Book Review: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

                                                         

“‎The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”  

― Kurt Vonnegut

I added this quote above by one of my longtime favorite authors, because it seemed appropriate for this review of a book by an emerging favorite author of mine. There is a good reason for this, however. As I was reading this book, it strongly reminded me of this quote, and the article in which Vonnegut wrote about American librarians being perhaps the last bastion of the America which he still loved. Because you get the sneaking suspicion that Celeste Ng feels very much the same way while reading this book. And you know what? There may even be some serious truth to this.

Yes, I enjoyed the prior Celeste Ng novel so much, that I made a point of borrowing another of her novels from my local library as soon as possible.

This time, unfortunately, it took me a bit longer - no reflection on how good the book was - and wound up returning the book late.

Yet, it was good. Really, really good.

This is very different than the previous book from her which I read, "Little Fires Everywhere." This one almost has a science fiction feel to it, taking place as it does in some alternative future. Yet, this future is neither very far off, nor even very difficult to imagine. Indeed, it is a near future here in the United States largely defined by PACT (which stands for Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act), an act by Congress and signed into law by the president, which effectively helps make the country much less democratic, and largely "free" in name only. For all intents and purposes, PACT has turned the United States into a de facto dictatorship.

Indeed, the target in this book specifically are Asian Americans, or particularly, those from Far Eastern origins. This is particularly true of the Chinese, but pretty much all citizens and arts and literature from Far Eastern nations that bear any resemblance to China, including Japan and Korea (and presumably Vietnam and other nations) find themselves largely forbidden by law. Library books which show any kind of sympathy to these cultures or countries are pulled from bookshelves. Yet, it gets far worse. Children are removed from their parents on some vague pretense of showing anything resembling "unpatriotic" sentiments. Remember, this is not something which this author merely made up, or which has not happened. Indeed, she reminds us in the notes that those who had Japanese backgrounds were held in detention camps during World War II, and children have been taken from their parents at several points in American history,. This would include Native American children, with the presumption of the "noble" mission of civilizing them. It would also include the much more recent trend where children of illegal immigrants were taken from their parents during the so-called "zero tolerance" policies of the Trump years. 

In this still fictional (for now) version of the United States, it has become unlawful to even criticize PACT. Those who express anything deemed "unpatriotic" basically lose their rights, including the right to continue raising their own children. Even though I do not believe that the author specifically mentioned the actual Patriot Act, it was difficult not to think about that. Remember how that gave the authorities previously unprecedented powers of surveillance, including the ability to see what books an individual took out from the library? And the proposed Patriot Act II would have gone even farther, with a clause that would have given the government permission to revoke citizenship if somebody was deemed overly critical of the government. So while the specifics of this book are largely fiction (again, for now), we have already flirted with this kind of thing becoming our new reality. 

Ultimately, this is a beautifully written book. It is engaging and captivating, with characters who feel real, making decisions and facing challenging circumstances which help add to the realistic feel of this story. After reading "Little Fires Everywhere," I really wanted to pick up another book by Celeste Ng, and I was not disappointed. My guess is that you won't be, either.

Highly recommended!