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A review by brettpet
Land of Big Numbers: Stories by Te-Ping Chen
4.0
Land of Big Numbers is one of the most riveting short story collections I've read in some time and will likely be one of my favorite books of 2021. The comparisons between this and Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies are accurate—both are full of intimate and unique stories on their respective cultures. I think Maladies is a stronger work overall, but Numbers possesses higher highs.
I am not exaggerating when I say that "New Fruit" is one of the best short stories I've ever read. I loved its ideas about shared cultural experiences intersecting with personal grief (as well as the way a government would intervene during such a breakthrough). "Field Notes On A Marriage" had me tearing up by the end of it with it's intimate description of falling head-over-heels in love and trying to mesh into your partner's different culture. The ending scene with is just heartbreaking. "Lulu" was another highpoint for me, describing the impact of authoritarian overreach on free speech, while the title story "Land of Big Numbers" perfectly encapsulated the gut wrenching reality of normal people investing in the stock exchange (Chen's writing on this nearly seems to prognosticate the Gamestop madness that took place during the month of the book's release).
While the first half of Numbers boasted excellent story after excellent story (driving me to binge read most of it in one sitting), there are a couple duds in the second half. "On the Street Where You Live" was confusing and clunky to read—like it was a puzzle piece in the wrong box. "Beautiful Country" doesn't have much of a payoff despite it's emotional foundation, and "Gubeiko Spirit" (which has the most interesting Twilight Zone-like setup out of all the stories here) starts off strong but ends anticlimactically.
I really enjoyed the majority of stories here and can't wait to reread this. And this is just Te-Ping Chen's debut novel?? I can't wait to see what she does with fiction in a longer format.
I am not exaggerating when I say that "New Fruit" is one of the best short stories I've ever read. I loved its ideas about shared cultural experiences intersecting with personal grief (as well as the way a government would intervene during such a breakthrough). "Field Notes On A Marriage" had me tearing up by the end of it with it's intimate description of falling head-over-heels in love and trying to mesh into your partner's different culture. The ending scene with
Spoiler
the widow revisiting her husband's family and finding out she doesn't have anything in common with themWhile the first half of Numbers boasted excellent story after excellent story (driving me to binge read most of it in one sitting), there are a couple duds in the second half. "On the Street Where You Live" was confusing and clunky to read—like it was a puzzle piece in the wrong box. "Beautiful Country" doesn't have much of a payoff despite it's emotional foundation, and "Gubeiko Spirit" (which has the most interesting Twilight Zone-like setup out of all the stories here) starts off strong but ends anticlimactically.
I really enjoyed the majority of stories here and can't wait to reread this. And this is just Te-Ping Chen's debut novel?? I can't wait to see what she does with fiction in a longer format.