888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers

Chang channels High Fidelity for a lively if underdeveloped story of a first-generation Chinese American reckoning with his heritage and his first potentially serious relationship. It’s 1995 and NYU undergrad Young Wang works at a used record and video store. When his classmate Erena Yasuda comes into the store looking for anime recommendations, he parlays their interaction into a date. Things seem to go well—she opens up about her mixed Japanese and Korean heritage, and they kiss, but then Young flees. It turns out Young’s globe-trotting, lottery-winning uncle once told him everyone has seven great loves in their life, and Young has only loved five girls before he met Erena. What follows is a series of flashbacks to his previous infatuations, which ended either in the friend zone or with Young otherwise heartbroken. Meanwhile, in the present day, Young relentlessly emails Erena for a second date, wondering if his uncle’s theory is right after all. Stylistic flourishes abound; in addition to email transcripts and explanations of pager code, Chang imagines conversations with his favorite film directors including Rob Reiner (“You never did like All in the Family (not really the target demographic), but it’s me—Meathead! I done good, yeah?”). The numerology stuff feels a bit half-baked, but Chang strikes all the right notes in his portrayal of a tender youth. Gen Xers will revel in the nostalgia. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (May)