Accomplice to Memory

Zhang’s peculiar memoir of recording her father’s memories is both illuminating and muddled. The story begins with her embellished version of the story that Zhang’s father would often tell about leaving China on a train. The story continues to evolve after Zhang’s father suffers a fall that causes a traumatic brain injury. He’s not as sharp but is still undeniably himself. Zhang’s relationship with her father emerges as complicated and dynamic, shaped by his temper and Zhang’s stubbornness and curiosity. The book is filled with history regarding the revolution and war, intended to relate to her father but often overshadowing his story. The book moves back and forth between the present and the past, both as Zhang’s father recalls it and as Zhang imagines it. The choice to tell the story this way proves ineffective, leaving the reader to wonder how much truth is really here. Only towards the end, when Zhang discovers secrets about her father’s life in China, does his story become compelling in its own right. Many readers will wish she’d spent less time imagining his life and more time exploring the truth about it. (Feb.)