Nuclear Family

Han makes a smashing debut with this stunning take on identity and migration told through the multiple perspectives of a Korean American family. The story centers on Jacob Cho, who, while teaching English in South Korea, makes international headlines after attempting and failing to cross into North Korea. It turns out, though, that Jacob was possessed by the ghost of his dead grandfather, Baik Tae-woo. While Jacob is interrogated by South Korean authorities and struggles to understand what’s going on, his parents and younger sister, Grace, living in Honolulu, deal with the resulting fallout at their Korean plate lunch restaurant, which loses business and suffers from vandalism due to rumors about them possibly being North Korean spies. Grace, a senior in college, suffers from panic attacks and gets frequently stoned after Jacob’s incident, and the ghost of Baik Tae-woo is revealed to be a trickster who got Jacob to help him cross the border in order to return to the family he’d abandoned during the Korean War. The family members contend with why Jacob and Grace’s mother moved the family to Hawaii from Korea, and what drove Jacob away. Each short chapter takes readers deep into the heart of each character’s dilemmas, and while it’s heartbreaking, it’s also sharply hilarious, as with a description of television host Guy Fieri, whose airbrushed imprimatur radiates from behind the Chos’ counter: “he who has risen from flame decals, born by accident when his Camaro crashed into the Food Network.” This is a master class from a brilliant new voice. (June)