Paper Names

by Susie Luo

An unexpected act of violence brings together a Chinese-American family and a wealthy white lawyer in this propulsive and sweeping story of family, identity and the American experience—for fans of Jean Kwok, Mary Beth Keane and Naima Coster.

Set in New York and China over three decades, Paper Names explores what it means to be American from three different perspectives. There’s Tony, a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, who immigrated to the United States to give his family a better life. His daughter, Tammy, who we meet at age nine and follow through adulthood, grapples with the expectations of a first generation American and her own personal desires. Finally, there’s Oliver, a handsome white lawyer with a dark family secret and who lives in the building where Tony works. A violent attack causes their lives to intertwine in ways that will change them forever.

Taut, panoramic and powerful, debut novelist Susie Luo's Paper Names is an unforgettable story about the long shadows of our parents, the ripple effect of our decisions and the ways in which our love transcends difference.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Adult, Historical

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2023

About the author

Susie Luo is a writer based in New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell Law School. She wrote at night while working as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Paper Names is her first book.

Reviews

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about the immigrant experience and what it means to be an American. This is a very sad novel in a lot of ways, but also incredibly unique. The story is told from three unique perspectives - a Chinese-born engineer, working far beneath his education, his daughter who struggles with her father’s expectations and disappointments, and a lawyer whose family is seeped in darkness and who winds up connected to this family following a violent act.

I struggled just a bit to get into this story, but once I connected with these different pivotal characters, and saw where this story was going, I was fully immersed. I loved the layout of the book and the dual timeline format, ending at the beginning. The characters had great depth and nuance to them and the author offers us a detailed look into their psyche throughout.

A very well done story, and a very important story, I highly recommend this one, especially on audio. Austin Ku does an incredible job narrating each of the characters in a way that makes them wholly unique and unforgettable.

Read if you like:
•coming of age
•family dramas
•the immigrant experience
•chinese-american representation
•multiple POV’s/timelines

Thank you {partner} Harper Audio for the gifted audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

[Creya Casale | cc.shelflove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally cannot get over how much I loved this book. Wow. Debut author Susie Luo gives readers a non-linear timeline and multiple points of view. We follow Tony and his daughter, who came to the United States with dreams of a better life, and Oliver, a privileged white attorney who lives in the building where Tony works. As their lives begin to intertwine, shit gets real. And I mean REAL. There is so much more to this book than its synopsis gives away. I found myself gripping it with white knuckles and misty eyes. When I read THE chapter (you’ll find out soon enough…), I could not believe that Earth was continuing to orbit as usual. I was so shattered; how could life simply be continuing on like any other day? 😭 I also learned so much about Chinese immigrants. Tony and his wife were actually in the upper class in China, but when they came to America, they had to start at the bottom again. Why would they want to go from being rich to being poor? For their daughter, of course. The only thing this book was missing was an acknowledgements section! I wonder how many pieces of her own story Susie Luo included in Paper Names. Overall I cannot recommend this enough.

[Tara King · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Before I go any further, I want to highlight that the romantic adventure of a 9 year old and a 26 year old occurs. One can argue that it begins once she’s eighteen and legal, but the subtext is all over the book that they connected on that level from the day they met. I cannot comprehend how this book is so highly rated when that’s happening.

Additionally, the plot was lazy and under developed. The jumping around in time itself wasn’t too confusing, but there was never any real consistent plotting that occurred. It felt like random scenes and moments pieced together disjointedly.

And that ending. Completely unrealistic, rushed, and over the top just for the sake of drama.

The two stars came from the various touching moments that DID focus on the immigrant journey in America. There were some scenes that made me well up. Tammy’s mom deserves an award.

[Bkwmlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into Susie Luo’s debut novel Paper Names , I knew to expect an immigrant story, as I gathered as much from reading the summary and a couple reviews beforehand. However, what I wasn’t expecting was an immigrant story that would be so different from what I’ve read in the past.

To start off, the structure of the story was quite unique. Told from the perspectives of three main characters — Tony, Tammy, and Oliver — the narrative alternated not just between the characters, but also between multiple timelines in a non-linear, non-chronological fashion. In addition, the narrative also switched back and forth between first and third person depending on which character’s perspective the story was being told from (all of Tammy’s chapters were in first person). Normally, this type of structure would be difficult to follow, but it actually worked well in this instance, as I found the story flowed pretty seamlessly from one perspective to another.

As the Chinese daughter of immigrant parents, I thought I would resonate with Tammy’s perspective the most, but I actually found that I also related quite a bit to Tony’s story as well. In fact, this was one of the areas that made this particular immigrant story different from others — through Tony, we got to hear the immigrant parents’ perspective and how the decision to leave their country for a foreign one impacted them. I appreciated the way this structure gave a fuller, more well-rounded picture of the immigrant struggle, which also made the story more powerful, in my opinion. For me, Tony’s story arc was the most moving, but more importantly, it gave me better perspective on my own parents’ struggles back in the day and how the decision to immigrate ended up shaping their lives. The chapters told from Oliver’s perspective were well-done too, but unsurprisingly, his story arc was one I couldn’t relate as much to.

There is so much more I could say about this story, but I think it would have more of an impact experiencing it for one’s self. One thing to note though is that this was a contemplative, reflective story where there was not much action save for a few pivotal scenes — one that unfolded slowly, with particular focus on the characters’ thoughts and feelings. I mention this because a quiet story such as this one, coupled with an unconventional structure and a timeline that jumps around, might not work for everyone, so a heads up just in case. Overall, this was a solid debut and I look forward to reading more from Luo in the future.

Received ARC from Hanover Square Press via Book Browse First Impressions program.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always so much harder to write an unfavorable review about a book than it is to write a good one. I had a lot of trouble getting through this book. I was ready to quit after 50 pages, but to be fair, and to give an honest review, I knew that I needed to finish it. The bigger problem was that I also wanted to give up on it at 100 pages, and many pages thereafter.

In my honest opinion, this literary fiction debut novel had some shortcomings in the delivery of its message. To begin with, there was not a good introduction to the characters, and I was lost as soon as I started. Then, the dating of the chapters jumped around and the story didn't flow easily. I found the narrative to be unstructured and confusing at times. I eventually came to appreciate the theme of the novel, the importance of family, but feel that the execution failed. Overall, I am sorry to say, this book just didn't resonate with me.

I received an ARC of this book from Book Browse in exchange for an honest review.

[Maria B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I unfortunately found this book to be VERY flawed. The writing felt simple and over-explained all of the attempted deeper themes of the book. The plot points of the book were absurd (Oliver being in the car that kills Tammy’s father was SO unbelievable) and very poorly connected (Tony saving Clara seemed like it would be a central plot point that then became obsolete, same with him having a heart attack). Using multiple perspectives was poorly utilized: not one character was written in a way that matched their age or education (Kip was 70? When he was out at a club?); no character had a distinct voice. The non-linear time line also served no purpose, each section was written in the same manner and same voice, showing no growth and not adding anything to the plot. My last point is that the romance between Tammy and Olivier was first and foremost creepy (she was NINE and he was working as a lawyer when he became interested in her) but also cliche, out of place with the book, and poorly developed. The two stars I’m giving this book are solely for Tammy’s mom as she was the one redeemable quality of this book as a voice of reason; she highlighted the often overlooked family members who make innumerable sacrifices as an immigrant trying to succeed in a new country. Her story unfortunately gets overshadows by the flawed aspects of the book outlined above (I don’t think we even get a chapter from her perspective?) Contemplated not finishing several times but powered through just so I could write this review.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Paper Names.

Without giving anything away, Paper Names is about a Chinese American immigrant family struggling for their piece of the American Dream.

This is a familiar tale if you're an immigrant or a child of immigrants, though technically, we are all immigrants.

There were parts of the story I could really relate to as a first generation Asian American, how my parents came to the US for a better life and opportunities for their children.

My biggest issue was what was the main theme of the book?

Identity? Family? Love?

Tony, Kim, and Tammy are familiar archetypes of a Chinese American family; not affectionate, laser focused on grades and improving your social station in life.

First, for me, this wasn't a story between a father and a daughter.

Tony has serious anger issues, nor did I ever see true devotion and love between him and Tammy minus a few kind words, and only because they're in the midst of a medical emergency.

Second, the non linear time jumps was confusing, and often times, unnecessary.

I didn't care about Tony or Kim; how they met and when he decided to leave for the US.

They were both unlikable and yet very familiar characters I could relate to.

Maybe that's why I didn't like them.

They reminded me of people I know (too well), and in that, the author got their personalities and behaviors right.

I understood Tammy's desire to be as American as she could; dress American, talk American and act American, just at the same time be confused about paying respect to her culture and the sacrifices her parents made for the opportunities she now has.

Third, is this really a story about Oliver as a white savior?

Yeah, I can see that, even though he's another stereotype; handsome, brash, with a high powered job hiding a family scandal he's too ashamed to admit but not ashamed enough to deny the perks that come with it.

At the end, he realizes he's no better than the loser family he's been kind of, not really trying to get away from most of his life.

Or, maybe this is a story about how no family is perfect; that we're all trying to adapt and assimilate, to do the best we can in a society that mocks and judges us for our family name, our accent, our reputation, how we dress and how much we make.

The writing was fine, but I had hoped for more depth and interesting characters.

I wanted to like this more but I'll keep an eye out for the author's next book.

[Rachel Vachon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 / 5 rounding down

This is what I call a “kitchen sink book” - rather than focusing on one topic and writing on it well, this book jumbles on every possible topic and does it poorly.

The characters were very under developed and the time jumps didn’t always make a lot of sense.

*spoiler* I also found Tammy & Oliver’s relationship off putting. It felt almost pedophile adjacent? Super creepy to me that a man 17 years older than a child he tough piano can look at her as soon as she turns 18 and can think “wow she’s a hot woman now” 🤢 I had a really hard time getting through these sections of the book.

[Dona's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found PAPER NAMES by Susie Luo on the Libby app. Check for your local library on the app and read great books for free!📚

In certain sections, this book is beautiful and moving.... read the rest on my blog:

http://donasbooks.blogspot.com/2023/0...

[Lindsey Reeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning with a capital S. I stayed up reading until 1am to finish it.

[McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first half of this book even though I wasn’t sure where it was headed. I liked getting to know each character, their struggles & successes. I do think they could have been more developed overall.

the second half of the book is where it all went wrong for me. I didn’t like the direction it took and it got kind of messy even though this book wasn’t necessarily plot focused. since it wasn’t, and seemed to be a more character driven story, I wished the characters would have had more depth than what we saw from each of them. I didn’t enjoy the ending and how everything wrapped up. I also had a difficult time because the time jumps weren’t chronological and I wasn’t sure why. it didn’t work for me and just made me very confused, especially because it has 3 POVs, all jumping from all these different years.

I read this book because I was hoping to learn something new but I’m not sure I did. I also finished the book wondering what messages I was supposed to take from it because it was extremely unclear what themes there were and what the book was trying to accomplish.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I can recommend this one.

[BookOfCinz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. As someone who loves a great immigration story, this one was definitely a favourite.

[Jessica J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clocking in at just 280 pages, almost everything about Paper Names was too thinly developed to really grab me. But even if Susie Luo had fleshed out her story and characters a little more thoroughly, I'm not convinced she is a strong enough writer to have actually made it better.

The novel focuses on a family of three who has immigrated to the US from China and a white lawyer who becomes tangled up in their lives. Tony was an engineer in China, but he now works as a doorman in an upscale Manhattan apartment building while his wife Kim raises their daughter in a cramped Queens apartment. He has anger management issues that have created a rift in his relationship with his daughter, nine-year-old Tammy. When Tony stops a mugging at his job, Oliver steps in to help him with the police inquiry. I'd like to say that the two men develop a bond because of this, but that's not what happens. Tony happens to mention that he wants to find a piano tutor for Tammy and Oliver volunteers for reasons that aren't really explained.

Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact that Oliver carries around guilt for the fact that his grandfather is in prison for defrauding the investors at his company? I don't know, it's not really clear, other than the fact that Luo needed something to force a connection between Oliver and Tammy.

The piano lessons are the starting point for a decades-long entanglement with this family as Oliver eventually helps Tammy get into Harvard for both undergrad and law school, then later gets her a job at his own law firm. Over time, Oliver develops feelings for Tammy that are creepy and inappropriate but never really acknowledged to be so. There doesn't really seem to be a reason for these feelings to develop other than the fact that Oliver is clearly Morally Gray™ as evidenced by a kind of gross scene where he goes on vacation and almost adopts a dog but then gives the dog away at the last minute.

Without getting into spoilers, the connection between these characters eventually becomes more significant because of A Real Big Coincidence that puts them all in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the whole thing left me feeling cold because the characters' behavior was largely illogical. Oliver telling Tammy he loved her in the same moment he tells her he was there when their boss killed her father? Oliver deciding to confess after speaking to his grandfather for the first time in decades and learning how the older man was caught? I'M SORRY, WHAT THE FUCK.

I don't know, the whole thing just left me feeling cold and kind of annoyed. The reasons behind most of the characters' decisions were either not clear or could only be assumed from exposition scenes that had been awkwardly forced in. The fact that the book doesn't seem to acknowledge the creepiness with Oliver - and the fact that this creepiness ultimately didn't serve a logical purpose in the larger plot - was just plain gross. This book gets a hard pass from me.

[☮Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Club read for 6/22/24

3.5 stars
We all "liked" this selection and found the immigrant experience very interesting. How a father who was an engineer in China and a mother who was a doctor brought their baby girl to America to give her a better life, even though they thought their life in China was pretty good, relatively speaking. But in America, he was initially a doorman and she a bakery worker. Things could only improve from there with help from some New Yorkers, and the daughter eventually goes to Harvard law school.
Some good life lessons on what not to do, perhaps.

I wasn't especially fond of the different perspectives as I think it can become unnecessarily repetitive. Also the audiobook reader had the same voice for Tammy, Oliver, and Tony (although Tony had a bad accent).

[sean 📚 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - cannot condone the relationship between Tammy and Oliver that begins when Tammy is NINE and Oliver is TWENTY-SIX. i don’t know why no one seems to be concerned about this

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! Awesome characters, with lots of funny and heartbreaking moments that really made it for me. The writing is so clear yet detailed—I easily flew through the book. Since I’m Asian American, I went in thinking I’d sympathize the most with Tammy and Tony, but I actually saw a lot of myself in Oliver too. It was fun to read and root for such a complicated character. I love how thoughtfully they were all developed, which made the ending feel even more intense and earned. Highly recommend!

[Wendell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started pretty strong, got a bit boring, then becomes just bad campy melodrama.

So there's three protagonists - Tony, Oliver, and Tammy.

Tony, the Chinese immigrant starting a new life for his family easily has the best chapters - it's introspective and thinks about nuances of immigrant life. It's good.

The middle section has quite a bit of Tammy, Tony's daughter, in present day. Seemed like the part where we'd see the parallels to Tony or the effects of being raised by Tony but it's not really... just a lot of Tammy going about her life, suppressing her heritage only to feel bad about it later etc. Just felt like a really shallow exploration of 1st gen immigrant life

Then there's Oliver, whose chapters felt so ridiculously cartoonish and hollow, it was hard to take seriously because he's barely formed as a character and lacks an identity.

I think overall it's also just missing an engine to the story. After we're introduced to these characters they go off and into their different lives and there's nothing that really drives the novel in plot or theme, leaving it to just go in circles in the middle then scramble for an ending.

[Silverperri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having mixed feelings on books is the worst.

On one hand, I really enjoyed both Tony and Tammy— their complex father-daughter relationship, how the failings of Tony’s father do him in again and again, how he tries to better himself up until that urge to atone, along with Oliver and Kip’s privilege and carelessness, end up causing his death. Tammy reconciling her identities as she grows up, and how her story ends with her finally returning to Tony’s home in China. When the book is about this— about Tony, Kim, and Tammy’s experiences as an immigrant family and their complex feelings about that, and each other— it excels. The scenes between them after Tony’s heart attack genuinely almost made me cry.

But this book has a massive blemish, and blemish thy name is Oliver.

He works as an antagonist. As a personification of the privilege and recklessness that the other characters could never afford to have. I came to the shaky conclusion that we weren’t supposed to like him after what he does to Tony, and the way he completely becomes like the family he despised, directly paralleling Tony consistently fighting that failing, is powerful and thematically relevant. However, his POV is a slog and something I was consistently dreading, and, most relevantly, there was absolutely no reason to make the relationship between him and Tammy romantic.

Doing the math, there is a 17-20 year age gap between them. He is at least 26 to her *9* when they first meet. He describes being “captivated” by her since he first saw her playing the piano at Clara’s, again, when she is NINE. I don’t care that the romantic aspect of their relationship is added when she’s an adult. The power dynamic established by the way they meet is irreparable, and it’s creepy, and it’s nauseating to read about, ESPECIALLY when he willingly lets her kiss him knowing FULL DAMN WELL that she’s both vulnerable and that he’s WITNESSED AND COVERED UP THE MURDER OF HER FATHER. We are not supposed to like Oliver. But the disturbing nature of their relationship doesn’t feel like it’s acknowledged as such by the narration until Tony’s death happens, when in truth I think it should’ve been WAY before then; or at least have Tammy acknowledge that she was continuously manipulated by an older man who she trusted long before she ever realized he was bad.

And the thing is, their relationship honestly would’ve worked better if it wasn’t romantic. If it was kept as teacher and student, mentor/mentee, more explicitly paralleling the relationship between Kip and Oliver— Oliver gives in to the bad influence of his mentor and protects him, but Tammy denies him this, breaking the cycle. I understand we have a bit of this already, but drawing that line would’ve made it more clear and would’ve removed the book’s biggest problem.

I feel bad, because when this book succeeds, it’s beautiful to read. But Oliver and Tammy’s horrifying relationship— as well as Oliver as our third POV character— drag “Paper Names” down extensively.

[Grant Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the more disappointing books I've read this year. Only good thing I can say is at least it was short

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful debut novel about race, class and a multigenerational Chinese American immigrant family figuring out how to 'live the dream' in Manhattan. At turns moving and shocking in its unexpected ending.

Great on audio narrated by Austin Ku and told from the alternating perspectives of the three main characters (Chinese born engineer, turned doorman Tony, his American born daughter, Tammy, and wealthy, white Oliver who grew up living in the same building as Tony and Tammy).

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies and Librofm for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

[christene_littlelibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paper Names is a beautiful story of a chinese immigrant who once dream of a better life in America for his wife and daughter. (Funny that one of his reason to fight and try to live in America is to get a refrigerator lmao) Its a multiple perspective of different life struggles and success as a chinese living the american dream. It was well written and the plot is okay. I love Tony's life quotes though. Its an inspiring story that really happens in real life. 3.5/5 Highly recommend this book.

[Mariana Deloera · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a daughter of immigrants, this one hit different.
🥹

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Loved the complex relationships, but it lacked a little something something that I can’t quite put my finger on, maybe I’ll think of it over some smiths lane dairy mushroom toast.

[what.jill.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviews for this book are mixed, but I thought it was absolutely stellar! I sat down to sample a few pages and did not put it down until I was finished. Told in alternating viewpoints, we follow Tony, a father who immigrated to the US from China with his young family, his daughter, Tammy, and a wealthy young American, Oliver. Luo’s story and characters are full of complexities and just like in real life, there’s more grey than black and white. This book is original, thought provoking and perfect for book club discussion (all my favorite bookish buzz words)!

[Kelsey Harfoush · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really 1-dimensional and underdeveloped characters. The plot and setting felt underdeveloped as well and overall this just really felt like amateur writing. The jumping back and forth timelines made absolutely no sense. And the creepy grooming behavior from an adult on his grade school piano student was normalized somehow? Because he didn't realize he thought she was hot until she turned 18? What the fuck. No. This read like a terrible Colleen Hoover novel.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully told story with an engaging, emotionally affective cast of characters. How far would you go for family, and in what ways does that loving commitment take shape? The author explores these comp!ex questions with clarity and understanding.

[Pallavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 star

I picked up this book as it was listed #1 under the Goodreads list "Anticipated 2023 Literary Fiction".
It was worth it. The story has multiple POV's with nonlinear timelines.

Story follows Chinese immigrants, Tony, his daughter Tammy and a white attorney Oliver. Everything revolves around the relationships and emotions, which change as the timeline changes, sometimes good and sometimes bad. The ups and downs of a relationship, the effect of the people with whom we grew up, who raised us, social impact and our own dreams. We see different sides of these three people who are as benevolent and brutal as any of us.

A very good book from a debut author.

Happy Reading!!

[Devin Prichard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya I’m unwell what about it

[emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

it made me understand why i didn't like this book so much when i learned that it is a debut, because it reads like one. it seemed like plot hole after stilted dialogue, after briefly touching on an important subject, and deep-diving into trade investments. the pacing was strange and the storytelling was not intriguing or well-done at all in my opinion. the entire base of being a child of an immigrant or an immigrant yourself was not lost on me, as those are some of my favorite books to read to learn about other cultures and experiences. but this one bit off more than it could chew in a palpable way and everything felt incredibly disjointed and awkwardly done. the relationship between tammy and oliver was one of my least favorite duos to read, the "twist" towards the end was entirely unbelievable, and none of the characters had a single redeeming quality about them and seemed to hop between two entirely different versions of themselves throughout the novel. i really did not like this one.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I might have given the book 2 stars if not for the romantic relationship between Tammy and Oliver, who met when she was 9 and he was 26. At one point the author writes “He’d been captivated by her, even from the very beginning, when he first found her playing the piano at Clara’s. Through the years, he’d watched her grow up, making small discoveries about her along the way, each one shaping his new reality: he loved her.” Problematic relationship aside, the book had bits and pieces here and there that were decent.. but the ending was a jumbled mess that solidified this book really wasn’t for me.