Livonia Chow Mein
books by Abigail Savitch-Lew
In the vein of Happiness Falls and Family Lore, a gripping story of family history and political upheaval centered around a Chinese family-owned restaurant in Brownsville, Brooklyn and its impact on the neighborhood’s Jewish and Black residents over the course of a century.In 1978, two tenements on Livonia Avenue in Brownsville burn to the ground, killing one resident and displacing dozens of others. It remains unclear who set the buildings ablaze, but the survivors are convinced the culprit is Mr. Wong. Who exactly is Mr. Wong, and what allegedly drove him to this extraordinary act of violence, is the question that consumes this novel as it plunges into four generations of Wong family history. First is Koon Lai, an immigrant who runs a Chinese restaurant on Livonia Avenue; second, his son Richard, a man desperate for his own chance at the American Dream; and third, Jason, a poet who seeks his escape in the bohemian counterculture of the 1970s, but finds himself an unwitting... The book’s writing style prioritizes readability, making it easy to stay immersed for extended periods. Clear sentence structure and logical flow help maintain momentum. This accessibility is one of the book’s key strengths. The author demonstrates restraint in storytelling, choosing clarity and intention over excessive embellishment. This focus results in a narrative that feels purposeful and well-crafted.