Lillian Li will appear on Sunday, Nov. 18 at the Miami Book Fair.
Number One Chinese Restaurant, Lillian Li, Henry Holt and Company, $27
(This is the final installment of a series of reviews leading up to the Miami Book Fair taking place at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus. The Book Fair opened Sunday, Nov. 11 and runs through Nov. 18).
The multi-generational novel of a family of restaurateurs and their employees guarantees you will never be able to enter a bustling Chinese restaurant again without taking in the place and its people, perhaps wondering what it must be like to manage such a busy place and deal with staff and patrons alike.
The Han family owns The Duck House, in Rockville, Maryland. The Han matriarch is a formidable figure, controlling her two sons, the elder, Johnny, and the younger, Jimmy (aka “the little boss”) since the death of her husband, the founder, with the proverbial iron hand, though she is never on the premises. Inevitably, the brothers almost come to a parting of ways, threatening the rigid hold that the matriarch Feng Fei wields over them, abetted behind the scenes by a sinister figure named Uncle Pang. The interactions among the family members is further impeded by questionable financial and, yes, rather shady doings involved in keeping this kind of enterprise afloat – Uncle Pang “knows” people and seems to have a lot, perhaps too much, to say in how things are run, not unlike a kind of Chinese mafia figure.
Further complications occur with lustful dealings between Pat Hu,a high school dropout and longtime employee’s son, and Annie, Johnny Han’s university student young daughter. They stir up the goings on in the back of house much as the busy chefs stir the always on the go woks in that kitchen. There are no secrets there, and the young lovers are much too careless.
Older brother Johnny, who was his father’s designated heir, likes things the way they are and has no problems having to deal with the “fixer” Uncle Pang; younger brother Jimmy, carrying childhood resentments as the less favored son, would like to rid himself of this dodgy character Pang and open up a more upscale, fancier restaurant on his own in a better neighborhood outside of Maryland. Getting rid of the family restaurant – perhaps with the help of a friendly arsonist? – is a possibility he entertains briefly. The insurance money would come in handy to set up that desirable new restaurant. The family crisis comes to a head when the restaurant is indeed torched,¦but by whom?
The loyal staff has its relationship issues, too. Pat Hu’s mother, Nan Fang, has had yearnings for the popular, much older longtime waiter Ah-Jack Huang for thirty years,¦as does he with her. Nan’s husband Ray Hu, is out of the picture; he moved to San Francisco, where he runs a popular fast-food Chinese place. But they never bothered to divorce. Ah-Jack is also married, but his sweet wife Michelle Yang, is dying of an aggressive cancer, and Nan likes her. What happens among these three sympathetic individuals – Nan, Michelle, and Ah-Jack, tugs at the heartstrings amidst all the machinations at the Duck House.
And what about sneaky Janine Li, the ambitious realtor who seems to have a business relationship with Uncle Pang while working her wiles on the clueless younger Han brother, Jimmy? What impact will this have on Jimmy’s plans for that new upscale restaurant on the waterfront in a snazzier neighborhood? What part will Janine play?
The well-wrought plot soon comes to a head, and the reader cannot help but be entertained and even entranced by these all-too-real characters.
This is definitely not "Crazy Rich Asians," but its insights into the entrepreneurial Asian community that owns and operates restaurants in America, places we all know and love and who feed us so well, will, as I said at the beginning of this review, never let you take anything for granted about the carver of your tasty Peking duck who folds the slices into soft pancakes; the server at your table who pours the water; the amigo busboys; the genial hosts; or anyone else. Number One Chinese Restaurant is a novel that maintains your attention. Lillian Li tells a good story and populates it with memorable characters you won’t soon forget. This debut novel is one definitely to be chosen from Column A.
Lillian Li appears as part of Miami Book Fair's "Family Stories: Readings from New Fiction." She'll be there on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m., Room 8201 (Building 8, 2nd Floor); 300 NE Second Ave., Miami, Fl 33132 United States
www.miamibookfair.comMiami Book Fair: Nov. 11-18, 2018
Street Fair: Nov. 16-18
Miami Dade College, downtown Wolfson campus
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