The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang

 

When James heads home from university for his Christmas break, he is eager to see his family.  But he finds chaos when he gets there.  His mother Winnie has moved out and is living at a Buddhist temple, tired of her husband's temper and infidelities.  His oldest brother, Dagou, returned home six years ago becoming the head chef and expecting to take over the restaurant.  Now his father is refusing to make him a partner and wants to continue underpaying and overworking him.  Ming, the middle brother, lives in New York where he works in finance and can barely stand to be home for a few days.  The source of the family chaos is in the father, Leo, who is a bully, a miser and a control freak.

When Leo is found frozen to death in the basement meat freezer, it is unclear if it is an accident or murder.  The police come down on the side of murder and all of the Chao family secrets start to surface.  There are the two women that love Dagou and the rivalry between them.  There is the matter of inheritance.  A long-time employee harbors resentment and anger.  Who killed Leo?

Lan Samantha Chang is a Chinese American author who writes about the Chinese experience.  This novel won numerous awards and is a compelling read about the immigrant experience and about toxic family relationships.  It is told mainly through the eyes of the youngest son James who loves everyone in the family and has a hard time believing the things about his family that he discovers.  He must in the end, make a moral decision that will affect everyone.  This book is recommended for readers of multicultural literature and family relationships.