King of the Armadillos
A Novel
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3.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2023: The Boston Globe, Deep South Magazine, Ms. Magazine, BookRiot; TOP 20 BOOKS OF 2023: BookBrowse
"Brilliant, absorbing, and powerfully moving." —Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild
“[A] gripping and tenderly executed drama." —The New York Times
A novel about family, love, and belonging, set against the backdrops of 1950s New York City and Louisiana, following one young man’s quest to survive an often misunderstood disease, and find love, music, and himself, in the process.
Victor Chin’s life is turned upside down at the tender age of 15. Diagnosed with Hansen’s disease, otherwise known as leprosy, he’s forced to leave the familiar confines of his father’s laundry business in the Bronx – the only home he’s known since emigrating from China with his older brother – to quarantine alongside patients from all over the country at a federal institution in Carville.
At first, Victor is scared not only of the disease, but of the confinement, and wants nothing more than to flee. Between treatments he dreams of escape and imagines his life as a fugitive. But soon he finds a new sense of freedom far from home – one without the pull of obligations to his family, the laundry business, or his mother back in China. Here, in the company of an unforgettable cast of characters, Victor finds refuge in music and experiences first love, jealousy, betrayal, and even tragedy. But with the promise of a life-changing cure on the horizon, Victor’s time at Carville is running out, and he has some difficult choices to make.
A page turning work of historical fiction, King of the Armadillos announces Wendy Chin-Tanner as an extraordinary new voice. Inspired by her father’s experience as a young patient at Carville, this tender novel is a captivating and lyrical exploration of the power of art.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Poet Chin-Tanner debuts with the poignant if somewhat mechanical story of a Chinese American family in the 1950s. Victor, eight, and his 13-year-old brother, Henry, leave their loving mother Mei Wan in China to settle in New York City with their father, Sam. Henry feels betrayed that Sam has taken up with a Jewish New Yorker named Ruth, who tries to love the brothers as her own children. She notices a rash on Victor shortly before he begins to have painful symptoms and is diagnosed at 15 with Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. Due to Sam's U.S. military service in WWII, Victor is eligible for treatment at a government hospital and sent to one in Louisiana. There, he discovers his talent for the piano. He falls for fellow patient Judy, a Jewish girl who's mistreated by her beau, Donny, a handsome Chinese teenager. Henry cautions Victor against telling their mother about his condition in his letters home to her. It all comes to a head when Ruth finds out she's pregnant and Mei Wan announces she's coming to New York. Though the plotlines feel a bit rote, Chin-Tanner shines in her depictions of loyalty and familial obligation, Ruth's in particular. Though clunky at times, the multicultural elements add an appealing layer to this drama.
Customer Reviews
Great slice of historical fiction
There aren’t enough coming-of-age stories with diverse characters. King of the Armadillos does that. The added context of being set in the 50s at a facility for Hansens disease gives it more depth. Heartfelt and well-written! I loved it.