A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

This is a fine story of the difficult relationship between father and daughter, between the one living in a new culture and the one still holding on to the old, between the one hoping to redeem themselves through the lives of others and the one who is the supposed redeemer. Set in beautiful Spokane in the fall, Yilan and her father work out the day-to-day routine of living together. Neither is really comfortable. The Chinese formality of language (respect and deference first) comes across strong in their relationship and one senses that if the language was English, different things could be said. This gives some insight into the English language and culture, how we treat parents and elders and how the individual rights/needs supercede the family/relationship. In the end, the relationships are simultaneously true, funny and depressing. Father and daughter learn a little bit about each other, probably more than they ever expected to know, and yet neither is completely satisfied in the relationship, nor completely able to feel understood. And in the end, this is probably more realistic that we like to admit.
4-stars