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ninetalevixen's review against another edition
2.0
I received a review copy from Edelweiss. This does not affect my rating or opinions of this book.
2.5 stars.
I'm not sure why I decided to download this book — that decision was made last summer; I had some technical struggles and it's taken this long to finally get access to and finish this book — but I kind of wish I hadn't. Satire isn't really my "thing," and this book made me incredibly uncomfortable.
The Hemper-Boyd family is that Southern family: super-religious, fiercely pro-2nd amendment, casually racist (and even ableist despite Pete-O being wheelchair-bound). Getting to see narration from each of the family members was interesting, since they hold slightly different beliefs and values, though I kind of wish Liu Peng (Pete-O's mail order bride) hadn't been included: although she offers an outside perspective of how crazy Americans, specifically the members of this family, can be, she's also portrayed as a stereotypical naive immigrant who has trouble learning English (which is a hard language! But that's not addressed in this book) and doesn't even know how to use a modern toilet because she's from a poor town where they just have holes in the ground. Because she and local restaurateur Mr. Chen are the only recurring non-white characters, it's quite a red flag as far as representation goes.
I'm not sure why I ended up finishing this book, honestly. I did end up somewhat invested in some of the Hemper-Boyds (Jack and Magda, the least extreme of the family) and the rest were fascinating in that I-can't-look-away-from-this-car-wreck kind of way? The ending gets at some interesting social commentary, but it didn't feel worth the hours I spent reading the rest of the book.
2.5 stars.
I'm not sure why I decided to download this book — that decision was made last summer; I had some technical struggles and it's taken this long to finally get access to and finish this book — but I kind of wish I hadn't. Satire isn't really my "thing," and this book made me incredibly uncomfortable.
The Hemper-Boyd family is that Southern family: super-religious, fiercely pro-2nd amendment, casually racist (and even ableist despite Pete-O being wheelchair-bound). Getting to see narration from each of the family members was interesting, since they hold slightly different beliefs and values, though I kind of wish Liu Peng (Pete-O's mail order bride) hadn't been included: although she offers an outside perspective of how crazy Americans, specifically the members of this family, can be, she's also portrayed as a stereotypical naive immigrant who has trouble learning English (which is a hard language! But that's not addressed in this book) and doesn't even know how to use a modern toilet because she's from a poor town where they just have holes in the ground. Because she and local restaurateur Mr. Chen are the only recurring non-white characters, it's quite a red flag as far as representation goes.
I'm not sure why I ended up finishing this book, honestly. I did end up somewhat invested in some of the Hemper-Boyds (Jack and Magda, the least extreme of the family) and the rest were fascinating in that I-can't-look-away-from-this-car-wreck kind of way? The ending gets at some interesting social commentary, but it didn't feel worth the hours I spent reading the rest of the book.
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