My Year Abroad

I cracked this book wide open and could not stop laughing. Then some sinister stuff set in and I was a bit freaked out. While I had a strong urge to pull in the reins, I was simultaneously greedier for more.

20-year-old Tiller is stuck. In his small east coast college town having grown up motherless with a dad who is nice enough, but they are just two ships barely crossing in the daytime. We meet him in the Hong Kong airport on his way back from what is clearly some sort of random trip when he runs into a single mother and her son who are out of sorts and out of money. Destination New Jersey, all three of them, where they end up together.

Tiller and his new compatriots Val and Victor Jr. create the most unusual life together, which includes a home in an off-grid suburb, perfect for the witness protection program which she happens to be in, little Veej (the kids nickname) is homeschooled, and they are sustained by a bottomless ATM card.

Things get weird. Like off the rails. There isnt much background about Val, but we sure do go back in time about where Tiller has been, and it is like falling into a deep, slimy, dark cave that you want to shout at him to get the heck out of. It all starts with a man named Pong, a wealthy, charismatic Chinese entrepreneur who lures him into his world and machinations. Dont even try to guess what transpires because unless you have met Chang-rae and had an intimate discussion with him about his book, there is no way you could begin to imagine. No spoilers here from me and I couldnt attempt to explain it, even if I were on hallucinogens. Simply put gambling, karaoke, mens clubs, fine dining and cheap eats, pain and pleasure. And lots of travel.

I love Tiller. He is funny and observant. He is kind and introspective and will break your heart because his was broken.

You will figure out that there are some deep similarities between the characters. Tillers mother was not in his life, he is drawn to a man whom he hopes will lead him in the right direction, more than college can, more than his own father seems to be able to. Vals husbands absence has changed the course of her life and as a result, made a profound impact on her sons.

Tiller and Val both encountered trouble of no fault of their own. I dont expect you to follow all of this. Thats why Chang-rae wrote the book and I didnt.

MY YEAR ABROAD is no exchange program. It is like a trip to a carnival gone bad but with a chance for redemption with some interesting characters who dont turn out to be what you expect at all. And they will keep you laughing. You just need to be able to stomach some twisted stuff. I have faith in you. Im here for this book.

This is not a novel at all. Instead, this is someone who is trying to show how totally cool he is by hitting every “cool” cultural reference they can. As long as the “author” can demonstrate how hip and with it he is, it doesn’t really seem to matter what the story is. Don’t waste your time.

And Stanford University thinks this guy is good enough to teach creative writing?!?

By the way: the Pulitzer Prize is nothing short of a popularity contest. It has nothing to do with writing quality, it has more to do with how much the various institutions have put into getting their candidate to win. Clearly, Stanford wasn’t all that invested on getting him to win (which makes me have maybe the tiniest little respect for the place.)

Save your money. Buy a book that is worth reading.

Tiller tillered to and fro an advanced tutorial in the varieties of carbon-based contact.

The characters ALIVE — save for the narrator Tillers continually search for Self but thats the tale.

Jumping from a small New Jersey town to the Pearl River Delta metropolis Shenzhen and its darkening interiors, and back to What building; the grip of this piece, the implied grim ending in either locale, building intrigue — if not revealed by some tell-it-all reviewer.

Chang-rae Lee loves to write, 480 pages of rich detailing, his characterization of personalities types, east to west, top to bottom, inspired. You may find yourself somewhere in all those words. I did, to my amusement.
Give it a try you will enjoy.

I dont know what to say about this book other than it meanders. The first 100 pages make you think there is going to be a big reveal and you keep reading to see what that is. It never really happens though. The main character is abandoned by his mother at a young age and has a very superficial relationship with his father. When he meets Pong a seemingly successful Chinese American businessman who takes him under his wing and to China on a trip the protagonist is clearly searching for something more than an apprenticeship. He becomes very attached to Pong and looks up to him in many ways.

This is only one half of the story however. The other half is about the main characters time with his girlfriend whom for various reasons in in the witness protection program. He lives with her and her son. The deeper meaning of this part of the story is superficial at best. Honesty it was hard to take this story line seriously after a while. Without any spoilers I will say this: the writing is witty and interesting. However, there are times when the story is not believable and you simply end up questioning why you want to read to the end. I wound up finishing it but considered giving up.

I gave this two stars because of the quality of the writing not for the plot or the character development. Both of which are lacking. This is an easy but long book that I am not sure I can recommend you spend your valuable reading time on. I really wanted to like this. I really did. It just didnt work for me.

What was that and why did I spend 2 weeks on it?My mind is so fried from reading a bunch of weird nothing-ness. First and foremost, you’ll go through half the book before the kids ever get to his year abroad. Also, the big twist is that Pong is pulling a low-level Don Draper? But then so does Tiller? I don’t know…

The onlything that kept me going was I grew up in Princeton, so the constant references back to the thinly-veiled version of Princeton that is Dunbar were amusing, but then things just got weird but in a boring way. Also, all the female characterswere poorly drawn, at best. I hate that.

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