01 May / Happy Family: A Novel by Wendy Lee [in Bloomsbury Review]
This slim volume resonates long after the last page, especially for mothers in today’s overscheduled, harried world.
Hua Wu, a recent Chinese immigrant working a dead-end waitress job in New York’s Chinatown, meets stylish Jane Templeton and her adopted Chinese daughter, Lily. A bond quickly forms and Hua eventually quits her job to become Lily’s nanny. As Hua becomes more attached to the girl, lines blur and who is whose daughter becomes indistinguishable. Watching it all unfold through a mother’s eyes proves painfully disturbing.
Readers: Adult
Published: 2008