Aaron reviewed Activities of Daily Living by Lisa Hsiao Chen
Activities of Daily Living
3 stars
I didn't like this book quite as much as I thought I would. There is no doubt that Chen is an inventive writer. It helps to know a bit about Tehching Hsieh before starting the novel. There are plenty of beautifully wrought and insightful sentences. A favorite of mine, speaking of art museum wall signage: "Knowing which materials an artist used and the artwork's precise dimensions is like reading a sign pointed at a complicated person that says 'brain.'" The story weaves together the narrator's exploration of Hseih and her attempts to care for her declining father on the other side of the country. Hseih's work, with its close attention to time, space, and action, meshes with the everyday life of the narrator. I'm glad I read the book, and I hope you read it too, but I can't say that it ever really grabbed me.