Dear Lit Loves,
Hi! I am now trying to return to the normal events of my life such as my book club after spending the majority of 2023 losing my mother and helping to administer her estate.
The book club I attend selected Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. Mrs. Ng is quite a popular author. She attended college at Harvard and obtained her MFA from The University of Michigan. Her previous books included the award-winning Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You if my memory serves me correctly.
Interestingly, Mrs. Ng usually writes literary fiction and in this novel, Our Missing Hearts, she writes in the Dystopian genre which I personally do not read. Actually, this is the first book I have read in that genre as my preferred genre is non-celebrity memoir. Dystopian is writing about a fictional society that is under duress of some kind based on the definition I located via a dictionary in my home office. Interestingly, in this book it revolves around the United States having gone through an economic downturn due to the policies and economics of another country, in this case China. As a result, a senator brings forth a policy called PACT or Preserving American Cultures and Traditions.
PACT causes targeting of a specific ethnicity in the country. And if the authorities deem that you in any way are unpatriotic or protesting against PACT, individuals and families can have their children removed or "replaced" into other homes deemed more wholesomely patriotic. Obviously, this leads to protests, discrimination, separation of children from their parents, and a particular group of people in the United States being looked upon unfavorably. And some individuals lose their lives due to protesting PACT.
Essentially, you have a mom (Margaret) and her husband, (Ethan), who have a son named (Noah Gardner). Margaret is Chinese American and writes poetry. Because many people protesting the concept of PACT utilize her poetry containing the line "Our Missing Hearts", she becomes the target of authorities who ban her books in libraries. Because Margaret does not want to endanger her son, Noah, who she calls "Bird", she and Ethan decide it is best that she leave them so as not to create any danger to either of them, but particularly Noah (Bird).
Margaret leaves the family and Ethan takes Noah to a new home where they live in a dorm on a university campus where Ethan works in the library. Noah (Bird) is exposed to some of the demonstrations and protests against PACT, and he even has a friend in school named Sadie, who was taken from her biological parents and "replaced" in a home deemed more patriotic. And then Sadie disappears. Mostly, Noah's father tries to shield him from the protests, violence, and repercussions that are occurring due to PACT as well as the hatred directed at those of Chinese-American descent.
Meanwhile, librarians across the US are trying to help find missing children who have been "replaced" by leaving notes or helpful information in library books which are then recirculated to other libraries. When Margaret leaves the family, she goes to find one of her closest friends in New York named Duchess or "Domi". Margaret sets out on a quest to tell the stories of the missing, "replaced" children.
Meanwhile, Noah (Bird) receives what he believes is a letter from his mom and without telling his dad, ventures to an address in the letter hoping to be reunited with his mom. He finds his mom's friend, Domi, who then reunites him briefly with his mom, Margaret. And the stories of the "replaced" children gets heard by many in quite an unusual manner which then alters the lives of Ethan, Noah, Domi, and Ethan's lost friend, Sadie. (No giveaways about the ending).
From my research of reviews of this book, readers either loved it or weren't impressed by it. There were a handful of reviewers that felt the book was okay but missing the prolific characterization skills Celeste Ng used in her previous books. Now, I am not a fan of literary fiction. I am not impressed by frilly, sing-song descriptions, and I like books that teach me or expose me to a reality that I can learn from. Personally, I liked the book. I did not think it was too long nor did I think I could not get a feel for each character. And even with the lyrical prose I still finished the book. Here's what stood out to me about the book:
1) Discrimination. The proliferation of discrimination against people of a certain ethnicity because their birth country caused our country great distress. And what if a leader or leaders in our country tried to pass a law that would cause individuals to lose their children if they were deemed unpatriotic or if their writing, art, and career involved reporting on or showing both sides of how one policy adversely effects a specific group of people in our country? It is scary to think about and I kept wondering throughout the book, who decides which folks are espousing unpatriotic sentiments so profusely that it warrants removing their children from them?? And what about if the PACT policy causes a group of people to be targeted as "less than" and then they are subsequently mistreated?
2) Parents. This book demonstrated how far a parent is willing to go to protect their child or children. Margaret decided to leave her family because her poetry was being used in ANTI-PACT demonstrations. She just walked away on her own. Other parents who were maybe covering PACT via the news expressing both the pros and cons of PACT would suddenly have their children removed from their home with no idea where their children are going. The biological parents just know the child or children are being "replaced" to another home deemed more worthy because that family fully supports PACT and does not espouse unpatriotic or ideas against PACT. Our country already has a long history of families being broken apart by slavery, boarding schools for Indigenous children, and foster care. What happens to parents and children when their biological family is disassembled? Will they ever recover from such an action?
3) Power of One Person To Make A Difference. The mother in this story, Margaret, decides to tell the stories of children who have been taken from their parents due to PACT. She no longer has her family and many protesters of PACT have lost their lives demonstrating against it. Many of those who express discontent against PACT use her poetry in their protests. Who will tell the country and world about that individual who lost his/her life for speaking out against PACT? Or who will even tell the story of a child or children who have been removed from their biological family and "replaced" with another family? Margaret uses research, voice, and craftiness to honor those lost or "replaced" due to PACT by telling their stories.
Though I am most likely not going to suddenly become a fan of the Dystopian genre, this book made me think and consider the "what ifs" of laws implemented in our country due to policymakers and our government. And it really makes me want to examine and know more about our government representatives before I vote to put them in office.
I would most definitely recommend this book particularly in this election year.
Best,
Grace (Amy)
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