Host of Memories

This collection of essays from Lighte, a sinologist and founding chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank of China, takes readers on a meandering journey through the last 50 years of his life. He was raised by a single mother in New York City, in a strong Jewish community. He went on to study China at Princeton, come to terms with being a gay man, and travel the world as a banker for J.P. Morgan Chase, becoming one of their first experts on China. He also met Julian, the man who would become his husband, and they adopted two daughters from China. Lighte’s essays take readers from Hong Kong to London and then to Princeton, showing a thoughtful and well-traveled life. Lighte’s essays will be only tangentially informative to readers who do not know him personally. While his life journey is interesting, it is difficult to follow because his stories are not chronological; he leaves out key details that might help readers make meaning of his vignettes, and he doesn’t really provide effective context. So while the moments themselves are lovely, finding the overall arc that ties them together (and thus encourages readers to care about Lighte and his family) is extremely difficult. Taken in small doses, readers will enjoy his voice, but they will ultimately not engage with the various characters of the book. [em](BookLife) [/em]