Quick Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of developing modern China, this mesmerizing literary debut is part coming-of-age tale, part family and social drama, as it follows two generations searching for belonging and opportunity in a rapidly changing world—perfect for readers of Behold the Dreamers, White Ivy, and The Leavers.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Shanghai, 2007: Fourteen-year-old Alva has always longed for more. Raised by her American expat mother, she’s never known her Chinese father, and is certain a better life awaits them in America. But when her mother announces her engagement to their wealthy Chinese landlord, Lu Fang, Alva’s hopes are dashed, and so she plots for the next best thing: the American School in Shanghai. Upon admission, though, Alva is surprised to discover an institution run by an exclusive community of expats and the ever-wilder thrills of a city where foreigners can ostensibly act as they please.

1985: In the seaside city of Qingdao, Lu Fang is a young, married man and a lowly clerk in a shipping yard. Though he once dreamed of a bright future, he is one of many casualties in his country’s harsh political reforms. So when China opens its doors to the first wave of foreigners in decades, Lu Fang’s world is split wide open after he meets an American woman who makes him confront difficult questions about his current status in life, and how much will ever be enough.

In a stunning reversal of the east-to-west immigrant narrative and set against China’s political history and economic rise, River East, River West is an intimate family drama and a sharp social novel. Alternating between Alva and Lu Fang’s points of view, this is a profoundly moving exploration of race and class, cultural identity and belonging, and the often-false promise of the American Dream.

Book Review

River East, River West is a debut novel that explores the concepts of nationality, identity, and yearning through a mixed race teenager and her Chinese step-father. The book uses these two characters to parallel a coming-of-age story and a story of reckoning. These narratives explore the tragedy of giving up so much of yourself to obtain your desires and realizing you never appreciated what you already had.

Aube Rey Lescure has written a gripping debut novel filled with metaphors. Despite the narrative following two rather unlikeable characters, I felt driven to know more and better understand where their yearning for the West originated. However, I think the story could have been more effective.

What I wanted from the narrative was to fully understand why the characters so yearned for the U.S. and what it represented to them. I found that I was never able to relate to Alva & Lu Fang because their motivations were opaque. I think if readers were given more insight into the character’s thoughts, the book would have been more successful. Regardless, I enjoyed River East, River West and will be thinking about it for some time.

However, River East, River West reminded me why I temporarily stopped reading literary fiction last year. Good literary fiction makes you feel deeply and reflects the world and people’s experiences. And sometimes, the future is bleak. The problem is that when I close the cover, it sticks with me. In this case, I am left in a bleak & somewhat hopeless funk.

Overall, I enjoyed River East, River West. The story will stick with me for some time. I recommend the book for literary fiction readers who do not mind unlikeable characters & are curious about the tension between East & West or expat life.

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