Family Trust

A Novel

By: Kathy Wang

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski

Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Some of us are more equal than others....

Meet Stanley Huang: father, husband, ex-husband, man of unpredictable tastes and temper, aficionado of all-inclusive vacations and bargain luxury goods, newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For years, Stanley has claimed that he’s worth a small fortune. But the time is now coming when the details of his estate will finally be revealed, and Stanley’s family is nervous.

For his son Fred, the inheritance Stanley has long alluded to would soothe the pain caused by years of professional disappointment. By now, the Harvard Business School graduate had expected to be a financial tech god - not a minor investor at a middling corporate firm, where he isn’t even allowed to fly business class.

Stanley’s daughter, Kate, is a middle manager with one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious tech companies. She manages the capricious demands of her world-famous boss and the needs of her two young children all while supporting her would-be entrepreneur husband (just until his startup gets off the ground, which will surely be soon). But lately, Kate has been sensing something amiss; just because you say you have it all, it doesn’t mean that you actually do.

Stanley’s second wife, Mary Zhu, 28 years his junior, has devoted herself to making her husband comfortable in every way - rubbing his feet, cooking his favorite dishes, massaging his ego. But lately, her commitment has waned; caring for a dying old man is far more difficult than she expected.

Linda Liang, Stanley’s first wife, knows her ex better than anyone. She worked hard for decades to ensure their financial security, and is determined to see her children get their due. Single for nearly a decade, she might finally be ready for some romantic companionship. But where does a 72-year-old Chinese woman in California go to find an appropriate boyfriend?

As Stanley’s death approaches, the Huangs are faced with unexpected challenges that upend them and eventually lead them to discover what they most value. A compelling tale of cultural expectations, career ambitions and our relationships with the people who know us best, Family Trust skewers the ambition and desires that drive Silicon Valley and draws a sharply loving portrait of modern American family life.

This audiobook includes an episode of the Book Club Girl Podcast, featuring an interview with Kathy Wang about Family Trust.

©2018 Kathy Wang (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Crazy Asians, Not So Rich

This book is recommended for fans of Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich trilogy but if you are expecting a rip-roaring social comedy, this isn't it. It's more an immigration tale and while frequently funny, it only had me rolling on the floor a few times. Everyone in this novel is dissatisfied for one reason or another. The Father wants to leave a legacy, something bigger than himself. The mother wants to have nothing to do with her ex-husband, he has a new wife, let her take care of him. The brother feels he hasn't reached the excellent earnings capacity he should have as a graduate of the Harvard Business School. The sister wonders how she will keep all the spinning plates that make up her life in the air while she waits for her husband to launch his startup. This is the dissatisfaction of the upper-middle class where things that aren't life-or-death feel like they are. The story works and the characters are intriguing as we move through the Taiwanese-American community of Northern California.
Joy Osmanski did a good job as reader with her clearly delineated character voices and reading pace.

Such unlikeable characters...

The story was interesting enough, but many of the characters were vile human beings who really didn’t seem to grow.

Decent story but with many unlikeable characters

I had a hard time getting into this story. A few parts were very entertaining. However I disliked most of the characters. I usually like Joy Osmanaki however she did a poor job of an Eastern European accent. I originally thought the character was also Chinese like most of the other characters. I almost stopped listening becasue it was hard to hear. Other than that, the narration was good

Interesting story, Not so good Orator

Interesting story line overall, but also interesting how it really accentuates how racist some Asians are against Caucasians; particularly exemplary of the hate immigrants have against native Americans.
The orator really does atrocious accents. The British and Bulgarian were just HORRIBLE.
Again, overall interesting story line but 2 disappointing details.

Poor Performance

I can’t understand why an author with a decent story line and novel can allow a performance such as the one for this book. At times it was just fine, but when going into character it was horrible. I felt like the “characters” were sucking on helium and that Donald Duck had joined the party. It was so distracting

So much fun

Loved reading about this quirky modern day family. Light reading, nothing too heavy, and a lot of fun.

Great family in crisis fiction

I love this novel about a family in crisis, set in my favorite part of California, the SF Bay area. #Multigenerational #Clever #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Asian Family Drama

Loved this family's story of finding their way through life. Life isn't a story. It's full of beginnings, endings, do
overs, catastrophes, worry, and contentment.
The reader's performance brought a lot to this book.

A nice weekend listen

I bought this book on Friday, finished it on Sunday Morning. It was a wonderful novel about family and it’s sometimes ugly underbelly. There is very thought provoking dialogue sprinkled throughout this novel.

Money, money, money, money...

Life is NOT a cabaret in this book. There is no one to like and nothing useful to learn. The writing is skillful but cynical and angry. One sincerely hopes this is not a roman a clef.