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What We Are
A New York Times Editors’ Choice and a blazing and authentic new literary voice, Peter Nathaniel Malae’s raw and powerful, bullet-fast debut novel looks at contemporary America through the eyes of one disillusioned son.
What We Are follows twenty-eight-year-old Samoan-American Paul Tusifale as he strives to find his place in a culture that barely acknowledges his existence. Within San Jose’s landscape of sprawling freeways and dotcom headquarters, where the plight of migrant workers is ever-present, Paul lives outside society, a drifter who takes a personal interest in defiantly—even violently—defending those in need. As he moves through the lives of sinister old friends, suburban cranksters, and septuagenarian swingers, Paul battles to find the wisdom he desperately needs, whether through adhering to tradition or casting it aside.
A dynamic addition to America’s diverse literature of the outsider, What We Are establishes Peter Nathaniel Malae as an authentic, gifted new writer, whose muscular prose brings to life the pull of a departed father’s homeland, the anger of class divisions, the noise of the evening news, and in the end beautifully renders the pathos of the disengaged.
What We Are follows twenty-eight-year-old Samoan-American Paul Tusifale as he strives to find his place in a culture that barely acknowledges his existence. Within San Jose’s landscape of sprawling freeways and dotcom headquarters, where the plight of migrant workers is ever-present, Paul lives outside society, a drifter who takes a personal interest in defiantly—even violently—defending those in need. As he moves through the lives of sinister old friends, suburban cranksters, and septuagenarian swingers, Paul battles to find the wisdom he desperately needs, whether through adhering to tradition or casting it aside.
A dynamic addition to America’s diverse literature of the outsider, What We Are establishes Peter Nathaniel Malae as an authentic, gifted new writer, whose muscular prose brings to life the pull of a departed father’s homeland, the anger of class divisions, the noise of the evening news, and in the end beautifully renders the pathos of the disengaged.
- GenresFiction
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2010
3 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 18, 2010
Let me start with flat out praise: I suspect Malae could emerge as one of the most meaningful literary voices of his cohort’s generation: let’s call that group the Reagan babies—those now 25 to early 30s.
This is a first novel, and those who are looking for a well developed series of plot movements that pull us into a storyline with good guys we cheer and bad guys we dis, I can tell you right now, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in hearing Malae take his main character on a quest in search of personal (and by extension, our shared national) identity, well then: climb aboard! But hang on, because this is going to be a 383 page jaunt through the cultural mélange that is, for better or worse, Silicon Valley, and he’s going to do it at speeds that might sometime jar the conformist and leave the less intelligent behind.
Malae is, at heart, a poet, and his language use charms me even as his literary, historical, philosophical, and ratatattat pop culture allusions delight me. Because, dig it—this narrator, the 28-year-old half Samoan half white guy named Paul Tusifale, is smart, hella smart—and he’s also ever simmering to a boil with angry young man rage, disgusted by the crass, bovine and don’t-we-all-see-it vacuous consumption that America as a nation seems to aspire to in this wacky weary 21st century world. Often, in his more honest moments, Paul nobly wants to fight the good quixotic fight on behalf of the exceedingly (I mean bottom of the barrel) oppressed, vilified, or rejected—but he also might seek some solace for his empathetic pain by beating the bejesus out of someone too. This uncertainty of when, if, and how he might erupt is one of the main forces pushing the story forward.
I am not your typical reader, perhaps, because I live in San Jose and I personally know all these what-must-seem-disconnected places he keeps telling us about. I’ve lived downtown in San Jose for over twenty years, so I can fully appreciate the descriptive nuance he successfully conveys in the eclectic and diverse range of Silicon Valley settings he employs, and the what-must-seem-unbelievable mix of multicultural interactions and permutations he has Paul experience there. I am giving this novel a five out of five because I’ve never read such a spot on description of the complex confusion that is my world here, and I mean that in a good way, a positive way--I see our diverse multiculturalism as my region’s great strength and a harbinger of what’s to come for more of the rest of you Americans later. In this I differ from the narrator. Still, the dichotomy Malae sets up between the narrator’s parents and by extension between two co-mingled aspects of Paul’s very being, a soul at war with itself, is certainly a workable model to appropriate in an evaluation of the United States of America in 2010.
I’m still a bit buzzed because I saw PEOPLE I KNOW turn up as roman a clef characters in this novel, and there were plenty of character types I readily recognized as well—and why not, I see and/or talk to them every day! I was fascinated and curious to watch this protagonist go places I have gone, experience things I have experienced, and then react to them, even while he is playing an Everyman. And part of Malae’s brilliance is because he has grown up in such a mélange, he can adroitly and effectively re-create a backyard Filipino cock fight, a game of prison-style handball with two Nortenos, a conversation with a condescending lady at the information counter in our public library, a run in with a meth addict in a 7-11 lot, a café soire with a Russian intellectual he met on the 22 bus: he writes about these things as one who knows them. Trust me, they ring of plausible authenticity to one who lives here. (Well, except for the condescending librarian—all the people I know that work there are fairly cool, actually.) In the end, this book is to be praised not only for its gift of description, but also for the reflections and reactions it should stimulate as the author masterfully through his narrator’s voice calls for critical assessment of communal “American” and myriad idiosyncratic values, practices, and dreams.
Some young writers who are very smart feel the need to constantly interrupt you as you read along, to detract from the flow to shout, in an increasingly annoying referential way,“hey, look at me, I’m smart.” I can’t recall ever feeling distracted reading What We Are—the allusions and references always serve the higher purpose of the moment, and are often poetic and elegant in and of themselves.
The playfulness of an Alexie (whom he cites along the way), the depth and complexity of a Pynchon (well, okay, maybe not that far, but headed in that direction) the dark realism of a Bukowski, the macho fixation of a Hemingway—he is none of these fully but some of all of these in a distinctive voice that is his own, a voice that tells a story and offers a study of the world I inhabit in a manner I find both insightful and instructive—and for that, Mr. Malae, I say thank you—and keep writing.
This is a first novel, and those who are looking for a well developed series of plot movements that pull us into a storyline with good guys we cheer and bad guys we dis, I can tell you right now, look elsewhere. But if you are interested in hearing Malae take his main character on a quest in search of personal (and by extension, our shared national) identity, well then: climb aboard! But hang on, because this is going to be a 383 page jaunt through the cultural mélange that is, for better or worse, Silicon Valley, and he’s going to do it at speeds that might sometime jar the conformist and leave the less intelligent behind.
Malae is, at heart, a poet, and his language use charms me even as his literary, historical, philosophical, and ratatattat pop culture allusions delight me. Because, dig it—this narrator, the 28-year-old half Samoan half white guy named Paul Tusifale, is smart, hella smart—and he’s also ever simmering to a boil with angry young man rage, disgusted by the crass, bovine and don’t-we-all-see-it vacuous consumption that America as a nation seems to aspire to in this wacky weary 21st century world. Often, in his more honest moments, Paul nobly wants to fight the good quixotic fight on behalf of the exceedingly (I mean bottom of the barrel) oppressed, vilified, or rejected—but he also might seek some solace for his empathetic pain by beating the bejesus out of someone too. This uncertainty of when, if, and how he might erupt is one of the main forces pushing the story forward.
I am not your typical reader, perhaps, because I live in San Jose and I personally know all these what-must-seem-disconnected places he keeps telling us about. I’ve lived downtown in San Jose for over twenty years, so I can fully appreciate the descriptive nuance he successfully conveys in the eclectic and diverse range of Silicon Valley settings he employs, and the what-must-seem-unbelievable mix of multicultural interactions and permutations he has Paul experience there. I am giving this novel a five out of five because I’ve never read such a spot on description of the complex confusion that is my world here, and I mean that in a good way, a positive way--I see our diverse multiculturalism as my region’s great strength and a harbinger of what’s to come for more of the rest of you Americans later. In this I differ from the narrator. Still, the dichotomy Malae sets up between the narrator’s parents and by extension between two co-mingled aspects of Paul’s very being, a soul at war with itself, is certainly a workable model to appropriate in an evaluation of the United States of America in 2010.
I’m still a bit buzzed because I saw PEOPLE I KNOW turn up as roman a clef characters in this novel, and there were plenty of character types I readily recognized as well—and why not, I see and/or talk to them every day! I was fascinated and curious to watch this protagonist go places I have gone, experience things I have experienced, and then react to them, even while he is playing an Everyman. And part of Malae’s brilliance is because he has grown up in such a mélange, he can adroitly and effectively re-create a backyard Filipino cock fight, a game of prison-style handball with two Nortenos, a conversation with a condescending lady at the information counter in our public library, a run in with a meth addict in a 7-11 lot, a café soire with a Russian intellectual he met on the 22 bus: he writes about these things as one who knows them. Trust me, they ring of plausible authenticity to one who lives here. (Well, except for the condescending librarian—all the people I know that work there are fairly cool, actually.) In the end, this book is to be praised not only for its gift of description, but also for the reflections and reactions it should stimulate as the author masterfully through his narrator’s voice calls for critical assessment of communal “American” and myriad idiosyncratic values, practices, and dreams.
Some young writers who are very smart feel the need to constantly interrupt you as you read along, to detract from the flow to shout, in an increasingly annoying referential way,“hey, look at me, I’m smart.” I can’t recall ever feeling distracted reading What We Are—the allusions and references always serve the higher purpose of the moment, and are often poetic and elegant in and of themselves.
The playfulness of an Alexie (whom he cites along the way), the depth and complexity of a Pynchon (well, okay, maybe not that far, but headed in that direction) the dark realism of a Bukowski, the macho fixation of a Hemingway—he is none of these fully but some of all of these in a distinctive voice that is his own, a voice that tells a story and offers a study of the world I inhabit in a manner I find both insightful and instructive—and for that, Mr. Malae, I say thank you—and keep writing.
April 13, 2023
had to read this for a class in college, never finished it, forgot about it, and figured i’d pick it back up to finish all the books i’ve got in my “currently reading” 🙃
February 23, 2012
I enjoyed the voice in the book, but not the overall story. The end was not well developed, The book didnt have much of an evolution which is something I would have appreciated. The length of the book made it a bigger investment then what the story gave me in return so I am not sure if I would recommend it unless you read often enough to not mind the 400 pages.
September 3, 2010
I really enjoyed the voice of this novel, but I thought it rambled toward an ending rather than wrapping up well. The theme of multiculuturalism was really strong, but I didn't feel that the novel came together the way it should have.
April 17, 2011
Writing was a little self-indulgent at times, but overall an important book. I'm not sure I liked the ending.
September 13, 2023
Loved the writing, hated the plot. Too long, but some memorable stuff scattered throughout. Very middle of the road...
November 23, 2024
what a character. love/hate/admire him. so many insights and takes and opinions. as a “half-breed” samoan man, i couldn’t help but see myself in this character. i’m so grateful for that…
June 19, 2016
One of the qualities about Paul, the narrator, that is emphasized is his intelligence. Throughout the narrative, Paul articulates himself well and constantly draws connections between his life and canonical works of literature. Even as a homeless man, Paul is not uneducated. I find Paul interesting because he is a complex character that is both book smarts and street smarts. On one hand, he is an educated individual who is capable of articulating himself well. His skills as a writer grants him a fellowship which shelters him. On the other hand, his experiences in the street has educated him with proper etiquette on how to speak and behave on the streets of the Silicon Valley.
What Nathaniel accomplishes by creating a narrator like Paul is presenting to readers a blend of two worlds that are normally seen as being polar opposites. By incorporating the concept of an educated person who is educated by books and the streets, Nathaniel creates a unique narrative that addresses the complexity of living a non traditional urban life.
A question I asked myself as I was reading was why does Paul make the deliberate decision to not use his intelligence to his fullest potential. Rather than being productive with his life, he spends most of his time on the streets. Perhaps it is because Paul can not thrive as an artist living in comfort, “I can’t write a line of anything in this fluff” (Nathaniel 93). When Paul is living in an actual home, he feels as if his creative outlet is being oppressed. Maybe Paul’s intentions is to stay as a suffering artist in order to produce his best work. I believe that Paul chooses to be apart of the streets as an intellectual man serves a greater purpose I would hope will be revealed towards the end of the novel.
What Nathaniel accomplishes by creating a narrator like Paul is presenting to readers a blend of two worlds that are normally seen as being polar opposites. By incorporating the concept of an educated person who is educated by books and the streets, Nathaniel creates a unique narrative that addresses the complexity of living a non traditional urban life.
A question I asked myself as I was reading was why does Paul make the deliberate decision to not use his intelligence to his fullest potential. Rather than being productive with his life, he spends most of his time on the streets. Perhaps it is because Paul can not thrive as an artist living in comfort, “I can’t write a line of anything in this fluff” (Nathaniel 93). When Paul is living in an actual home, he feels as if his creative outlet is being oppressed. Maybe Paul’s intentions is to stay as a suffering artist in order to produce his best work. I believe that Paul chooses to be apart of the streets as an intellectual man serves a greater purpose I would hope will be revealed towards the end of the novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2012
This narrator a millennial version of Holden Caulfield and Randall P. McMurphy, a brash and brilliant moralist whose existence is guided by his anger and disappointment with the world. Women are sad and pathetic. Men lie. Poor people are stupid/manipulative/pathetic. Rich people are beneath contempt. He lives on the margin, tries the middle, and fails at all. Nothing is good or right or blessed.
He's right in many ways.
It seems, though, like an intellectually easy stance: criticize and let the chips fall where they may. Do nothing to make anything better or help anyone. Just sink into the abyss. Everyone's a phony.
This is raw and angry and true, but in the end, weak. Maybe there's never gonna be an answer, but somehow simply pointing out flaws is egotistical and empty.
He's right in many ways.
It seems, though, like an intellectually easy stance: criticize and let the chips fall where they may. Do nothing to make anything better or help anyone. Just sink into the abyss. Everyone's a phony.
This is raw and angry and true, but in the end, weak. Maybe there's never gonna be an answer, but somehow simply pointing out flaws is egotistical and empty.
December 6, 2015
A book-length, Bay area / Silicon Valley version of Edward Norton's mirror rant in the 25th Hour.
Agree w prior reviews that I was pulled in / decided to finish the book (and set my 3 stars) based on the voice / style, and laser insight of this writer. But the plot left a lot to be desired, and I felt the book suffered from a testosterone overdose in a lot of ways (including, maybe, a self-important reading of his / the character's own deepness). (Not that that's only a male issue, but it manifests in a scrotal kind of way here.)
((Please forgive use of scrotal, but hell if it's not exactly what I meant to say.))
Agree w prior reviews that I was pulled in / decided to finish the book (and set my 3 stars) based on the voice / style, and laser insight of this writer. But the plot left a lot to be desired, and I felt the book suffered from a testosterone overdose in a lot of ways (including, maybe, a self-important reading of his / the character's own deepness). (Not that that's only a male issue, but it manifests in a scrotal kind of way here.)
((Please forgive use of scrotal, but hell if it's not exactly what I meant to say.))
June 28, 2010
There is so much you can't tell be looking at someone.
August 20, 2010
As I read I'm enjoying all the references to my city, San Jose...
August 3, 2011
This book really nails the gestalt of the Silicon Valley. I'm probably closer to a 3 1/2 star on this and look forward to reading more from him.
January 29, 2012
A thoroughly pleasant surprise! Due to the author's writing style, the reader can easily get into the narrator's (main character's) head. His use of language will appeal to any word geek.
need-to-finish-reading
August 19, 2012taken back to library
July 14, 2015
Mind boggling mostly
Want to Read
February 9, 2012For some reason having hard time getting into this book!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews