White Ivy

While every reviewer has an obligation to be as objective as possible, it is sometimes difficult to know if a criticism is valid or if the author is simply not the target audience for this particular book. Which is precisely why I do not review many of the books I read. I feel a sincere obligation to the author and the potential reader to only offer reviews of books I was intended to read.

This book is classified on Amazon under the Asian American Literature genre. It is a genre I truly enjoy and often read, being an American who has lived in China for 11 years and is married to a Chinese woman who comes from very modest beginnings not dissimilar to those of Ivy Lin.

The introduction on Amazon says that the story of Ivy Lin offers stark insights into the immigrant experience And the books reading group guide describes it as A coming of age story, a love triangle, an exploration of class and race and identity. My kind of book, I thought.

In the end, however, I believe this is an immigrants story in only the most technical sense. It is, rather, the story of a woman born in China with a very Western worldview (How it was acquired is not clear.) that follows her family to the US in search of wealth and the respectability and the happiness she believes it will provide her.

While the Chinese seek wealth and respectability as well, however, Ivys definitions seem to come directly from the Boston Brahmin/ WASP handbook, showcased in the extreme by the New England family she wants to marry into. The Chinese define wealth and respectiblity very differently and pursue them for very different reasons. (Less material obsession, more familial piety.)

Little of the book actually takes place in China, moreover, and you will learn little about Chinese culture compared to what youll find in books by Pearl S. Buck or Lisa See.

Asian immigrants are often referred to as model immigrants but the reason for that is not just that they are hardworking and generally respectful but that they dont define immigration in the same way most Americans do. Although I have lived and worked in China for a fairly long time, no Chinese, including my wife, thinks of me as an immigrant. In China you are either Chinese or you are a foreigner and the latter can never become the former, although I have never felt any sense of pejorative judgment about my status. I am just a foreigner. If you speak the language flawlessly you are merely a foreigner who speaks Chinese. If you have lived here a very long time, you are merely a foreigner who has lived here a long time.

While I believe few things in life are binary, I do believe that the primary differences between Chinese culture and Western culture can be explained by worldview. The Chinese worldview is very inductive. Things are simply what they are. The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. (The proverb that the author opens the book with.) Which is why traditional Chinese culture is full of superstition and mythology and there is an open acceptance of luck or the lack thereof.

Western culture, on the other hand, is built on a more deductive foundation. We are slaves to cause and effect, to rules, and personal merit is a near-religion, which is why we put such value on the things we own and why most billionaires strive to be even richer. (It is a sign of merit, not luck.)

Ivy was deductive from the moment she landed on American shores. She is always trying to understand, to scheme, to get ahead, but in the Western, not the Eastern sense. She is a thief, in other words, at many levels, as the first line of the book introduces her.

The writing is professional. And the character development is complete, but largely two-dimensional. We can visualize the characters but we dont ever really come to know them. They are very much like the pieces on a chessboard. They have purpose, but no essence. As the author notes, All women, Ivy was beginning to understand, had a theme. Dont we all. But does our theme truly define us or is it just the costume we wear?

Many of the female characters, including Ivy, use meaningless and frequent sex to create their themes, although its tame and not graphic. Still, I thought the tool was over-used and after the first third of the book thought is was more of a teenage romance novel and almost put it down. Ultimately, however, I realized that this is a novel about themes, not romance. Romantic, Ivy is not, so I began to see her promiscuity in a different light.

In the end, I have to conclude, I was not the target audience for this book. But if you think you are you should read some of the other reviews.

A young girl trapped in what she feels like is the wrong family. Well, the wrong everything. Her parents have immigrated to the U.S. from China and havent quite assimilated. She doesnt feel like she fits in herself .

Ivy is not cutting it in school and her parents do not hide their disappointment. She spends most of her time with her grandmother, the only one who seems to get her. One event in high school, which is probably the best and worst night of her life, leads to the future she desires. But it is a long time coming.

What Ivy dreams of is being a part of not just the in crowd, but what she considers the cream of the crop. White, WASPy, and wealthy. Everything she is not. When she is suddenly and unexpectedly catapulted into that world, she wants something more. Its a dangerous slope she is walking, and Ivy seems willing to take the risk.

Reading WHITE IVY feels like Yang is taking her readers to an amusement park and you get to go on all of the rides the ones that make you queasy, make you scream, make you want to stand in line and go again, and give you the biggest thrill. You think no way, that cant happen, then, shocked, then unable to trust anyone, then a surprise is waiting around the corner, and didnt see that coming.

There is a lot to digest in WHITE IVY Ivys coming of age, the immigrant experience, a love triangle, and an alarming twist. The book is some post-election exhale, cant wait for the inauguration, end of the year cant come soon enough, suspenseful drama in the best way wonderful.

Without spoiling it…

The primary character development was done very well. It was easy to become invested in Ivy as a person and interesting to imagine her life and social pressure. With few exceptions, the rest of the characters were not well developed and several were clich. Part of the ending was easily predicted, which would have been fine, but it was also rushed and missed out on several opportunities to make it more interesting or throw some head-fakes to keep you guessing a bit. Overall the ending seemed rushed and anti-climatic as a result.

Once I started White Ivy it was very hard to put down- always the sign of a good book! The author does a great job at constructing interesting and three dimensional characters- flawed in recognisable and very human ways. The protagonist is very much an anti-hero, not something I always enjoy but in this case done to perfection. It also cleverly captures many aspects of US society – especially the experiences of immigration, belonging and perceptions of wealth and happiness. Very impressive first novel!

I read this book because it was recommended on one of the books of 2020 lists. Totally unrealistic, including about China and Chinese families. I havent read a Mills & Boon since I was a teenager but this is undoubtedly one. A book for reading whilst lying on a sun lounger, sipping on a cocktail.

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