What We Were Promised
Fiction
Little, Brown
July 10, 2018
Hardcover
336
Purchased
Set in modern Shanghai, a debut by a Chinese-American writer about a prodigal son whose unexpected return forces his newly wealthy family to confront painful secrets and unfulfilled promises. After years of chasing the American dream, the Zhen family has moved back to China. Settling into a luxurious serviced apartment in Shanghai, Wei, Lina and their daughter, Karen, join an elite community of Chinese-born, Western-educated professionals who have returned to a radically transformed city. One morning, in the eighth tower of Lanson Suites, Lina discovers that a childhood keepsake, an ivory bracelet, has gone missing. The incident contributes to a wave of unease that has begun to settle throughout the Zhen household. Wei, a marketing strategist, bows under the guilt of not having engaged in nobler work. Meanwhile, Lina, lonely in her new life of leisure, assumes the modern moniker tai tai-a housewife who does no housework at all. She spends her days haunted by the circumstances surrounding her arranged marriage to Wei and her lingering feelings for his brother, Qiang. Lina and Wei take pains to hide their anxieties, but their housekeeper, Sunny, a hardworking woman with secrets of her own, bears witness to their struggles. When Qiang reappears in Shanghai after decades on the run with a local gang, the family must finally come to terms with the past. From a silk-producing village in rural China, up the corporate ladder in suburban America, and back again to the post-Maoist nouveau riche of modern Shanghai, WHAT WE WERE PROMISED explores the question of what we owe to our country, our families and ourselves.
My review:
3.5 stars
Another of my backlist titles I'm making an attempt to get through before the end of the year. There were things I liked about this one and things that were not as appealing.
What I liked: I loved the character of Sunny ( a maid turned ayi for the Zhen family in Shanghai China). Her angst over striking out on her own to provide money for her family, instead of taking the more traditional route, was well written, and I wanted more of her story while reading. I liked the way the title related to several aspects of the book.....the promise of marriage, job security, providing for family, and unrequited love. I liked some of the glimpses into Shanghai and how it has changed through the years (I was there briefly in the late 1990's when there were skyscrapers going up everywhere!).
What I was lukewarm about: The main characters were not really very likeable to me. I especially didn't care for the mother Lina, who was very accepting of her status in life at times, while also adopting a woe is me attitude at others. I also didn't buy the infatuation in her younger years with a gangster type hoodlum, to me it didn't fit her personality (then again it's well known that I'm not a romance against all odds believer!). I also would have liked more closure with the ending, some things were resolved, but a lot of stuff was left hanging.
All in all this was a good look at a family brought about by arranged marriage, and their navigation through returning to China after a decade in the US. Totally could have done without the romance aspect, and wish there was more of the secondary characters lives.
