BONE by Fae Myenne Ng (HarperPerennial:...

BONE by Fae Myenne Ng (HarperPerennial: $11; 194 pp.). Ng’s gracefully written first novel examines the conflict between two generations in the restricted world of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Leila Leong narrates the unhappy saga of her mismatched parents and her sisters. Ona, the middle sister, committed suicide for unknown reasons; Nina, the youngest, has abandoned her family obligations for the freedom of New York. Left to herself, Leila slowly pieces together her family’s struggle to preserve their traditional beliefs while taking advantage of the opportunities America offers. Ng deftly sketches a moving portrait of a family as unit and as a collection of individuals, united by affection, toil and blighted hope.