Typical American — Gish Jen

Lai Fu has come to America to study to be an engineer and then return to China. But soon his name is RaIph Chang, and he has been joined by his ambitious sister Theresa. She in turn finds him a perfect wife in beautiful and docile Helen. Together they set out to make the American dream come true in every way: making money in fast food, buying a bargain house in the suburbs, making excursions into adultery. Theirs is the story of a family coming together and coming apart, and of miracles real and imagined. The American dream will never be the same again. This brilliant, deeply moving yet witty novel marks the stunning debut of an important new voice in contemporary American fiction.