From Publishers Weekly
Freudenberger fulfills the promise of her 2003 collection of short stories,
Lucky Girls, in her expansive first novel. Yuan Zhao, a Chinese performance artist entangled in the subversive community of the Beijing East Village (an artist enclave located in Beijing's "industrial dump"), moves to Los Angeles for an exhibition of his work and to teach studio art to gifted students at the St. Anselm's School for Girls. Upon arrival at the Traverses', his host family, Zhao finds himself in a domestic minefield: Cece Travers, the family matriarch, is having an affair with her brother-in-law, Phil. Meanwhile, her children fumble through adolescence, and her husband, psychiatrist Gordon, phones in his familial obligations. Freudenberger juxtaposes Zhao's early artist days in the East and his unrequited love for the woman he left behind with his solitary life in Los Angeles, where he grows obsessed with a Chinese art student. Under a blanket of cultural misunderstandings and xenophobia, Freudenberger tackles big questions about art: what makes an artist; how artists and writers borrow from each other; and how they appropriate details from the lives of their friends and families. Freudenberger sometimes missteps into humdrum Hollywood satire and uninspired relationship drama, but Zhao is distinctly fresh; it's when describing his journey that Freudenberger's novel takes flight.
(Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Freudenberger's first novel (after short story collection
Lucky Girls, 2003) is ambitious, crossing cultures and dealing with art and politics, love and betrayal, and--ultimately--deception. Title character Yuan Zhao, known in his native China for political activism and performance as well as graphic art, takes a residency to teach at a girls' high school while living with the Travers of Beverly Hills--psychiatrist Gordon and his wife, Cece, a volunteer at her daughter's school, and teenagers Olivia and Max. Yuan's first-person account, with background of his life and the Chinese artists' rebellion, is interspersed with narrative about the Travers family: Cece's longtime affair with Gordon's brother Phil, Olivia's possible eating disorder, Max's discontent and suicidal tendencies, Phil's womanizing and commitment problems, and Gordon's sister Joan viewing life as grist for her novels. Yuan's involvement with talented student June Wang signals trouble, but there are confusing indicators before a major revelation. Still, although the climax is less than satisfying, getting there is generally a pleasure, given Freudenberger's facile, insightful prose and strong characterizations. Major promotion is likely to generate demand.
Michele LeberCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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