💡Sunday Spotlight. Something a little different than what you normally see in this space. REVIEW 👉🏿The Beijing Duck House is the Han family restaurant and the centerpiece of this novel about a dysfunctional family. Although dysfunction reigns, humor is never far from the page and the crazy mysterious Uncle Pang is a shadowy gangster type who seemingly has his hand in everything as the ultimate puppet master. Bobby Han is the patriarch of the family and his dream of a Chinese restaurant in America comes to fruition in Rockville, MD. Bobby has two sons, Jimmy and Johnny who have two very different ideas about furthering the reach and influence of the Beijing Duck House while keeping the Han family name in high esteem in the MD area.
Jimmy wants out, he has worked in the family business since he was a teen and is now known as Little Boss. He wants to implement his own vision and agenda and wants his own restaurant. Johnny is more interested in being seen and recognized as a VIP, he doesn’t have much tolerance for the nuts and bolts aspect of running a restaurant. Jimmy plots his moves which goes astray, and the ensuing fallout threatens to tear the family completely apart.
This all leads to a raucous conclusion to a novel that has exposed the reader to a chaotic restaurant scene, Chinese family dynamics, including inter-generational conflict and astute witty observations concerning immigrant life as opposed to Native American life.
“Americans. They believed a strong marriage came from knowing their partner’s every shadowy thought. But it was knowing too much that killed love. A strong marriage came when the wedded stopped trying to plumb their partner’s depths. Life became easier when one passed the years with an amiable stranger and not a mirror that reflected back all of one’s flaws.”
There are themes that are universal across cultures, especially dealing with immigrant experiences. A lot going on in this novel that is always busy and those tidbits of wittiness buttress the fast paced doings of the Han family along with their network of restaurant associates and customers. And, of course the ever present Uncle Pang keeps this story high above the boredom line. A big thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt&Co. for an advanced DRC. Book is out now. ♦️♣️➕
