Our Missing Hearts: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

I give very, very few books five stars, but this one deserves it. I listened to the audiobook and read portions of this book through a local library. Wowza. This book was prescient, prophetic (in the actual sense of the word—not the popular cultural understating of it), and powerful. The storytelling is compelling and imaginative, and the writing is so beautiful. It is filled with references to other stories, and I really loved the way this book spoke to the power of storytelling. This book was a real gift for the word nerd in me, and I identified so closely with Nathan in his love of etymology. I would say it is a cautionary tale, but even if this is set in a dystopian near future, so much of what happens in Our Missing Hearts is current—seems to have been pulled from the headlines. Was it a little heavy handed at times in showing us a world so prevalent with Asian hate? Perhaps. Was the book absolutely spot on in its critique? Absolutely. And is the book is so important of read. It seems important to note that I checked out the both the library book and audiobook from my library—important because of the role libraries played in the book. This is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to. Lucy Liu is masterful in her interpretation and (with the exception of apparently not knowing a song that appeared in one scene) doesn’t waste a word, doesn’t waste a moment. I highly recommend the audiobook!! This is a wonderful book—one that will stay with me.

My first take was that this novel was another one about a pandemic and the aftermath. Yet it is so much more. Underlying all of it is a mother’s love and the development of the main character Margaret and her son Bird. The political events at first seemed far fetched but the author did draw upon reality. She describes a very authoritarian state in the US making me picture the period of WWII and the Nazis. I loved her references to ancient fables throughout to tell her story. Her son Bird narrates and we see much through an innocent child’s mind. And playing well was the character of Sadie who shares similar experiences as Bird. Domi, the mother’s friend, and Margrets husband Ethan are used to relate the story but their real characters are a bit shallow. Recommend to readers who envision a future world that might be if we don’t engage with the direction of cultural freedom.

We should all pay attention to what she is saying. This is a great read that leaves one thinking and introspective

Ng's Our Missing Hearts has a compelling story to tell about a dystopian US future where children can be confiscated from left-leaning parents. The world it pictures is all too plausible given the current US environment. However, I found the writing was not as skillful as expected. Ng falls back on tell, tell, tell too often in retrospective explanations of the Crisis that precipitates the PACT, Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act. PACT is xenophobic legislation targeting dissent and Asian Americans that allows removal of children from their parents as a tool to enforce compliance with the government's world view. Many parts of the novel dragged as the author lectured readers about the evils of PACT and the government. The story line is also very sparse—not much happens. The reveals and twists are not terrible engaging. I found New Yorkers' reaction to a certain political action to be totally unbelievable, but it fit the optimistic need of the narrative. Otherwise, it would have been depressing and turgid. High marks for political correctness, low marks for writing style and story arc.

This book should be required reading in our schools. Our current times demand that we reflect on how we treat one another, how we should respect one another and how we should accept one another without prejudice and/or prejudgment.

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old. Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change. Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact. My Thoughts: There is something hollow and fearful about Our Missing Hearts as we begin the story of what life was like during the times after the “Crisis.” A time after a stringent law is passed (PACT) that focuses on people supposedly “Anti-American,” but who are mostly Asian. People whose ideas don’t jive with those who are more “in line” with American culture. Primarily we learn more about a family with a child named Bird, a mother who writes poetry but who incidentally is Asian, and a father who works in a library. What happens to this family hurts my heart, and I am feeling the angst of what can happen to families and people because of a law. An unjust law, in my opinion. Fearful of what might lie ahead for any of us kept me reading about these characters and how their lives were torn apart. And how dismantled shelves were the reminders of the books that some considered anti-American. My heart went out to what had become of these characters and what might become of any of us. 4.5 stars. ***

I've read many books over the past year and although I would not have chosen to read this one (it was for the book club I'm in) I am glad I read it. I wish I could give it 4.75 stars, but went with 5. Why? Personally I don't enjoy dystopian reads and concerning endings and that is the sole cause of the less than 5 stars. However, there is no doubt that the writing of Ms. Ng is stellar. She created this story and it grabs you immediately. Your are sucked into exploring the time and place. You are sucked into trying to fathom the thought processes and behaviors of the people around Bird and Ethan. The story is obviously fiction, bordering on futuristic fiction and yet; and yet, you can see how a situation as described in this book could easily become a full reality if we are not careful. Indeed, historically there were some of these situations; even today there are places families live with this over their heads. I recommend this book, but don't read expecting a sweet ending.

I have always enjoyed Celeste Ng's writing so didn't hesitate to get Our Missing Hearts when offered as an ebook on Bookbub. I was not disappointed although this novel has a deeper edge to the drama that was unsettling at times ... to close to the truth of the world and United States we live in with our current politics. The world Ng describes could so easily be ours within a small number of years if we, as Americans of all races, do not work together to turn the tide of authoritarianism. This novel is well written with a cast of characters that ring true to people's hearts today.

A very scary scenario, which happened in the past in the USA towards the Japanese, and which could happen again, because of big bad China. The judgemental and autocratic actions of governments is nothing to laugh off.

The story that shall stay with me. The book i shall recommend to all who think America is great. The imagination which may be too close to reality.

Beautiful, heartbreaking, incredible. Highly recommend.

Cautivadora

I love dystopia because it explores political and social anguish. None of the problems in this novel are far fetched. You can imagine our society descending into racism and the restriction of our right to speak out. This novel is important because it tells us that individual protest is powerful. It tells us not to turn a blind eye but to speak out against oppression. It’s a sad story with moments of hope. Ng’s writing is poetic and intensely descriptive. Sometimes the description made me lose the threads of the story but I persevered because I wanted Bird to find his mother and reunite with his friend and his father. The relationship between Bird and his mother was lovely and complex. I felt terrified by the anonymous security who took children away and posed a constant, watchful threat. This novel has its roots in 1984, and A Handmaid’s Tale and Ng has used real events as inspiration for her plot. This novel is definitely one to read.