A specific character study, Wang's latest explores themes of ethnicity, immigration, family, and self through the truly distinct character of Joan. A 30-something doctor in a New York City ICU, Joan lives and breathes her job; in essence, it IS her identity. After her father dies unexpectedly, she travels to China--over a mere weekend--to attend his funeral. While there she interacts with her mother, who emigrated to the United States to give Joan and her brother Fang a chance at the American Dream. Once those paths were secured, she went right back to China.

After returning from the funeral, Joan's personality starts to be revealed. Stoic and obtuse in social situations, she has a sparsely furnished apartment, no social life, and would rather work than not. She has trouble understanding her mother and brother, and seems lost about just how to grieve her father. When she's forced to take a 6-week break from work just as the pandemic is exploding in China and beyond, the issues she's been struggling with--her mother, her grief, her sense of self as a Chinese-American--come to the fore and force her to address them.

It's a credit to Wang that the book doesn't take the expected route of Joan completely changing her personality; she opens up in some ways and stays true to her rigidity in others. She's a refreshingly unique, very specific character, whose story is mostly compelling. Some sections do plod along and I did, at times, wonder if Joan could really be such an emotionally connected doctor to her patients (which we don't see on the page, aside from her struggling with an iPad during a Covid call), yet still so bereft of emotion in her family/social life. Yet even these minor quibbles didn't take away from the bits of humor and heart this book offers.

Much thanks to @NetGalley and @RandomHouse for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.