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ABACUS
From war-torn Wuhan to postwar Taiwan and the promise of America, ABACUS is a sweeping historical family saga about survival, ambition, sacrifice, and the debts love leaves behind.
At fourteen, Huang Jīnchéng learns that numbers can save a life. Cigarettes become currency. Ledgers become maps. Every choice carries a cost.
Forced from home by war, Jīnchéng journeys across a fractured China with little more than his mother's instructions, his father's quiet pride, and the belief that order can still be found in a world coming apart. In Taiwan, he builds a life with Měilán, rising through discipline, intelligence, and relentless calculation.
But success brings its own burdens. Family expectations harden into obligation. Political division reshapes old loyalties. Migration opens the door to America but carries the family's wounds across the ocean. And what Jīnchéng earns can never fully repay what was lost.
Across decades and continents, ABACUS follows one family through war, exile, marriage, parenthood, betrayal, and the search for home.
Rich with cultural memory, intimate detail, and the ache of Asian American immigration, Hudson Wei's ABACUS is a novel about what families inherit, what they owe, and whether any life can ever truly be balanced.
At fourteen, Huang Jīnchéng learns that numbers can save a life. Cigarettes become currency. Ledgers become maps. Every choice carries a cost.
Forced from home by war, Jīnchéng journeys across a fractured China with little more than his mother's instructions, his father's quiet pride, and the belief that order can still be found in a world coming apart. In Taiwan, he builds a life with Měilán, rising through discipline, intelligence, and relentless calculation.
But success brings its own burdens. Family expectations harden into obligation. Political division reshapes old loyalties. Migration opens the door to America but carries the family's wounds across the ocean. And what Jīnchéng earns can never fully repay what was lost.
Across decades and continents, ABACUS follows one family through war, exile, marriage, parenthood, betrayal, and the search for home.
Rich with cultural memory, intimate detail, and the ache of Asian American immigration, Hudson Wei's ABACUS is a novel about what families inherit, what they owe, and whether any life can ever truly be balanced.
388 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2026
About the author
Hudson Wei
1 book1 followerHudson Wei is a Taiwanese American novelist, actor, musician, and Certified Fraud Examiner. Raised in Taipei and the United States, his fiction explores family, migration, identity, memory, and the forces that shape lives across generations. He writes under the pen name Hudson Wei; his legal name is Lee Way Lan.
His debut novel, *ABACUS*, is a multigenerational family saga spanning wartime China, postwar Taiwan, and the United States. Inspired in part by the life of the grandfather who raised him, the novel explores sacrifice, political upheaval, immigration, and the complicated inheritance passed from one generation to the next.
His background spans film and television, music, and a professional career in fraud and financial risk. He lives in Southern California with his family.
His debut novel, *ABACUS*, is a multigenerational family saga spanning wartime China, postwar Taiwan, and the United States. Inspired in part by the life of the grandfather who raised him, the novel explores sacrifice, political upheaval, immigration, and the complicated inheritance passed from one generation to the next.
His background spans film and television, music, and a professional career in fraud and financial risk. He lives in Southern California with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 2, 2026
Abacus gripped me from the very beginning. There was a sense almost immediately that something was coming, and the anticipation was handled really well. What begins with a fourteen-year-old Jingcheng being sent away from his family during wartime eventually develops into a much larger, multigenerational family saga.
I became very attached to young Jingcheng. His journey is harsh, lonely and at times heartbreaking, particularly the friendship he forms with a young Japanese deserter. But as Jingcheng grows older, my feelings towards him became much more complicated. This is probably one of the things I enjoyed most about the book: the characters aren't always easy to like. In fact, I think I disliked more characters than I actually liked, yet somehow I remained completely invested in what happened to them.
The generational aspect was particularly interesting to me. Jingcheng comes from very little, survives extraordinary circumstances and works hard to build a life and security for his family. Then come his children—what I jokingly started calling “second-generation-stupid.” His sons frustrated me enormously. They benefit from everything their father struggled to create, yet become entitled and make some terrible choices. At the same time, Jingcheng isn't blameless. He continually gives in to them, and eventually it is the grandchildren who suffer some of the consequences.
Weicheng was probably my favourite character. That boy went through so much, and I found myself incredibly protective of him. Lilian, on the other hand, made me furious. Yet even there, the story doesn't allow things to remain completely black and white. Learning about her own past added another layer to her character. It helped me understand her without excusing what she did, and I appreciated that distinction.
I also noticed a tiny continuity detail involving a count of 37 cigarettes that remained 37 after one appeared to have been smoked. It's a very small thing, but once I noticed it, I couldn't unnotice it!
Ultimately, though, Abacus kept me reading because I genuinely wanted to know what became of this family. I went from feeling fiercely protective of Jingcheng to wanting to shake him for some of his decisions, and then sympathising with him again. I was angry with characters, heartbroken for others, and occasionally amazed by the choices some of them made.
The ending left me satisfied, and by the time I finished I felt as though I had watched the consequences of one generation's choices ripple through the next. It's an emotional family saga filled with flawed people—and apparently I can be thoroughly annoyed with almost an entire family and still be completely engrossed in their story.
After finishing, I discovered that the novel was inspired by true events. That stayed with me because I had become so emotionally invested in these characters—especially Weicheng—that I found myself hoping some of the more painful parts of his story were purely fictional.
I became very attached to young Jingcheng. His journey is harsh, lonely and at times heartbreaking, particularly the friendship he forms with a young Japanese deserter. But as Jingcheng grows older, my feelings towards him became much more complicated. This is probably one of the things I enjoyed most about the book: the characters aren't always easy to like. In fact, I think I disliked more characters than I actually liked, yet somehow I remained completely invested in what happened to them.
The generational aspect was particularly interesting to me. Jingcheng comes from very little, survives extraordinary circumstances and works hard to build a life and security for his family. Then come his children—what I jokingly started calling “second-generation-stupid.” His sons frustrated me enormously. They benefit from everything their father struggled to create, yet become entitled and make some terrible choices. At the same time, Jingcheng isn't blameless. He continually gives in to them, and eventually it is the grandchildren who suffer some of the consequences.
Weicheng was probably my favourite character. That boy went through so much, and I found myself incredibly protective of him. Lilian, on the other hand, made me furious. Yet even there, the story doesn't allow things to remain completely black and white. Learning about her own past added another layer to her character. It helped me understand her without excusing what she did, and I appreciated that distinction.
I also noticed a tiny continuity detail involving a count of 37 cigarettes that remained 37 after one appeared to have been smoked. It's a very small thing, but once I noticed it, I couldn't unnotice it!
Ultimately, though, Abacus kept me reading because I genuinely wanted to know what became of this family. I went from feeling fiercely protective of Jingcheng to wanting to shake him for some of his decisions, and then sympathising with him again. I was angry with characters, heartbroken for others, and occasionally amazed by the choices some of them made.
The ending left me satisfied, and by the time I finished I felt as though I had watched the consequences of one generation's choices ripple through the next. It's an emotional family saga filled with flawed people—and apparently I can be thoroughly annoyed with almost an entire family and still be completely engrossed in their story.
After finishing, I discovered that the novel was inspired by true events. That stayed with me because I had become so emotionally invested in these characters—especially Weicheng—that I found myself hoping some of the more painful parts of his story were purely fictional.
October 2, 2026
This one honestly felt like reading somebody’s entire family history while slowly realizing how every little decision keeps showing up again in the next generation. It starts with Jīnchéng as a fourteen-year-old trying to survive wartime China, and I got attached to him way faster than I expected. The part with Takashi especially got me. Two boys who are technically supposed to be enemies basically become friends because they’re both just trying to survive, and what happens to Takashi was heartbreaking.
From there the book just keeps moving through China, Taiwan, New York, and California, and suddenly you’re watching Jīnchéng become a husband, father, grandfather, and eventually this complicated old man whose choices affected everybody after him. I also liked that nobody in this family is completely easy to love or hate. They hurt each other, protect each other, make terrible decisions, forgive things they probably shouldn’t, and sometimes repeat the exact behavior they hated growing up. There were definitely moments where I wanted to reach into the book and yell at these people 😂.
The second half was probably even stronger for me because Wēichéng’s story made the whole generational theme really hit. Some of his childhood scenes were genuinely hard to read, especially because you can see how much of what happens to him comes from adults carrying around their own damage and then passing it down without realizing what they’re doing.
I liked that the book doesn’t magically make everybody apologize and become one big happy family either. Wēichéng eventually has to decide what he wants to carry forward and what ends with him, and that made the ending with Albert hit so much harder. When he becomes a father himself, he finally understands some of what Jīnchéng meant about how scary loving your child can be, while still recognizing that understanding someone doesn’t make everything they did okay.
Then he promises his own son that he’ll be safe, and I was like okayyyy, there’s the title of Part V actually paying off 😭. I’d give this 4.5 stars. It’s a long family saga and there were stretches where I felt the length, but I really liked how all these tiny things from earlier, the abacus, the red toy car, food, photographs, money, even certain phrases, keep coming back with completely different meanings later. It felt messy in the way actual families are messy, and I was still thinking about these people after I finished.
From there the book just keeps moving through China, Taiwan, New York, and California, and suddenly you’re watching Jīnchéng become a husband, father, grandfather, and eventually this complicated old man whose choices affected everybody after him. I also liked that nobody in this family is completely easy to love or hate. They hurt each other, protect each other, make terrible decisions, forgive things they probably shouldn’t, and sometimes repeat the exact behavior they hated growing up. There were definitely moments where I wanted to reach into the book and yell at these people 😂.
The second half was probably even stronger for me because Wēichéng’s story made the whole generational theme really hit. Some of his childhood scenes were genuinely hard to read, especially because you can see how much of what happens to him comes from adults carrying around their own damage and then passing it down without realizing what they’re doing.
I liked that the book doesn’t magically make everybody apologize and become one big happy family either. Wēichéng eventually has to decide what he wants to carry forward and what ends with him, and that made the ending with Albert hit so much harder. When he becomes a father himself, he finally understands some of what Jīnchéng meant about how scary loving your child can be, while still recognizing that understanding someone doesn’t make everything they did okay.
Then he promises his own son that he’ll be safe, and I was like okayyyy, there’s the title of Part V actually paying off 😭. I’d give this 4.5 stars. It’s a long family saga and there were stretches where I felt the length, but I really liked how all these tiny things from earlier, the abacus, the red toy car, food, photographs, money, even certain phrases, keep coming back with completely different meanings later. It felt messy in the way actual families are messy, and I was still thinking about these people after I finished.
October 26, 2026
ABACUS by Hudson Wei
This multi-generational family saga had me hooked from early on. Huang Jīnchéng grows up in war-torn Wuhan and is sent away at just fourteen. From there, we follow his life and that of his family through wartime China, postwar Taiwan, and eventually to the next generation's lives in America.
The characters feel real and relatable, and the novel has a wonderful lived-in quality. As Jīnchéng marries Měilán and their family grows, we see the expectations and pressures of family life, the allure of ambition, and the weight of inherited beliefs. Most strikingly, the convictions of their eldest son have a lasting impact on the entire family. His deeply ingrained expectations seem almost impossible to change. One cannot help wondering whether things might have turned out differently if all the children had been valued and raised in the same way.
Like an abacus, where every gain seems to come at a cost, the novel explores the sacrifices we make in pursuit of success and the difficulty of finding balance. It delves into the emotional wounds of childhood, family obligations, the meaning of duty, and the complicated morality surrounding money and success. It also raises important questions about the expectations parents place on their children and grandchildren, and how these beliefs and attitudes are passed down through generations.
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are complex and well developed, and their struggles feel authentic. It is a compelling family saga that stayed with me, making me reflect on the price we pay for ambition, the burdens we inherit, and the challenge of finding our own way in life.
A great read!
This multi-generational family saga had me hooked from early on. Huang Jīnchéng grows up in war-torn Wuhan and is sent away at just fourteen. From there, we follow his life and that of his family through wartime China, postwar Taiwan, and eventually to the next generation's lives in America.
The characters feel real and relatable, and the novel has a wonderful lived-in quality. As Jīnchéng marries Měilán and their family grows, we see the expectations and pressures of family life, the allure of ambition, and the weight of inherited beliefs. Most strikingly, the convictions of their eldest son have a lasting impact on the entire family. His deeply ingrained expectations seem almost impossible to change. One cannot help wondering whether things might have turned out differently if all the children had been valued and raised in the same way.
Like an abacus, where every gain seems to come at a cost, the novel explores the sacrifices we make in pursuit of success and the difficulty of finding balance. It delves into the emotional wounds of childhood, family obligations, the meaning of duty, and the complicated morality surrounding money and success. It also raises important questions about the expectations parents place on their children and grandchildren, and how these beliefs and attitudes are passed down through generations.
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are complex and well developed, and their struggles feel authentic. It is a compelling family saga that stayed with me, making me reflect on the price we pay for ambition, the burdens we inherit, and the challenge of finding our own way in life.
A great read!
September 1, 2026
I finished Abacus in about an afternoon, and I will say that it's a terrific story with solid characters that keep you intrigued until the very end. It's the story of Jingcheng Huang, who starts off as a boy traveling away from his family to find safety during the war (in the 1940's). We follow Jingcheng and his journey, as well as the journeys of his family (specifically his sons). The novel is evocative and emotional, with a close look into the relationships between the family members. A small couple of critiques: 1) while the book does show respect to it's female members, and paints most of them in a (deservedly) good light, I wish I could have seen more insight into their lives, or had some chapters following the daughters of the families as well. 2) There are quite a few characters, which might be confusing, but Wei does their best to present just as much as we need to know. Small points aside, this feels like a deeply personal story with a variety of characters with their own motivations, wants, and needs. I also appreciate the colorful descriptions that made me feel as if I was in Taipei myself. I can't recommend this one enough.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews