The Wangs vs The World by Jade Chang

The Wangs vs. The World carried quite a discussion with 16 members present.   Some felt it was interesting and humorous and others found it frustrating and didn’t want to read further.  One person stated it well:  “It was a tragedy and a comedy.”  Another said, “Having the comedy helped you get through it.” “It was different” was a common description.  It was a story about an immigrant, but it was unlike other stories we have read.  One person added that “it may be a better read for a younger audience.”  Another added that she didn’t like that it didn’t have a cohesive plot.  Another member said that “there were too many subplots.” 

We talked about the characters of the book.  One member said “The characters were flat and I wanted them to come to life a little more.”  Another member said that she “felt there were missed opportunities to develop the characters.  It didn’t feel 100% genuine.  Grace’s character felt inconsistent, very self-centered.”   One member said that she loved the kids, they were all hardworking and smart.  If you didn’t know their names, it could have been any family going through this.

“I liked Charles, he was always dreaming about China and was shocked as to how he was treated when he went back there.”  Another member was frustrated by Charles, saying he didn’t get enough character plot.  We were surprised by Charles strong business intuition and then when the loss came we questioned that, how did he not know how to truly handle the business financially?  We also questioned why he didn’t go back to China before, as he had traveled many times back to that area.  As a plot to the story, we questioned a few of these aspects.  America use to love Charles Wong, and it let him down.  Charles was under the impression that anything was possible in America.  We talked about how he was so insulated as a CEO from the marketing /delivery of his product.  He took product to a customer, and yet it melted in the back of a U-Haul.  He had no clue that it would melt.  We also chuckled that Charles climbed to his business which started with urine, Urea, used for fertilizer and then for make up!  We did talk about his ancestry, which had been very successful.  When his birthright was taken from him, he moved to America to reinvent himself and become successful.  Being the oldest birthright for his family, he would have inherited their land.    We talked about how much Charles loved his children.  We brought up the thought that, if he would have stayed in China, he would not have had 3 children. 

Saina, the oldest, found a way to survive.  She was smart to buy a home in the country after her melt down with the media.  We talked about the art that she had made, how creative it was to use immigrants, and did it possibly have a connection with her father’s story?  All she wanted to do with her art was resonate, someone had said.  The jackets she started with were a quick media idea.  She was very creative and smart. 

We felt the family was dysfunctional.  We talked about Barbra and her staying with Charles.  On the journey across the country, we learned that she was already to leave him, had it all planned and she couldn’t do it.  Deep down she loved him.  We noted that she found out he kept her badge from when they first met, she had left in the cafeteria where she worked.  He had it all these years.  He didn’t love his first wife, but we felt he did love Barbra. 

Andrew was not what his father would like for him to be.  He knew that a stand-up comedian wouldn’t be what would fit his father idea.  But he pursued it.  We talked about that creativity among the characters was a common denominator.   Some felt Andrew was very self-serving.

Some of us felt Grace was also self-centered, but then we had another aspect brought out when she cared for their Ama.  She was the one who was a caring individual. She also was very talented with her blogging.

We talked about the business aspects that were brought out in the book, and the 2008 recession.  It was interesting to read about the Beanie Bag scheme.  A few of us raised our hands when asked if we were buying Beanie Babies at that time!

At the end of the story, they had what was most important, they had each other.   They were truly connected with each other, when their privileged life style didn’t happen.  In the end money they weren’t interested in the money.