Joan is a Chinese American ICU physician at a hospital in New York City’s upper west side, a thirty-seven year old woman who her entire family wants to see get married and start having babies. Her apartment neighbor Mark wants her to furnish her apartment, read good books, and host big parties with him. Her boss is delighted to see her live her life solely focused on non-stop working. Unfortunately, the only person she thinks might understand her is now dead. Her father, a lifelong workaholic who never had much time for getting to know his children, who would go out of his way to see her at the hospital, but not spend more than a few minutes with her, as he went off on another business call or to catch a flight. Sadly, no one seems to want to take the time to find out what she wants for her life, what pleases her, what her own goals are. Joan doesn’t seem to be interested in asking those questions herself— she contents herself with the satisfaction of her predictable, competent life at the hospital.

It is ironic that she loves working in the ICU. Her patients are most uncommunicative, and her real relationship is via the machines that monitor the patients, and keep their bodies functioning until they either get better, or die. For Joan, it is a simple world, and she is the master of it. It is far better than having to deal with everyone’s expectations for her. To the world, she is an almost five foot tall, almost 100 pound Asian woman, a risky role to play when Covid draws nearer and she can see on tv reports of Asians assaulted on the streets for bringing the Chinese virus, or “Kung flu”. Not one to deal with emotions directly, she flies to China for her father’s funeral, and flies back within 48 hours, not missing any work. Her grief goes between subtle sadness and anger. She only comes closest to dealing with it when quietly hanging out with her mother, who flew back from China to visit her brother Fang and his family in Greenwich, CT. Joan takes the train there secretly, avoiding Fang and family to spend quiet time with her mother. Fang is an investor, his wife Tami mostly shops, engages in self-care, and oversees their three sons’ busy schedules. Fang wants Joan to marry someone rich and influential, live near Greenwich, and start having children so his sons can have cousins. Tami feels threatened by Joan and her career, wanting her to start having babies so she can feel better about her own choices. Her mother is happy to have her children do whatever they want with their lives. Joan’s parents lived in China, had Fang, then left him behind at age 6 to establish themselves in America. They then had Joan, and didn’t send for Fang to join them until he was about 12. His need to be the center of the family, and have everyone near him seems to be a way to control those he cares about. Once their children are independent and in college, their parents moved back to China, and didn’t see their children for several years.

This unusual family arrangement made Joan feel strangely unattached to her family, really abandoned by her parents. She adjusted to centering her life around her school and work, her identity to commitment and competence. It was the one thing she could control, do well, and objectively know that she mastered. In her relationships with people it always seems they want to her change, make different choices. They are too demanding, when she just wants to be left alone.

This novel deals with issues of race in subtle, interesting ways. The word Joan despises is different. She wants to blend in, not stand out. But as the only Asian in class growing up, she always had expectations pushed on her— Asians are always smart, always competitive academically, or always get into the best schools because of racial quotas. Fang didn’t care, he was happy to seize these opportunities, to get up the ladder of success. Another concept Wang addresses is the meaning of home. Since her parents moved the family all over the U.S., then left the kids for China as soon as they were in college, where is home? Her home has just been a place to sleep until heading back to work.

This is a novel of gentle, ironic humor. It addresses issues of race with delicacy, indirectly. I love the tone of Wang’s writing, and Joan will completely win you over. Recommended.