All That Matters

A much-anticipated sequel to Choy's award-winning first novel, The Jade Peony, All That Matters revisits the family home of the young Chen siblings whose intersecting points of view formed the heart of the earlier book. This time, however, "First Son" Kiam-Kim (a silent presence in All That Matters) tells his story. Born in "Old China," Kiam-Kim arrives in Vancouver at the age of three with his widowed father and strong-willed grandmother, who have been selected by a successful Chinese businessman to become his "paper family." Filtering everything through a young child's consciousness, Choy portrays, with richly compelling imagery, the underground Chinese city of "Gold Mountain"--hidden within Anglo Vancouver and yet teeming with illegal immigrants, exotic foodstuffs, and old-world customs.
As Kiam-Kim matures under the tutelage of his fawning but tough-as-nails grandmother Poh-Poh, he faces down several challenges to his family position, including the arrival of a new "Stepmother" and an adopted "Second Brother." He also makes friends with the Irish boy next door, the reckless Jack O'Connor, whose cowboy good looks bring about the central crisis of the novel. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that Kiam-Kim is a hero equal to almost any task, and his ability to calmly navigate old and new value systems saps this otherwise fine novel of some of its dramatic potential.