What is the Chinese groove? Eighteen-year-old Shelley Zheng is hoping this ability to understand one another through a shared cultural value of quietly saving face is what will help him adjust to living in America. Shelley’s immigrant experience isn’t what he imagined. His father and Cousin Deng promise him he’d be living with his rich uncle who owns the most beautiful department store in all of San Francisco. Shelley is sure his usefulness and reverence for his elders will allow him room and board indefinitely in his uncle’s home, despite only being promised two weeks.
Kathryn Ma portrays San Francisco in all of its 2015 glory. Shelley meets the diverse chosen family of his uncle Ted and Jewish wife Aviva and their close friends, a lesbian couple and young son. He embeds himself in this family and his great uncle’s life as a caregiver. Ma illuminates the struggle of immigrants working under-the-table restaurant jobs, renting beds by the hour for rest or sleeping in their cars while trying to take classes during the day. She shows us the cookie cutter “salthouses” of the foggy Sunset and the mysterious arson burning out families in the Mission. Ma brings to light the corruption of an SF city supervisor and anti-Asian violence.
This is a novel about processing grief. Shelley is still mourning the loss of his mother and the version of his father who used to tell stories. His aunt and uncle are mourning the loss of their child and mother/mother-in-law to gun violence. The tense relationship, perhaps as a result of the Chinese groove silence, between father and son is depicted between both Shelley and his father and his uncle Ted and his father Henry.
Shelley’s experience moves from an expected sense of belonging, to not belonging to complete belonging, feelings relatable to being a newcomer. Throughout the novel, I found myself annoyed with Shelley’s American family. I wanted him to be taken care of and supported through his struggles especially when he finds himself homeless, and yet Shelley’s grace, persistence and work ethic win over those around him as he realizes the Peach Blossom Land he imagined is a far cry from that dream.
Does the Chinese Groove work for Shelley? The ending is pleasantly unexpected and I was surprisingly satisfied with the fate of these quirky and endearing characters. Shelley is an unexpected and unassuming protagonist and I found myself entertained and charmed by him. Pick up this truly San Francisco novel and cheer for Shelley!
