant return.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Brian Nishii showcases his versatility with a lively and entertaining performance of this contemporary retelling of THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. For 35 years, the Chao family has successfully run an Americanized Chinese restaurant in Haven, Wisconsin. Nonetheless, they are still viewed as outsiders and subjected to racism. Nishii nails his characterization of the abrasive family patriarch, Leo Chao, with a gruff timbre and a sneering tone. After Leo is found dead during the holidays, his three sons, each with a potential motive, are put on trial for murder. Nishii expressively provides distinct voices and personalities for the sons and expertly captures the story's sardonic humor. Listeners will find this slow-burning novel enhanced by Nishii's skilled narration. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2022

      The brothers Chao are reunited at the family's Chinese restaurant in Haven, WI, for a Christmas party that evolves into a showdown, a murder, and a trial. Eldest brother, Dagou, demands that patriarch Leo make good on his promise to give him part ownership of the business; Leo refuses. When Leo, a charismatic but cruel man, dies under suspicious circumstances, Dagou is charged with his murder. In addition to three brothers, Leo, and long-suffering matriarch Winnie, there's a complex web of secondary and tertiary characters. Tokyo-born narrator Brian Nishii gives characters accents appropriate to their history: a waitress who knows little English speaks with a thick Mandarin accent, while Winnie, who has lived in Wisconsin for decades, has a subtler one. While his accents are confident, Nishii's characterizations are less consistent, but he shines as the youngest brother, James, a college freshman just beginning to understand himself independent of his family. In James's chapters, Nishii's narration is gentle and occasionally hesitant. Less successful is Nishii's portrayal of Leo, a man who's often described as charming but comes off only as boorish. VERDICT Chang's (All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost) latest is recommended where the print title is in demand.--Emily Calkins

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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