What is Bad Asians About?
From the acclaimed author of Number One Chinese Restaurant comes an affecting novel about an unforgettable group of friends trying to make their way in the world without losing themselves, or one another.
Diana, Justin, Errol, and Vivian were always told that success is guaranteed by following a simple checklist. They worked hard, got A’s, and attended a good university—only to graduate into the Great Recession of 2008. Now, despite their newly minted degrees, they’re unemployed and stuck again under their parents’ roofs in a hypercompetitive Chinese American community. So when Grace—once the neighborhood golden child, now a Harvard Law School dropout—asks to make a documentary about the crew, they agree. It’s not like her little movie will ever see the light of day.
But then the video, Bad Asians, goes viral on an up-and-coming media platform (YouTube, anyone?). Suddenly, millions of people know them as cruel caricatures, each full of pent-up frustrations with the others. And after a desperate attempt at spin control further derails their plans for the lives they’d always imagined, the friends must face harsh truths about themselves and coming of age in the new millennium.
Lillian Li’s novel wryly captures a generation shaped by the rise of the internet and the end of the American dream. An epic tale of friendship and family, Bad Asians asks, Can the same people who made you who you are end up keeping you from who you’re meant to be?
My Honest Review
Bad Asians by Lillian Li
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I selected this title for advanced review, I was very intrigued by the premise, considering I’m a millennial whose been attached to social media my whole life, have also been a person who felt immense pressure from parents, and because I’ve lived in China a few times and am familiar with the culture as well as friend and family dynamics. So there were some things I absolutely understood about the characters and what they were going through, which made me empathize with them even more.
Aside from there just being a lot of information to follow (and sometimes I got a bit lost), which is the reason for docking one star, I found the characters authentic and true to the cultural norms Chinese and American-born Chinese kids regularly face (from my own understanding of it). The pressures placed on Chinese kids from a young age up into adulthood to be successful, do well in school, marry young, make lots of money, be modest and pure, never fall out of line, and essentially be perfect were very well-portrayed in this story.
I very much empathized with the struggles these characters faced within themselves, how the pursuit of success and perfection wreaked havoc on their lives and relationships. I felt the author did a great job of showing the level of rebellion that can occur when under such pressures, all while trying to understand oneself.
Overall, great book, and I would read more novels by this author.
**I acquired this ARC through NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
