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The Family Chao
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. 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.
The Family Chao Book Club Questions PDF
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This discussion guide was shared in partnership with W.W. Norton.
"[Chang] lives and writes to push the boundaries of her craft and her world... Her new novel is a genre bender: a murder story whose prose sings and snickers and soars as engagingly as Chang’s literary fiction."
― Meredith Maran, Washington Post
"The Family Chao is a riveting character-driven novel that delves beautifully into human psychology; Dostoevsky himself would surely approve."
― Ilana Masad, NPR
"A playful literary romp with a serious heart. Ostensibly it's a murder mystery...but it’s also an exploration of genre, of literary types and stereotypes, and the impact of these types on the hopes and dreams of its characters... The action soars... Chang’s narrative [is] operatic and subversive."
― May-Lee Chai, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A hilarious mystery that's also a searing take on assimilation and the American dream."
― People Magazine
"[Chang] turns the tired truism about every town having a Chinese restaurant on its head... Beautifully executed."
― Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times