In Ng’s fictional novel, the United States suffers a tremendous economic crisis— runaway inflation, food and supplies shortages everywhere, massive stock market losses and resulting job losses, desperation and homelessness everywhere. In their desperation, Americans and their politicians are looking for solutions and a place to lay blame. As China’s economy rises, a culprit is found, a scapegoat discovered. As is often the case in our country’s past (and, in fairness, humanity’s past) amidst our pain and crisis, we look outward for the villain, rather than inward.

When China is determined to be the reason for our steep decline, Congress passes PACT— the Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act. Essentially, this is an attempt to identify all Chinese elements in our society and eliminate them. Since Chinese are not easily distinguishable from other Asians by Caucasians, other groups suffer too. Attacks in the street of Asian citizens become common and go unpunished. Books are banned and eliminated. The culture in general becomes one of rabid flag-waving, and Communist-style spying and whistle-blowing on neighbors when any suspicious behavior is viewed or suspected. The worst aspect of the PACT is when children are removed from families where it is suspected that parents are un-American influences on their children, indoctrinating them in bad ideas, and the children are to be “protected” and put in foster homes, where they will be “safe” from such ideology.

Margaret and Ethan are a happily married couple, with their son Noah, whom they fondly call Bird. Margaret wrote a book of poems when pregnant and later caring for their baby, called “Our Missing Hearts.” Margaret is a PAO, a Person of Asian Origin, making her and by extension, Bird, at threat due to current societal attitudes. Margaret’s father is physically attacked and dies of his injuries, an early victim of this dreadful turn. When a protestor is killed, a young woman holding a sign found to be inspired by Margaret’s book of poetry, a dangerous spotlight is fixed on Margaret. Her book is deemed subversive, an attempt to corrupt youth, and it is found out that she is of Asian background. Faced with repeated threats to Bird, Margaret does the only thing she can think to do to protect him— she packs a backpack and flees the family. Bird is only nine years old.

Ethan moves to a college dorm with Bird, changes his school to escape bullying, and changes his name back to Noah, disavowing his wife to protect their son. Bird is miserable without his mother, and Ng depicts him growing in awareness over the next three years, trying to learn about her and come to terms with his feelings of abandonment. Like most children, he doesn’t understand the threat that exists for someone who looks like him, how easily he could lose his father, how his whole life could be lost in a second. Bird finally decides that he must find his mother, and get answers to all his questions, to finally resolve the feelings of loss with her abrupt departure.

Ng is a master novelist. She slowly spins out the story of Bird, the back story of his mother, how his father has loved and protected him, and Bird’s slow awakening and courageous search for answers. He struggles to understand the awful realities, as does the reader, of man’s cruelty to man. When tragedy strikes, we are always at risk of quick judgement, inspired by fear and desperation. People naturally finger point, looking for someone easy to blame for their misery. When governments and societies do this, fascism is at risk, “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.” (Merriam Webster) It is a natural outgrowth of a people’s sense of threat and fear, to look for a strong leader willing to take extreme measures to create a feeling of safety. Under threat, we appear willing to forgo freedom and liberty for safety and security. We identify the threat, and seek to eliminate it by any and all means.

Ng does not accuse Liberalism or Conservatism, Right or Left, as the source of threat and extreme measures. And, in fact, both extremes are susceptible in their own ways to such action, when allowed to become extreme and unfettered in their ends, when circumstances threaten a society. This is important to observe at this time, as we are experiencing and are likely to experience economically difficult conditions in the months and years to come. Our humanity, our concern and kindness for one another, is always at risk when threat emerges. I highly recommend Ng’s cautionary tale.