The Family Chao

By: Lan Samantha Chang

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

An acclaimed storyteller returns with “a gorgeous and gripping literary mystery” that explores “family, betrayal, passion, race, culture and the American Dream” (Jean Kwok).

The residents of Haven, Wisconsin, have dined on the Fine Chao Restaurant’s delicious Americanized Chinese food for 35 years, happy to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. But when brash, charismatic, and tyrannical patriarch Leo Chao is found dead - presumed murdered - his sons discover that they’ve drawn the exacting gaze of the entire town.

The ensuing trial brings to light potential motives for all three brothers: Dagou, the restaurant’s reckless head chef; Ming, financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest, gentle but lost college student James.

Brimming with heartbreak, comedy, and suspense, The Family Chao offers a kaleidoscopic, highly entertaining portrait of a Chinese American family grappling with the dark undercurrents of a seemingly pleasant small town.

©2022 Lan Samantha Chang (P)2022 Recorded Books

A Classic in the Making

Truly impressed. A great contribution to immigration and diaspora telling. Great characters, great story, nuanced.

Well written, unlikeable protagonists

Lan Samantha Chang is a gifted writer who writes cogently and vividly describes the world and characters of her setting. Unfortunately, the protagonists (principally the three Chao brothers) are weak and indecisive, making it impossible for me to like very much about them.

When adversity appears for each of the three brothers, they constantly stand frozen, run away, act out emotionally to their detriment, or simply accept their loss/domination with an assumption that they had it coming.

Without giving away too many details, two of the brothers confront (separately) the villain (hero?) of the story, and one simply stands impotent, letting the villain escape, while the other runs away and delays telling anyone else after having earlier discovered the villain’s actions. They are sorry excuses for men and I found them all to be totally unlikable protagonists.

Still, Lan Samantha Chang is a talented writer; I look forward to reading more of her works, hopefully with stronger and more decisive protagonists.

could have been more

interesting story but characters need more fleshing out for book to realize it's potential and be more compelling

Not To Be Missed

A great immigrant story which describes the difficulties, the racism, and xenophobia faced when one is considered “other” in a country filled with others who feel superior because of their white supremacist settler roots. The Family Chao is a complex and expertly woven story. An American story which needed to be told and read. Bravo!

Great story

I was hooked after the first chapter. Would love to see part 2 of this family’s saga.

Not for me, but I listened to the bitter end

I got interested in this story of a Chinese immigrant family, but I am not sure I liked it. I didn't like the characters. I especially loathed the family patriarch, but that was the intent of the author. No one was relatable, or even very likeable to me.

I have never read The Brothers Karamazov, so cannot address this retelling.

I found a part of the story hard to agree with, but removed my comment as it would be a spoiler.

Only complaint I didn’t want it to end

Great story. Wonderful reader. Hope it continues
I want to know how it goes. I couldn’t stop

Creative and compelling way to reboot a classic

Earlier this year I listened to The Brothers Karamazov on Audible, for the first time, and fell in love with the story. Even though the time period and culture were so different from my life, the characters and intrigue were so memorable and compelling. When I heard that this book was a retelling of the Dostoyevsky novel, I was intrigued, and this performance of it has been masterful and delightful. The characters are in one way siblings of their Dostoyevsky counterparts, but Chang brings them to life as believable, lovable and flawed contemporary people. The depth of the family dynamic and the cultural dynamics at play, plus the pace of the mystery plot, were just perfect. I also found myself craving really good Chinese food after several passages were done! I really loved it and highly recommend it.

Pretty good

Interesting twists, took a bit to get into the story. Overall a pretty good, although I thought it took too long to develop the characters

An American Family Saga of Love and Loyalty

It's wonderful to listen to a tale as well-written as this one and to imagine the bits that could fit your own life narrative. We all want the chance to be seen and to be loved -- regardless of who we are or what we've done -- by those we think of as our family. This book offers the light of that hope under the setting of a dingy Chinese restaurant in a hopeless Midwestern town during the gray of winter. The Family Chao is a satisfying story from start to finish.