I never thought that a horror (audio) book would give me some insights about being Asian in America but that’s exactly what this book did.
The horror part itself was quite good, with a weird little rag doll turning into a menacing beast. Appreciably scary and intelligent. One of the more interesting aspects was it didn’t seem to follow “normal” rules of monsterhood, i.e., fire replenished it and strengthened it instead of hurting it. Shotguns and Desert Eagles would knock it down but not hurt it.
The girl, Deliverance Payne, would normally annoy the hell out me - a New Age type, believes in alien abductions, ghosts, werewolves, the lot. And truth be told there were times when I was annoyed. But I felt for Tommy Phan so much that I felt him falling in love with her and even saw what he saw in her. I was annoyed along with him, and I was enchanted along with him.
The book was read by B.D. Wong, a Vietnamese American, and read phenomenally well. A good audiobook is made by the voice as much as the story.
The thing that really resonated in me was Tommy’s relationship with his mother and his Vietnamese family. I was impressed by a couple of very valid points ol’ Dean made. One, that the reason Asian parents often claim their children can never truly be American is that they, the parents themselves, never can fully fit, so they fear that their children are doomed to a life of not fitting in. Two, that even when the parents think the child is a thoughtless American, the child is still loved, and in the words of Mother Phan, “a good boy”.
The only thing that really bothered me was the very ending. Tommy Phan marries Deliverance, and his whole family, though originally disapproving, attends the reception. They seem to get along just fine with the new family and they make it out to be such a happy ending. I know in real life happy endings like this are extremely rare and bitter feelings remain for years sometimes. I would have honestly preferred it if Mother Phan had just been on cool terms with her son and daughter-in-law from then on, as it would have felt more realistic instead of the neat package it was tied up in. But then I am looking for reality in a book about a demon haunting in the real world. :dubious:
Other than that minor thing, a VERY good book and I will probably read it for real at some point.