![]() ![]() Khong also displays an exceptional talent for evoking a lifetime of ups and downs between two people in meaningful ways. Her moral radar is excellent, and instead of drawing humor from her characters’ pain, she mines it from the richness of their relationships. Though the book is remarkably funny, Khong’s always willing to head into the storm. This leads to some wonderful hijinks and high-stress moments, all of which Khong perfectly writes.Īll of this-the deception, the sickness, the loss-can get heavy. The added wrinkle is that he isn’t allowed on campus for any reason, as the head of the department has banned him. The students know that the class is not for credit, but Ruth’s father does not. They lie and tell him that the department has asked him to lead the course, and he agrees. Ruth struggles to find her place at home until her father’s former teaching assistant contacts her, suggesting they round up some students so that her father can teach a class on California’s history. At Christmas, their family is down one child Ruth’s brother won’t come home, because he hasn’t forgiven their father for years of pain caused by infidelity and drinking. Ruth, less a fiancé, leaves her job and moves back home to help take care of her father, who is experiencing dementia and has lost his job as a professor at a university. Rachel Khong’s debut novel, Goodbye, Vitamin, is a story about subtraction. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |