A BEST BOOK OF 2024: Vogue, NPR, Oprah Daily, Garden & Gun, Woman’s World, Kirkus, The Independent, and Women | News, Politics, Lifestyle, and Expert Opinions
“If you liked Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, read Real Americans by Rachel Khong.” —The Washington Post
“It’s a tale as old as time: Poor girl meets rich boy, they fall in love, and they live happily ever after. Well, not quite… A profound read.”—People
“Remarkable… Folded into [Real Americans] are doomed love stories, fancy parties, a subplot about epigenetics, Chinese people who look white and yummy treats… The book also poses a dizzying array of questions: What does it mean to be American, and who gets to say who is one?” —Robert Ito, The New York Times
“A…masterful, shape-shifting novel about multiracial identity….What makes Americans ‘real’? Is it our competitive drive? Our craving for wealth and status? Our insatiable quest for scientific advancement? Or is it—inevitably—the color of our skin and eyes?… [Rachel] Khong manages these twisting threads with masterful deftness…. [An] irresistible puzzle of a novel.”—Aimee Liu, Los Angeles Times
“[Rachel] Khong layers the lives of her characters to challenge how well we can really know one another… [Khong]…captures the feeling of floating in the in-between, not firmly tethered to one pole of identity or another but instead looking for a way to feel secure in your own space… And that title—Real Americans—evokes more questions than any single book could answer. What is American, and what is real?” —Lucy Feldman, TIME
“Real Americans is both a novel of ideas and of beautiful sentences. Khong’s prose is a pleasure to read… even as the questions she raises are chilling, indeed.”—May-lee Chai, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Riveting in its unexpected turns, Real Americans is a novel about past mistakes and their echoes — and a reminder that those histories need not be binding.”—Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle
“An absolute page turner, this multi-generation family saga is quietly suspenseful… Spanning between the 1960s to present day, Khong weaves a gripping tale you are, for sure, not going to want to miss.”—”Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2024,” Kami Tei, Amazon Editor
“Unforgettable…Vibrant, tender and one to pass onto a friend.”—”Best New Books of Spring,” Oprah Daily
“This multigenerational stunner asks a thought-provoking question: Do we have any control over our destiny, or do some people just get lucky?”—Real Simple
“[A]n ambitious, spacious book…I was entirely entranced…from the start, and I talked about it endlessly to anyone who would listen when I finished.” —Jana Pollack, Skimm Reads editor
“By encompassing a family as a whole, [Real Americans] asks big questions about our lineage and futures, how much is really up to us.”—”Most Anticipated Books of 2024,” Literary Hub
“Real Americans is a grand novel that explores the American psyche, dramatizing the fundamental American belief in the ability to change the world and improve humanity. Rachel Khong shows infinite and colorful perceptions of the world, which are often leavened with wisdom. Besides being a page turner, this book is also an eye-opener, imaginative and exhilarating.”—Ha Jin, author of Waiting
“Aglow with love in its many forms, suffused with questions of where—and to whom—we belong, Real Americans is a book of rare charm. Khong untangles the roots of family with a wry, tender attention that will leave readers as comforted as they are challenged.”—C Pam Zhang, author of Land of Milk and Honey
“Khong masterfully explores a family splintered by science, struggling to redefine their own lives after uncovering harrowing secrets. Real Americans is a mesmerizing multigenerational novel about privilege, identity and the illusions of the American dream.”—Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half
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