The Third Son: A Novel Paperback – May 27, 2014

It is a wonderful story about immigrant life, the perseverance that one person can have to achieve in this country, the emotional shackles that keep a person back, the love that fueled the struggle becoming a wonderful reality, and the disfunction of an Asian family that can last for years and years.

-In post WWII Taiwan, there was a great deal of political upheaval. Chang Kai Chek was pushed from mainland China by the Communists and set up a regime in Taiwan. There were factions in Taiwan that welcomed the departure of the Japanese, but the entry of this new regime was affecting their hopes for their own independence. The government was now restrictive and life was very difficult for those still in the country.-Into this background, we are introduced to a young boy, Saburo, who is the third son of a man that is part of a well to do family that have a pharmaceutical business. We first find Saburo when he is an 8 year old boy during the war, and he comes across a couple of young girls who are, like him, rushing home because of an air raid. One of the girls leaves them and he accompanies the other one, Yoshiko, close to where she lives, but she left a strong impression on him.-Because Saburo is the third son in his family, all of the attention is given to the older boys, and he is shown to be an afterthought, even to the point of handing out food to the children. The local doctor ends up finding out that Saburo is severely malnourished and has to give him special IV supplements for about a year.-Saburo is found to be extremely gifted and capable, much more than his other siblings. Despite this, he's still pushed down by his family. If he goes along with their wants, he will never amount to anything, and will be relegated to being a pawn in the desires of his family.-Years later, toward the end of high school, Saburo's brother Kazuo comes across the girl that has always stayed on Saburo's mind, Yoshiko. Kazuo takes her out, and we see Kazuo as an arrogant and vicious person who constantly is looking to harm Saburo. Yoshiko doesn't want to be with Kazuo, but Kazuo lied and told Saburo it was because she had someone else that she liked, so that Saburo would not pursue her. Yoshiko and Saburo happen to meet and fall in love. They marry soon after.-There are special exams which will allow the one passing to go the United States on a partial scholarship. Saburo was forced to go to a secondary school, but, pushed by Yoshiko, he achieves the extremely rare success story and passes the exam. His father helps raise the money to send him to the US, but he still feels like his family treats him as a nothing, as Yoshiko, who is now his bride with a child on the way, is constantly belittled while waiting for him in Taiwan.-We ultimately watch as Saburo continues to achieve what no one else dreamed of, and is able to bring his wife and young son to the US. He learns to break free of what his father thinks of him, and becomes what he wants himself to be. This is a success story, that has bittersweet elements, as Saburo's brother is still doing all he can to take Saburo down, even from Taiwan.-Very interesting look into the mores of other cultures, but they still occur to some extent in all cultures, as parents very often tend to show favoritism to a particular child at the expense of others.

Julie Wu's debut novel is set in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, takes us through WW2 and then into the postwar years. It follows the life of Saburo, the third son in his family of the book title. As the book opens, Saburo is running home from school because of an American bombing raid. He meets the love of his life, Yoshiko, despite being only 8.Because of favoritism for the older sons and his rebellious nature, Sanburo is treated very badly by his parents. He is cruelly beaten for various offenses. While his oldest brother is giving the best food, Sanburo is given little more than rice and some vegetables. He becomes malnourished, and but for the attention of his cousin Toru, a doctor, he would not have survived childhood.While attending vocational school, Saburo encounters Yoshiko and wins her heart. They get married, and Saburo is one of the few Taiwanese students who pass the entrance exam that allows him to go to graduate school in the US.His family pays for him to go to the US, but with the expectation that he will study to become a pharmacist and return to help the family's company. Saburo leaves his baby son and wife behind and goes to a very foreign US.If his life has not been challenging enough, it is during his graduate study, that Saburo finally emerges from his shell and confronts and challenges the maltreatment from his family. His strong internal motivation that has driven his success in Taiwan, becomes even more important as Saburo struggles with breaking away from his family demands, and pursuing his graduate school interests. Against all sorts of hurdles, he works to get his degree at breakneck speed and to bring his wife and son to join him in the US.The tribulations and triumphs of Saburo drive our interest in this compelling story. In the background, we also gain insight into life under Japanese occupation and then the turmoil that happens when the Nationalist government retreats to Taiwan.

There are many layers in this terrific novel. It is at once a story of survival from child abuse, a piece of historical fiction, and the story of an Asian immigrant during a time when Asian people were held in low esteem and subject to predjudicial treatment in America. Some characters truly come alive and Saburo, this wonderful book's main character does exactly that. His family treats him terribly both as a child and as an adult and while it certainly causes him trouble, it doesn't destroy his spirit. As the book opens, he is eight years old and is running for his life while an American plane is attacking. It's 1943 and Taiwan is occupied by Japan. As the years progress, the Japanese invaders are replaced by Chang Kai Check's army, and life on Taiwan goes from bad to worse. While running from the plane, Saburo meets Yoshiko, the girl who is to become the great love of his life. He learns from her that there is love and tenderness in some families, a fact he had never known. Eventually, Saburo is able to realize his dream of coming to America. This is difficult however because it means leaving behind Yoshiko who by then is his wife and the mother of his yet unborn son. The details of life in Taiwan under Chang made me want to learn more about that period of Taiwan's history. As a child of the fifties and sixties, I grew up hearing only good things about him and this book gives a very different point of view on that. This book literally kept me up all night reading. I finished in a day primarily because I simply did not want to put this book down. I highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing what the talented Julie Wu comes up with next.

Very easy read well written and I learned a lot about art even though this is a work of fiction great characters

Gave me a sense of that period in Chinese history!

Apart from beautiful cover, this book has nothing interesting to offer. The plot seems interesting but the writing is so bad, that I couldn't care less about characters and their story. I want my money back. Seriously.