Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon Han

This is an Asian immigrant story that resonates especially as we are seeing angry white men attack people at will. I encourage those of us who are white ourselves to do a deep dive into what we can do, speak up about, bear witness, and be vocal and present to combat race based abuse around us. Now to the book. On the surface, the Cheng's are doing well. Liang Cheng and his wife, Patty, who moved from China to the United States in the 1990s, by all appearances, have attained exactly what they wanted. Patty came first, leaving her husband and son behind, and since her name was hard for Americans, she changed it. Liang followed, they had a daughter, and then later brought their son over as well. The problem is that all is not well, the book fairly vibrates with tension from beginning to end. There is a lot to be worried about, but even when it is quiescent, the sense of foreboding is present and strong. Liang endured a childhood of abuse and seems to have trouble with affection. The daughter is a sleep walker and her brother takes it upon himself to follow her, but doesn't manage to avert problems. That's because there is peril everywhere--what do people think, what do they say about them, and are they really part of their community? It is a turbo charge of raw emotion.