The Family Chao

The Chou family are immigrants who run a Chinese restaurant in Haven, Wisconsin. They have conflicting dreams and goals. There is a mixture of Buddhism and Christianity religion, Chinese and American culture, and fitting in and remaining separate. There are challenges fitting in to a culture when you are not really Chinese or really American. The Chou family also has plenty of "standard" family conflicts, especially over money. It all culminates with the family patriarch ending up dead in the freezer. We never know for sure how he died, but one son ends up being convicted on circumstantial evidence. (He had motive for doing it - he even acknowledged the motive on the witness stand and called himself a wimp for not following through.) 

This book was not a "can't put down" nor a "totally awful" book. It was just there. The characters were almost, but not quite relatable. The situation seemed plausible but not likely. The book was ok, but not great. I have liked the Silicon Valley Chinese immigrant novels better.