As a fan of Chang’s previous book The Wangs vs. the World, I knew I had to read this one. And I really enjoyed it! It’s all about people in all their entirety. Their mistakes, their regrets, and their triumphs. Keep reading this book review of What a Time to Be Alive for my full thoughts.
Summary
Lola Treasure Gold can’t figure out her life. She’s broke, she’s unemployed, she’s back in her childhood home, a crumbling cottage in the Hollywood Hills. Worse, unspeakably worse, one of her closest friends has just died. So, nobody is more surprised than Lola when a jackpot falls in her she stars in a Very Viral Video, opening a surprising path for her to become a self-help guru.
With the encouragement of her other best friend, Celi—still alive, thank god—Lola embraces the public interest in her perceived message. But is she a scammer or a sage? Just as Lola is telling others to be their own guiding lights, she can’t seem to find she’s grieving, she’s accused of using the notoriety of her friend’s death to fuel her rise, and she’s full of questions about the fate of her mother, who came to America pregnant, fleeing China’s one-child policy, got deported when Lola was eight, and has now totally disappeared.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
What a Time to Be Alive is about being alive. I know, it’s so cringey that I even say it. But it starts with taking risks until it backfires. It starts by pushing the limits of what we think is possible, until it breaks and reminds us how fragile we are. And then it shifts to talking about the pitfalls and platitudes of grief. What a Time to Be Alive is an avalanche of decisions. It doesn’t hesitate to shine light on all of the moments. In Lola’s quest for figuring out her future, her purpose, she finds all these questions about what she would do. The person she would become.
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Some moments, What a Time to Be Alive feels meandering. While it begins with a very vivid moment, it also follows Lola as she tries to figure it out. There are a few moments that resonated, but it sometimes gets a little lost in Lola’s choices. What is the value of our own survival? How do we take words and make them profound? And there’s a sense of open endedness about the ending. One theme I found particularly resonating with me were Lola’s feelings towards her family. And this remains probably my favorite theme even after reading – even if there are some questions I wish we had more space to develop.
Find What a Time to Be Alive on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.