Reviews

What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan

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miszjeanie's review against another edition

5.0

Thanks to Little Brown for a free ARC of this book!

WHAT WE WERE PROMISED is the enthralling story of Chinese family forced, by the return of a prodigal son, to address familial issues and unfulfilled promises.

I was struck by the poignancy of her deceptively simple style, barely ten pages in! This book is full of astute observations about life, love, and the choices we make for the people we love. Combined with compelling characters, the mystery of Qiang’s return and what it will mean for the Zhens, this book is hard to put down. Also, the shimmering backdrop of Shanghai — the food, the architecture, and yes, the smog, make Tan’s novel feel like a complete visit to China.

This is sure to be on my list of favorite books from this year. I’ve already recommended it enough times to lose count. If you like books with simple language, insightful commentary about life and complex characters, read WHAT WE WERE PROMISED. A compelling, sensitive and thoughtful debut that is sure to move you, I highly recommend this novel!

Full review at https://afomaumesi.com/what-we-were-promised-lucy-tan-review/

zhzhang's review against another edition

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3.0

The story is supposed to be a good one in terms of the background setting and theme, yet I feel there are so much the author has not said.

teaandlibri's review against another edition

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2.0

I loved the concept: a family decides that "the American Dream" is no longer enough and returns to China. But what we have is a family drama where Lina, wife to Wei, still has doubts and unresolved feelings for his brother, Qiang. Lina's bracelet has gone missing, and she and Wei try to manage the situation as their housekeeper, Sunny, watches it all and manages her own secrets.

Initially the book started off really well and I liked following Sunny's story. If it had been told from her own POV, then this book would have been so much better. But it did feel disjointed and it was difficult to really get into the story or care for the cast of characters.

The ending was also quite a dud and didn't make the read really worth it.

Recommend it as a library borrow. Trust the Goodreads rating on this.

mindfullibrarian's review against another edition

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5.0

This is another title I have been meaning to read since it was the talk of bookstagram back in 2018. And I’m so glad I finally did because I absolutely loved it. A story of China, marriage, parenting, family and class ~ it sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go ❤️

katiez624's review against another edition

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5.0

I am always on the lookout for Asian literature and added this book to my TBR as soon as I read the synopsis. However, the slightly lower rating pushed this book farther down the list, until I heard Anne Bogel recommend it multiple times on her podcast.

This book delves into the lives of four main characters: Wei, Lina, Qiang, and Sunny. Wei is a poster boy for the Chinese man who finds success in America. Lina is the quintessential housewife, having once had a promising career but putting it all on the backburner for her husband's more lucrative ambitions. Qiang is the black sheep of the family, the brother of Wei who does shady business and disappears for more than a decade. Sunny represents the average Chinese civilian, working a labor-intensive job in the city, sending money back home, and seeing how the elite lives firsthand with no way of attaining that status themselves.

Being able to see the nuances of living back in China after going abroad is extremely intriguing. I was able to relate to many facets of the story as an Asian-American, even though growing up, my family securely occupied the upper-middle-class designation. My entire extended family resides in China, but I have never been able to get a concrete idea of what their daily lives are like and what my life may have been like had my dad not moved our family to the US.

The struggles this family faces are unique yet universal, culture-specific but still relatable for anyone who has ever felt like they didn't belong. I could feel the characters' emotions through the pages, and I was completely invested in their development. I really appreciated the different time points that were included in the narrative, from the Cultural Revolution to the present day.