As soon as I heard the title for this book, I knew I had to read it. It just came out this fall, and it got lots of buzz. Well deserved buzz. Dysfunctional family of the day: the Wangs. Authored by Jade Chang and narrated by Nancy Wu, The Wangs vs. the World is a fantastic audiobook, and I recommend it to anyone who listens to books.
Charles Wang is Chinese immigrant who came to America and made millions of dollars. And then there was the financial crisis, and he lost it all. All. Gone. Houses? Gone. Cars? Gone. Everything. Is. Gone.
His solution? Family road trip. He takes his wife Barbra and picks up his teenaged daughter Grace from the expensive prep school he can no longer afford and then his son Andrew from Arizona State University. They head across the country to the home of his eldest daughter, Saina, in New York. His plan is to leave his younger kids with Saina and head to China to reclaim his ancestral family lands. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans . . .
These characters are so much fun! While they may start somewhat spoiled and entitled, spending time with each other knocks some of the edges off in the most interesting, entertaining ways. And narrator Nancy Wu brings each character to life with all their quirks, problems, attitudes, intelligence, and humor. I am having so much fun listening to this book, and I can't wait to see exactly where this road trip ends up.