I loved this book about a group of people who take a cruise from Boston to the Bahamas right after September 11. Yun contrasts the fear and chaos of Boston and New York (and the rest of the country) with the strangely sheltered world on a cruise. The employees of the cruise company are charged with giving people a perfect, relaxing, vacation experience, which in this case means not letting them think about September 11 for a minute. This is my second book by Yun; I previously reviewed O Beautiful.
The voyage is a “reunion cruise” for passengers who were fans of a show very closely based on the 1980’s The Love Boat. On the cruise are aging actors stuck re-enacting the schlocky roles they played, and fans who paid a lot to “get to know” the actors, in the fishbowl that is a cruise.
Like The Love Boat, the book revolves around three storylines. Franny is a Korean-American woman who is celebrating her mother’s 80th birthday with her family. She’s still traumatized by the events of September 11 but it’s important to her to honor her mother with a traditional Korean celebration. Doug is an actor from the show – he played the bartender who listened to everyone’s problems. He’s burdened by his memories of a close friend and fellow cast member who is no longer alive. Reliving his time on the show is the last thing he wants, but he needs this job to go well since he doesn’t have anything else. Finally, Lucy is finishing up her graduate degree and is interviewing for high paying jobs with tech companies, but she wants to be an artist. She’s broke and is traveling at the invitation of her roommate and her roommate’s grandmother.
I liked the thoughtful way this book is structured, with each of the main characters being at distinctly different stages in their lives. I also thought the book was a good blend of drama and reflection. It’s not soapy in the least, but there’s plenty of emotion. The main characters are a mess, and they are likeable and unlikeable in ways that felt realistic. I was rooting for Franny to work out her issues with her family and her husband, or at least with herself. This is not a book that ties everything up with a neat bow at the end, which I also appreciated. It’s a book about character growth, grief and regrets, and being at a crossroads. I loved Doug and Franny, but connected less with Lucy’s character.
I think the author may have struggled a bit with how much to make 9/11 a part of the story. It’s mostly background, in the sense that the characters feel guilty being on a cruise when such horrible things just happened. Franny is the only character that directly experienced the events of 9/11 in New York City. She wants to forget while her husband is desperate for every bit of news. I could identify with that. Yun herself went on a similar cruise right after 9/11 that inspired this story. There’s a part at the end of the book that recounts the statistics around 9/11 (death tolls, etc.) and what happened afterwards in the U.S., Afghanistan, and Iraq. But this felt like information that was tacked on, rather than a part of the story. Its purpose was unclear, although I think Yun feels like 9/11 is a crossroads in history, just as this cruise represents one for each of its characters.
Readers who are old enough to remember The Love Boat will love all the references to the show and characters. I watched it a lot when I was a kid, so I enjoyed it. I wonder if readers unfamiliar with the show will enjoy this book as much. On the other hand, I’ve never been on a cruise, so I imagine readers who’ve been on cruises will identify with that more than I did.
Readers who like journey stories that are complicated and character-focused will enjoy this book. There are lots of layers to it, which I appreciated, and a hopeful tone in what was a dark time.
Thanks to Alexandria’s Old Town Books for hosting a book club to discuss this book.
