NUMBER ONE CHINESE RESTAURANT

Narrator Nancy Wu's careful pacing allows listeners to absorb the multiple layers of this story about how the Han family and the staff at their successful Chinese restaurant try to balance work and their personal lives, familial duty, and dreams. On one level, the novel exposes the sometimes insurmountable gap between immigrant and American-born generations, especially in areas like work ethic and visions of the future. Another layer of the story examines the characters' personal issues, including divorce, addiction, aging, and parenting. By varying her cadence and volume, Wu differentiates inner turmoil from public drama. Furthermore, her respectful Chinese-American accent--subtle for the younger characters and stronger for the older ones--adds depth to the listening experience. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2018]