Family Trust

A Taiwanese-American family faces the realities and indignities of living in Silicon Valley in Wang’s astute debut. Stanley Huang is dying of pancreatic cancer and his reassurances to his family about his millions in savings are falling on increasingly suspicious ears. His first wife, Linda, received nearly nothing in her divorce and is determined that her children have more financial support than she received. As Stanley’s health deteriorates, his far younger second wife, Mary Zhu, becomes frustrated with caring for him. Meanwhile, Stanley and Linda’s son, Fred, toils as a middle manager in an investment firm and waits for a promotion that will surely make his career. Their daughter, Kate, suffers under a high-maintenance boss at a multinational tech company and has two young kids and a husband who works at a start-up that hasn’t started up. Everyone in the family agrees: the money Stanley has vaguely promised them would be a huge relief. But as they attempt to secure their inheritances, questions emerge: How much of Stanley’s respect have their loyalties and successes won? Who is acting in Stanley’s best interest? And what will life look like after Stanley dies? The author brings levity and candor to the tricky terrain of family dynamics, aging, and excess. Wang’s debut expertly considers the values of high-tech high society. (Oct.)