This review does not contain spoilers for Number One Chinese Restaurant.
As someone who worked in a Chinese restaurant for seven years as a summer job, I was very excited to read this book, not only to see if my experience was reflected in this work, but also to see what inner workings were going on in this family-run restaurant.
It took me a few chapters to really get into the book, and once I was able to devote time to sitting down and reading it at length rather than in small increments, I was immersed into the story. We are immediately placed into the restaurant and already you can feel the tension in the room, especially between the waitstaff and some of the family members that have been there for decades.
The author slowly introduces us to some of the main family members, but as readers it is our responsibility to understand who the employees are and what they do at the restaurant. This was certainly made it easier with having the family tree inside the cover of the book to look back to when I was not sure who characters were referring to or if we were being introduced to someone new.
Jimmy and Pang are our two "black sheep" family members/acquaintances that prove to be trouble early on in the book. Their arrangement with the restaurant and involvement in not-so-legal activity quickly becomes more than just their problem -- it becomes a problem for the family and the employees of Beijing Duck House. As we progress throughout the book, we learn more about both of their pasts and what they have done that has led them into the situations they are in today. The more we uncover about the characters, the more "in the family" the reader feels, as they are slowly learning some family secrets.
Nan and her son, Pat, have a complicated relationship built on mild abandonment and resentment not for one another, but for the restaurant. We are exposed to a lot of their arguments and constant instigating each other as tensions rise after tragedy strikes Beijing Duck House. Nan does not approve of the choices that Pat makes, but she is shown to always be trying to do her best and make the situation better.
The dynamic between Nan, Michelle, and Jack is somewhat surprising yet comforting in a way. We are able to seem the relationships between Nan and Michelle, Nan and Jack, and Jack and Michelle evolve and learn more about them as the story progresses. While the author places more focus on Nan and Jack's relationship, she is able to incorporate all of their involvement in an organic way that does not feel overwhelming.
Towards the end of the book, it starts moving at a quicker pace and we see the fallout of the Beijing Duck House tragedy and the development and consequences of Li's characters and their actions. We see the repercussions of the characters' choices and actions, and a small time jump is able to bring closure to many of their struggles. Number One Chinese Restaurant ties in the complications of working with family and challenging loyalties.
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