The Third Son: A Novel
Growing up in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, Saburo feels rejected by his family. He finds love with Yoshiko, and, after their marriage, he leaves her and their baby son to find them a home in the U.S., but it takes years to get a college education and find work in Michigan, which will allow him to bring his loved ones to join him. The 1950s political history is always in the background—the aftermath of the occupation, the Chinese nationalist takeover—but it is the personal story that drives the narrative: the family fights, Saburo’s suffering as the unwanted child, his rage at his older brother’s privilege, and, in contrast, the tenderness of his relationship with his wife and child. The wry humor will also hold readers: he finally gets a job teaching what he knows nothing about, barely one chapter ahead of his students. And there is no slick reconciliation; his father’s visit to America intensifies the fury on both sides. Rooted in time and culture, Wu’s debut novel opens up the family immigrant story with no sweet resolution after leaving home. --Hazel Rochman