Chinese American Lucy Tan's compelling sophomore novel, Tiger's Mouth, deftly turns on themes of class, privilege, and family duty. It considers the unlikely friendship between two Jacks who have led highly disparate lives before they meet on the rooftop of healthcare tech giant K.O. Systems.
Jack Chen is a self-described "riceboy from Queens," the son of overworked caterer Chinese parents. His grandmother calls him a "shape-shifter," because of his "ability to blend in, become whatever kind of person people thought he ought to be." At home is younger brother Ivan, born with Down syndrome, battling congestive heart failure in a household unable to afford his medical needs. Deception, although not ill-intentioned, drives Chen's determination to fit in (and move up). He easily convinces his wealthy girlfriend, Caty, that he's a Columbia student, not a full-ride scholarship kid from City College. He even daringly talks his way into Columbia's recruitment fair, eventually landing a prized summer internship at K.O.
Jack Owens has never had to worry about money as the son of a self-made billionaire. He's "bright and capable, freshly graduated from MIT, but utterly at a loss for what to do with his math degree," his father, Keith, tells a colleague, hinting at his inability to understand why Jack sits poolside, "wishing to die by heatstroke." Owens's older sister, Sam, is the capable go-getter who indisputably should be their father's heir although she can't seem to hold Keith's attention. But perhaps staying below Keith's line of fire isn't a bad thing, especially when he gives his son an ultimatum: go work at the family company or move out "with nothing." Owens responds with resignation: "You always have to win, don't you?"
And so, 10 days later, Chen and Owens meet on the roof of K.O.'s New York City skyscraper. The latter intends to jump; the former prevents that. They discover they're officemates and quickly become inseparable best friends. Caty makes three. For a while, the trio comfortably converge in Owen's sprawling Central Park-facing Manhattan apartment and Chen's family's fifth-floor walkup in Flushing. But life--and various lies, omissions, betrayals--has that way of derailing best-laid plans.
Tan (What We Were Promised) writes lucidly, with fluid ease, guiding her characters through isolation, ambition, gratitude, righteousness. She reveals the self-absorption that eclipses all else, the desperation that separates, and the knowledge that reunites through her sweeping, cinematic storytelling. --Terry Hong
Shelf Talker: Lucy Tan's compelling sophomore novel expertly examines class, privilege, and family duty through the unlikely relationship between two Jacks from wholly different worlds.