As a second-generation Chinese-American photographer living in Los Angeles, it’s hard not to see a bit of myself in Meddelin Chan in Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto. In the dead of summer, I picked up this book and got so engrossed in it that I forgot to flip over on the beach, resulting in one of the worst sunburns of my life—and I’d do it again if it meant I got to experience this book for the first time.
I won’t even attempt to put this book in one genre because it quite literally touches on everything. There’s a touch of murder mystery, comedy, romance, family, and it all blends so perfectly together that I am urgently suggesting that you run to the library (or your local bookstore) and read this immediately.
Now, what makes this book so special?
The Synopsis
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—”Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
The Review
With about 50 different things constantly going on, Sutanto does an incredible job creating a world of loud aunties, murder, and the “perfect” wedding. The chaos pulls you in and holds you tight for the entire 320 pages through quick wit, miscommunication, and utter madness. Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of the miscommunication trope (it’s honestly just frustrating), but when it’s between a rowdy bunch of aunties who are constantly switching languages between English, Mandarin, and Indonesian, it is given a seat at the table. I think the miscommunication between elder Asian immigrants and the younger generation is so commonplace but is never really addressed, so I applaud Sutanto. She utilizes the trouble of effective communication between languages to create hilarious dialogue that will make you embarrassingly cackle in front of a million strangers at the beach.
Dial A for Aunties does an incredible job as a whole dropping in subtle references to the Chinese-American experience. From grabbing dim sum and having to chase down the cart ladies, to the groom being named Tom Cruise Sutanto, this book is the Chinese-American representation that we have been asking for. It really made me realize that I do not live a unique experience, but I didn’t realize that before reading this book. I thought I was the only one who struggled to communicate with my family because I almost exclusively speak English. I thought I was the only one who came home every weekend from college to go eat Chinese food with my family instead of going out
This book is filled to the brim with every plot twist that you could even imagine. Each being more ridiculous than the last, this series of unfortunate events will leave you internally (and maybe even externally) screaming. Some frustrated screaming interspersed with the occasional I-love-these-characters-so-much screaming, with a touch of I-wish-I-wrote-that screaming, your voice will give out.
There are parts of this book that I feel could’ve been fleshed out more (Meddelin’s romance with Nathan being a main one), but with everything else going on, it was a choice that I can accept and live
Overall, this is the perfect book to pick up when you need a huge laugh. For when you’re missing your family and just want to be surrounded by a tight-knit boisterous bunch. For when you feel like killing a man (but will you get away with it? I guess you’ll have to read it and find out).
Luckily for all of us, Dial A for Aunties doesn’t just end here. With a Netflix movie on the way, directed by Fresh off the Boat and Always Be My Maybe’s Nahnatchka Khan, and a sequel in the coming years, I am most definitely looking forward to diving back into Sutanto’s extremely entertaining world of familial craziness.
