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Books similar to ‘Our Missing Hearts’
Novels like Celeste Ng’s book of families navigating America’s racial politics.
Published on August 6, 2023
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy: A Novel
Jamie Ford“Our Missing Hearts” is, at its core, a story of mother and son as they try to navigate the thorny issue of being Asian in a blended yet hostile America. “The Many Daughters of Afong Moy” soars back and forth and in-between the 1830s and the 2040s, exploring intergenerational connections — the good, the bad, the traumatic, and the ecstatic. This stirring novel explores the uncanny links in the lives of a nurse in WWII, a dating app developer in the present day, a poet laureate in the future, and more — all descendants of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America.
The School for Good Mothers: A Novel
Jessamine ChanA scathing commentary on the assumptions and stereotypes about mothers and the government powers that separate families, Chan’s dystopian drama is a page-turner. Frida Liu’s recent divorce may be the last straw, but at least she has her 18-month-old daughter — until she doesn’t. When the single mom leaves her child home alone for two hours, she’s sent to a rehabilitation facility where she must be a surrogate mother to other children in order to earn back her own.
Leave the World Behind: A Novel
Rumaan AlamA simple premise belies the provocative racial themes that unfold in this slow burn thriller. A white Brooklyn family rents a luxurious house in the Hamptons for a week-long getaway, but they’re barely settled in when there’s a late-night knock at the door. It’s an older Black couple claiming to be the owners who rented the house out, but they’re back due to a severe power outage in the city. With no internet or cell phone access in this remote area, it’s difficult to verify what’s really going on. The tension keeps ratcheting up until the pulse-pounding end.