In Weike Wang’s novel Rental House, Keru, a Chinese-American woman and Nate, her white husband, vacation at two rental homes, five years apart. During the first vacation, their respective parents come to visit for successive weeks, highlighting the cultural differences between their upbringings and the ways in which their parents ultimately shaped their views of family, marriage, immigration, parenting, and more. The second vacation finds Keru and Nate even more entrenched in their roles, and more committed to remaining childless. This novel is introspective and a little slow, without much growth or change in either character. I think that was the point – a snapshot of a marriage, with all of its complexity, baggage, compromise and stubbornness. You know how when you plan a vacation and you keep imagining you’re going to be someone a little different, a little better when you’re there? And then you’re not? That’s Rental House. I’m glad I read it.