Lillian Li

Will come back to edit this on computer, maybe, as I'm still processing this. Took longer than I thought to read, largely because I prioritize library books over ones I own. Also a reminder I don't read contemporary fiction that often.

Number One Chinese Restaurant is a family drama, ostensibly about Jimmy Han and his relationships with his brother and Mom, but the heart of the story I felt was between longtime server Nan, her son Pat, and her coworker Ah-Jack.

I guess I just still feel unsettled that nothing about Uncle Pang was resolved and he remains a murky black box.… (more)

We meet the Han family (Jimmy, Johnny and their mother) along with a number of their constellation of restaurant employees, just before their lives begin to fall apart. The multiple-voice format allows each character's story to unfold, including their present hell as well as the past events that led them to this point. Jimmy seems an unlikely manager for the family business, a Chinese duck restaurant that seems much-beloved in its suburban Washington, D.C. community, begun decades earlier by his now-deceased father. Jimmy is beholden to a shadowy Godfather-type character, Uncle Pang, for getting him out of a jam sometime earlier. His brother Johnny is the more responsible son, but seems uninterested in running the restaurant. The parallel story is Ah-Jack, a waiter, and Nan, a waitress/manager, who are both married to other people but have maintained a lifelong friendship and unfulfilled attraction. All of these people are drawn into the drama as the Duck House burns down, and a new restaurant with a very different feel is started up. Things spiral out of control and a whole bunch of shit hits the fan before it all comes to a head. I thought the setting for this family drama story--the Chinese restaurant--would be interesting, and I was right. I enjoy the "peek behind the curtain" type stories, which introduce me to a world I've only ever seen from one perspective. I've probably eaten in dozens of Chinese restaurants in my life (and other restaurants too), but I've never had more than a passing interest in what goes on behind the scenes. This story opens up all kinds of heretofore undiscovered possibilities.… (more)