Our Missing Hearts
Our Missing Hearts
by Celeste Ng
Publisher:
A stunning look at what fear, hate, and ignorance can create. In this dystopian novel by the talented Celeste Ng, America is in a state of despair after economic unrest led to an outlawing of civil protest and no tolerance for anything seen as unpatriotic. The rule of the land is now PACT, standing for Preserving American Culture and Traditions. Growing ever more restrictive, American society and governance lays all their problems at the feet of the Chinese, and rhetoric and hate spews to Asian Americans. Children of dissidents are removed from their homes and placed into other families. Bird still lives with his father, but is forced to go by a new “American” approved name, and he mustn’t discuss his mother. However, he loves her and misses her and seeks to uncover the truth behind where she went and who she is. Little does he know that Margaret is not just his mom, but she is an artful voice working against suppression.
This is a searing look at what can feel all too close to our real-world surface. I walked away with the same sinking feeling I had after watching many news stories unfurl over the last 7 years and after reading The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. All of these are books that I can’t say I enjoyed with a sense of glee. No, these are excellent books of intellect and beautiful writing and storytelling, but they are not feel-good novels. Read it anyway. These are important books. As explored so extensively in Our Missing Hearts, books and words have power to inform and keep us from being our worst selves. There is a reason why portions of society try to ban books throughout history. They are afraid of what they don’t understand and if we learn, maybe we don’t have that fear any longer. Knowledge is power and exposure to other cultures and ways of thought expand our minds and hearts.
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