The Family Chao
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-01 06:53:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lan Samantha Chang
- ISBN：1324050462
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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: Dagou， the restaurant’s reckless head chef; Ming， financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest， gentle but lost college student James。 As the spotlight on the brothers tightens—and the family dog meets an unexpected fate—Dagou， Ming， and James must reckon with the legacy of their father’s outsized appetites and their own future survival。
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。
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: Dagou， the restaurant’s reckless head chef; Ming， financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest， gentle but lost college student James。 As the spotlight on the brothers tightens—and the family dog meets an unexpected fate—Dagou， Ming， and James must reckon with the legacy of their father’s outsized appetites and their own future survival。
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。
Reviews
Brie Masalunga
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I don't really know what to feel about this book。The Family Chao is a book about a Chinese immigrant family who owns and operates a Chinese restaurant in a small town with a small Asian population。 They were known to serve great authentic dishes hailing from China， and also as a loud， dysfunctional family that had multiple problems and issues with each other。 The first part of the book was a slow， unfolding of their history and their dynamics as individuals and as members of the family。 The firs I don't really know what to feel about this book。The Family Chao is a book about a Chinese immigrant family who owns and operates a Chinese restaurant in a small town with a small Asian population。 They were known to serve great authentic dishes hailing from China， and also as a loud， dysfunctional family that had multiple problems and issues with each other。 The first part of the book was a slow， unfolding of their history and their dynamics as individuals and as members of the family。 The first half were filled with multiple monologues mainly from the 3 Chao sons， and these monologues gave great insight to their relationships with each other。 However， as raw as these monologues are， it continued for so long that it became grating to read。 There was just so much contempt， hatred and toxicity （which the author is really good at expressing） between everyone that it became annoying， and the characters seemed to be so one-dimensional。 Only after the first half did the book pick up pace to finally get to the mystery plot。 The second half became more "showing" than "telling"， and actually made the book exciting。 The plot twist was something I did not coming; it was cleverly inserted in the story which I have to commend。 Giving this book 3 stars because as much as I found it unnecessarily longer than it should be， you could really feel the emotion in the writing and the way the author described the characters' feelings and situations。 。。。more
Diane Wilkes
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I wonder if I'd give this book five stars if I had read The Brothers Karamazov， but I haven't read it。 I almost feel that if I haven't read that book， I have no right/ability to assess The Family Chao， a multi-layered book ribbed with inside erudite jokes and allusions， some of which I get but many of which I must miss。On one level， it is the story of an Asian immigrant family who have settled in the majority-White midwest town of non-hospitable Haven （Chang's names are often simultaneously port I wonder if I'd give this book five stars if I had read The Brothers Karamazov， but I haven't read it。 I almost feel that if I haven't read that book， I have no right/ability to assess The Family Chao， a multi-layered book ribbed with inside erudite jokes and allusions， some of which I get but many of which I must miss。On one level， it is the story of an Asian immigrant family who have settled in the majority-White midwest town of non-hospitable Haven （Chang's names are often simultaneously portentous， symbolic and ironic）。 The Chaos （with chaos being a double entendre） are a tumultuous family of five。 The patriarch is "Big Dog" Leo， whose impact on each family member is extreme and extremely malign。 Winnie is the wife and mother who has finally left the abusive， philandering Leo to settle into a local Buddhist refuge， Serenity House， now that her youngest， James， has gone off to college。 Dagou/William is the eldest son， who has become the chef at the family restaurant （Fine Chao） when Leo summons him home from the city when Winnie takes ill with pneumonia。 Middle son Ming lives in New York City， a financial mogul in the making who rarely comes home， and wants to escape his memories and heritage。There are many family secrets and bitter memories， with the vital， narcissistic Leo at the core of most of them。 Non-family members are vividly drawn and important to the plot dynamics， so that the small Asian community of Haven is not a blurry mass， but fully dimensional and certainly non-stereotypical。 Each of the brothers has grown up as an attacked minority， and between the home front and their lives growing up， is trying to figure out how to survive and flourish。I intuited one of the big mysteries very early on， and it took some of the oomph out of the plot for me， and sometimes the repetition of information seemed like editorial inefficiency more than emphasis。 The book is unexpectedly funny， and expectedly literary and clever。 I found myself rooting for these flawed characters， though my simple American ethos of law and order and consequences was disturbed by the legal and moral injustices that take place in the book。 I wonder if I would see certain things differently if I were Asian。 Or Russian， since the book is based on a Russian novel。 I also wonder if I read it again， will I see The Family Chao differently。 It's a juicy， flavorful book and I suspect I would detect new flavors every time I read it。 But right now， I'm full。I really enjoyed the book even as I felt some of the richness was unavailable to me because of my own literary lacks。 I will say it made me angry that I immediately thought of Donald Trump as I got to know the character of Leo--he's now the default narcissist in my head and I want him （Trump） to disappear from my thoughts entirely。 As a character， Leo is far more interesting and has more justification to be the asshole he is， so he can stay。 。。。more
v
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it was。。。 interesting。 everyone is a pos and i kinda love it。 also the twist was pretty cool。 to me the plot is quite exciting and i didn't really mind that the murder itself only takes place halfway because then i get to see character motivations leading up to it。with regards to themes， it's fairly complex as we see many sides to the story through the duality of the characters， resulting in a number of things to think about regarding money， greed and the experience of being "othered"/doing the it was。。。 interesting。 everyone is a pos and i kinda love it。 also the twist was pretty cool。 to me the plot is quite exciting and i didn't really mind that the murder itself only takes place halfway because then i get to see character motivations leading up to it。with regards to themes， it's fairly complex as we see many sides to the story through the duality of the characters， resulting in a number of things to think about regarding money， greed and the experience of being "othered"/doing the "othering"。 overall i quite enjoyed this book！ （also，， the title is just so clever and works on so many levels） 。。。more
Allegra Fieldsend
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Things finally started cooking in the last 1/3 of the book。 I admire the premise and plot， but the characters were wooden。
Hillsullivan
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The book was fine。 Not sure I would recommend it so 3 stars
Chloe Fowler
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It's taken me a while to read this， which is a message in itself。 The mystery at its heart was not an interesting one， it certainly didn't propel the plot。 Other reviews have focused on the stereotypes and I can see why。 It's taken me a while to read this， which is a message in itself。 The mystery at its heart was not an interesting one， it certainly didn't propel the plot。 Other reviews have focused on the stereotypes and I can see why。 。。。more
Helen Nichole
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Mehhhh。 I guess I’m just confused about this one。 I’m not totally sure what the goal was of this book。 It wasn’t character driven or plot driven really。 It seemed incredibly disjointed to me。 Skip。
Elizabeth Scott
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I thought the idea of setting Brothers Karamazov in a Chinese-American family was interesting， so I got this book。 Near the beginning， the son James has an interaction with a Mandarin-speaking older man in the train station。。。 this interaction had such vitality and interest， but the rest did not grab me in the same way and I found myself skipping through to see when the old man's unknown family would come into the picture。 I thought the idea of setting Brothers Karamazov in a Chinese-American family was interesting， so I got this book。 Near the beginning， the son James has an interaction with a Mandarin-speaking older man in the train station。。。 this interaction had such vitality and interest， but the rest did not grab me in the same way and I found myself skipping through to see when the old man's unknown family would come into the picture。 。。。more
Zoë
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3。5/5 — picked up steam in the second half， first half was a little slow。
Timna
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Hmm。 Read for book club。 SO interested to hear what others thought。 I know it's a retelling， which maybe introduced constraints that explain some of the things that didn't quite work for me？ Not sure what I think about this one yet。。。。。 Hmm。 Read for book club。 SO interested to hear what others thought。 I know it's a retelling， which maybe introduced constraints that explain some of the things that didn't quite work for me？ Not sure what I think about this one yet。。。。。 。。。more
Elizabeth Kane
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Obama Summer Reads 2022wow -lucky me ！ two 4's in the span of a week。 Loved the story telling， the characters。。。。told of a dysfunctional Chinese family living in the mid-west， father is a tyrant， 3 sons， a mother who has left him to find her peace at a local spiritual center。。。。and their year of events that culminate in the death of both the father and mother and a finger pointed at the eldest brother。 But are things as they seem？ A peek into what the life of immigrant children who will forever Obama Summer Reads 2022wow -lucky me ！ two 4's in the span of a week。 Loved the story telling， the characters。。。。told of a dysfunctional Chinese family living in the mid-west， father is a tyrant， 3 sons， a mother who has left him to find her peace at a local spiritual center。。。。and their year of events that culminate in the death of both the father and mother and a finger pointed at the eldest brother。 But are things as they seem？ A peek into what the life of immigrant children who will forever be judged by their appearance and ethnicness。 。。。。。great story telling of love， life， hate， forgiveness and duty。 。。。more
Jeff Brill
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Supposedly similar to The Brothers Karamazov （ which I have never read） Good read about 3 Chinese brothers from a small midwestern city。 All the brothers were born in the USA， consider themselves Americans， but still meet with some forms of racism。 All the sons （and mother） have issues with their domineering father。 They all deal with issues of wishes， regrets， empathy and respect。
Timothy Yoo
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My interpretation of this story is that it is a wild， unorthodox portrayal of the ever-prescent asian american immigrant family。 Although I understand that some of the non-conservative descriptors and imagery may come off as crude and confusing， I believe it is extremely refreshing。 Not every asian american family has the same shared experiences: not every child is excelling in their studies， the parents aren't always simply quiet and submissive， there aren't always formalities shared between pa My interpretation of this story is that it is a wild， unorthodox portrayal of the ever-prescent asian american immigrant family。 Although I understand that some of the non-conservative descriptors and imagery may come off as crude and confusing， I believe it is extremely refreshing。 Not every asian american family has the same shared experiences: not every child is excelling in their studies， the parents aren't always simply quiet and submissive， there aren't always formalities shared between parent and child， and surely they do not always uphold the model minority myth。 This is a unique story of a family who is gifted with an opportunity of life in America with the everlasting hurdles associated with past mistakes， regrets， heartbreak， and the American capitalist society。 How the three brothers navigate their own respective lives， mostly from the perspective of the youngest， is explored in this novel and eventually devolves into an attention-trapping chaos/murder mystery-esque dream。 It takes nothing to completely alter the trajectory of the lives of so many in a close-knit community。 I believe the author here has done an amazing job of gifting us with a special and unique story that does seem to have elements of "The Brothers Karamazov" （although I have only read summaries/notes on it） while integrating characteristic asian american experiences。 The three brothers here are tested in their self awareness and self hatred as they navigate their own dreams against the pull back to their hometown， familial expectations， and family restaurant。 。。。more
TinaMarie Baldwin
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Slow read， audio was good。
Queen Bzyb
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Quite captivating and while not a lot of "action" per se the intricate relationships and thoughts are woven and revealed cleverly through events。 Growing up as a Chinese American I can relate to the mixed feelings of being trapped between cultures。 The latter part of the book descended into intentional psychosis but I felt it went a bit far and some of the responses/actions were not believable。 Overall worth a read as very different to anything else I've read before。 Quite captivating and while not a lot of "action" per se the intricate relationships and thoughts are woven and revealed cleverly through events。 Growing up as a Chinese American I can relate to the mixed feelings of being trapped between cultures。 The latter part of the book descended into intentional psychosis but I felt it went a bit far and some of the responses/actions were not believable。 Overall worth a read as very different to anything else I've read before。 。。。more
Linda
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Family ChaoComplicated，interesting well-drawn characters， sometimes a little confusing， this novel is an insightful portrayal of a Chinese immigrant family。 Mystery included。
Amiee
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The synopsis was really intriguing but failed on the execution。
Christopher Berry
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Droning on and on， this book went NOWHERE！ I wanted to like it， I felt like it showed promise at times， but it was all for naught。 I felt as through the cast of characters were going through the motions， but at the end of the day， no one ever followed through with becoming a force in the novel。 The narrative was very stale to me。 Lan Samantha Chang has the ability to write， but the execution of this was poorly done。 Maybe I just was not the target audience。
Erin Hunter
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dnf。。for now
Outdoorgrrl
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Unusual murder mystery of the death of a Chinese American， tols through the lens of family relationships。
Liz Amundson
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Super。 Brothers from a Chinese-restaurant owning family in Wisconsin。 Different paths。 All back together for a brief time over the holidays。 Event happen （no spoiler）。 Roles in the family， returning home changed yet slotted into your old role/self， parents transforming （or not） after you leave。 Good themes。 Some surprises- well done。 Brisk plot even tho the story circles and circles and circles。 Lots of food writing/talk， which I like
Mike
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4。5
Chloe
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DNF'd at 32% DNF'd at 32% 。。。more
Maggie
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3。75 stars。Appreciated the structure and symbolism， basically very cool devices。 But I always noticed them。Great story - once I switched from the audio version to actually reading it， I liked it a lot better。A slow burn of a mystery that is satisfyingly wrapped up。Amazing characters。
Melissa Bonier
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A depressing slog with nary a likable or fully realized character to be found。 A murder mystery where the murder doesn’t happen until 60% of the way through the book， and there’s no real justice no matter who did it。 Barely finished。 I get the angle here， as a retelling of The Brothers Karamazov， but it just fell totally flat for me， and lacked any of the crackling tension of the original。 All of the characters felt like one dimensional stereotypes， which I think was the author trying to hew to A depressing slog with nary a likable or fully realized character to be found。 A murder mystery where the murder doesn’t happen until 60% of the way through the book， and there’s no real justice no matter who did it。 Barely finished。 I get the angle here， as a retelling of The Brothers Karamazov， but it just fell totally flat for me， and lacked any of the crackling tension of the original。 All of the characters felt like one dimensional stereotypes， which I think was the author trying to hew to the original， without investing enough in this as a stand alone story。 Pass。 。。。more
Rachel Smith
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3。5 stars
Marilee Steffen
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Usually when I don't enjoy a book， I don't finish it。 Too many good books and too little time！ This story of Chinese immigrant parents and their 3 American born sons portrayed a severely dysfunctional family and had no characters who were likable。 Set in a fictional Wisconsin small city， the family ran a Chinese restaurant surrounded by a Chinese immigrant community。 There is a murder and a family member is blamed。 Usually when I don't enjoy a book， I don't finish it。 Too many good books and too little time！ This story of Chinese immigrant parents and their 3 American born sons portrayed a severely dysfunctional family and had no characters who were likable。 Set in a fictional Wisconsin small city， the family ran a Chinese restaurant surrounded by a Chinese immigrant community。 There is a murder and a family member is blamed。 。。。more
Angie Smith
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The （drama-filled） Family Chao is crazy the first half of the book and then exponentially increases in drama over the holidays。 Will see the author next week which always adds to the experience of a book
Erin
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Obama recommended。 I do not。 Retelling of Brothers Karamazov。 Just couldn’t really find myself caring about plot or characters until the very end。
Theresa Jehlik
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Leo Chao， the patriarch， runs a Chinese restaurant with the help of his wife Winnie and three sons in Haven， Wisconsin。 When the novel opens， Winnie has joined a Buddhist nunnery and the two youngest sons are living elsewhere。 As the Christmas holidays approach， Dagou， the oldest son， has prepared a special vegetarian luncheon for Winnie's community and is planning an extravagant Christmas party for Haven's Chinese-American community。 When Leo Chao is found dead in the restaurant's freezer the m Leo Chao， the patriarch， runs a Chinese restaurant with the help of his wife Winnie and three sons in Haven， Wisconsin。 When the novel opens， Winnie has joined a Buddhist nunnery and the two youngest sons are living elsewhere。 As the Christmas holidays approach， Dagou， the oldest son， has prepared a special vegetarian luncheon for Winnie's community and is planning an extravagant Christmas party for Haven's Chinese-American community。 When Leo Chao is found dead in the restaurant's freezer the morning after the party， the family's lives are profoundly affected。 This novel explores the immigrant experience through the eyes of one dysfunctional family in a Midwestern small town。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Family Chao
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Family Chao&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Family Chao&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0