The Chang's vs the World

 

Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he’s just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family’s ancestral lands—and his pride.
Charles pulls Andrew, his aspiring comedian son, and Grace, his style-obsessed daughter, out of schools he can no longer afford. Together with their stepmother, Barbra, they embark on a cross-country road trip from their foreclosed Bel-Air home to the upstate New York hideout of the eldest daughter, disgraced art world it-girl Saina. But with his son waylaid by a temptress in New Orleans, his wife ready to defect for a set of 1,000-thread-count sheets, and an epic smash-up in North Carolina, Charles may have to choose between the old world and the new, between keeping his family intact and finally fulfilling his dream of starting anew in China.
Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America—and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.

This was a very unique and mind boggling book, and by unique I mean that if you love books that have a lot of passages that needs a translator but didn't have one, is full of shallow characters (that do grow a bit, but are still shallow) and seems to be written by a biased, prejudiced against 'white people' author - then this book might be right up your alley. This books description also promises that this would be a humorous book - no, not so much. The idea was a good one and that is why I picked this book - a rich family has to learn what it is like to be poor due to a bankruptcy and they need to do so on a cross-country trip. Spoiler, sort of>>>>does this book have a conclusion? Not really; at least not a satisfying one. In my opinion, it was more like the last episode of Newhart or the dream episode from Dallas (if you are old enough to remember those shows!) I started this book with my whole heart and full attention and ended up after about 40% just skimming a lot of it until something actually happened. Or until they switched back to English. ARC supplied by publisher