Thank You, Mr. Nixon

June 1, 2022

In her first story collection since Who's Irish? in 1999, Jen offers a multifaceted exploration of the complex relationships between China, the United States, and the people who inhabit them. Via interconnected stories ranging from President Nixon's historic 1972 visit all the way up to the COVID pandemic, Jen's characters converge and disperse over the course of generations. Their outlooks and values are shaped by the circumstances under which they either flourish or wither. Four narrators--Justin Chien, Catherine Ho, Annie Q, and Eunice Wong--read several stories each. This creates both a sense of continuity, especially between related characters and successive generations, and variety, reinforcing the premise that each tale represents a moment in time or one aspect of a conflict. The narrators blend well together, each bringing their own style to the production while maintaining a cohesive whole. Though they all share Jen's customary snappy dialogue and sharply observed character beats, some stories tend more toward the poignant and others are laugh-out-loud funny, so every narrator has the chance to shine. VERDICT Recommended for listeners who enjoy Alice Munro's finely tuned portraits of ordinary people.--Natalie Marshall

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 22, 2021
President Nixon’s 1972 visit to China provides the context for Jen’s masterly collection (after The Resisters), which explores the cultural wounds and generational gaps of mainlanders and Chinese Americans. In the tongue-in-cheek title story, a riff on Dante’s inferno, a dead middle-aged Chinese woman named Tricia Yang writes from her perch in heaven to President Nixon, who resides in the ninth ring of Hell. Tricia recalls speaking with Nixon when she was a young girl during his 1972 visit and how Pat Nixon’s famous red coat influenced her family to start their own coat manufacturing business, eventually exporting to the U.S., where the “Made in China” label elicits backlash from jingoistic consumers. In this and other stories, Jen skillfully reveals the book’s main theme: is bridging differences ever truly possible? In the satirical “It’s the Great Wall!” Opal Tsu, a Chinese immigrant living in the U.S., reckons with her daughter’s cultural misunderstandings during a trip through China, and becomes the tour group’s unofficial interpreter upon finding out that their official guide speaks little English. In this and other stories, Jen inserts a character who becomes a mediator, reluctantly translating for hapless Americans. “Rothko, Rothko” centers on the ethical dilemmas faced by a Chinese American literature professor who meets a Chinese art forger and deals with an ambitious Chinese student who takes the name Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot’s original name) and commits plagiarism. With wry humor, pathos, and punchy dialogue, Jen’s uncanny stories easily stand up to her hefty themes. This is a stellar addition to Jen’s prolific body of work. Agent: Daniel Kirschen, ICM Partners.