The Loved Ones

November 15, 2016

Chung (Long for This World) opens this second novel matter-of-factly, with the wife of Charles Frederick Douglass Lee hiring 13-year-old Hannah Lee to babysit their two children. There's no relation between the two Lee families--Charles is African American and his wife white, and Hannah's parents are Korean immigrants. As the narrative unfolds, the story deepens to embrace the histories and hidden sorrows of both clans. As a young soldier in Korea, Charles became involved with Alice, just out of the Peace Corps, and married her when she got pregnant; unlike his father, he was determined to be an honorable family man. Hannah's parents were a love match, her father marrying her mother despite family opposition, and the flight from war-torn Korea to America had not been easy. Charles and Hannah bond unexpectedly, and the narrative moves quietly forward until a seaside tragedy sets everyone spinning. VERDICT An effortlessly and elegantly written tale of family, with introspective insight into the issue of race; for all readers.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2016
The story of Charles and Alice, their children Veda and Benny, and their babysitter, Hannah, and her parents pushes boundaries. Chung (Long for This World, 2010) takes us from 1951 to 2005 and from Washington D.C. to Korea and Paris, drastically reframing our world by exploring difficult ideas and raising awareness of our capacity for empathy. In achieving this, she joins in the best tradition of world literature. Part immigrant narrative, part coming-of-age fiction, with interwoven themes of interracial marriage, the role of absentee fathers, and the continued hold of the past, this tale charts a nuanced journey that follows no convenient tropes. This is particularly striking in the story of Hannah's Korean immigrant parents, Chong-ho and Soon-mi. In a book full of complex characters and plot twists, the sparse and elegant prose creates a quietness that allows contemplation of one of life's big questions, What is love? Chung's adeptness in capturing the soaring drama of subdued interactions makes this worth a read. But it is her ability to be at once subversive and optimistic, radical and reassuring that makes this a must-read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)