Gain Dial A For Aunties (Aunties, #1) Created By Jesse Q. Sutanto Print
truly glorious caper comedy about a young Indonesian/Chinese American woman, her overbearing aunties/mum, and the disposal of a body.
Because they kind of accidentally killed the guy,
It's absolutely delightful, Our narrator Meddie comes across as perhaps a bit too downtrodden at first, but blossoms throughout the book, The aunties/mum are without exception superb, And the caper plotting is sublimely ridiculous, As with the best farce, every turn escalates the situation, and there were not one but two points where I actually gasped out loud at the new OH MY GOD moment.
Obviously, the fact that they killed a guy and are trying to dispose of his corpse is a bit on the dark side, but the author pulls it off beautifully, balancing the frothy and frenetic fun with the dark humour and keeping the stakes high without stopping us having fun.
There's a romance as well, which is fine and adds satisfyingly to the chaos but let's be honest, we're all here for the aunties.
Everything I hoped it would be, This was such a blast omg, DEFINITELY recommend listening to this one via audio! ,stars
Okay, am I the only one who got “the hangover” vibes from this book I cant explain why it reminded me of that movie so much, maybe its the “everything is a mess and all over the place” element in it!
Anyway this was so much fun! I didnt know what to expect going into it, except that it sounds so interesting and guess what It really was! The family dynamic here is amazing and hilarious.
Each one of the aunts was driving me crazy and giving me a mini headache, they were just a lot! I loved them tho! In times I was thinking poor Meddy, but I was always feeling their love and support for each other.
I loved how they showed up for her without hesitation and all their banter was so freakin entertaining,
The romance was sweet, but not really developed Nathan was just so okay for someone who have been unexplainably dumped for years.
I wanted more, but I knew it wasnt going to be the main focus of the story, I didnt mind that tho, Meddy and her aunts were carrying the book just fine on their own and trust me they had a lot to carry! Overall this was fun, full of mayhem, messy situations, murder, hilarious family moments, rich in IndoChinese culture, sweet romance, and many omg moments.
.stars.
“You're not a mess, You just kill by accident only, Bad luck. Can happen to anyone. ”
As you might now by now, my reviews has spoilers major or minors because I can't help myself, lol.
I was hesitant about reading this book because I've read mixed reviews about it, but I said, "fuck it, why not" and I gotta admit that I did, in fact, enjoy this book in a, which is way more than I expected.
My issues were these: we have likechapters and everything solves in the lastchapters, which is cool, but I feel like some things were kinda off.
We don't quite know how Meddy and Nathan meet each other as well,
The repetitive thing of "the curse", . . which it practically is all men leave women at some point, Meddy's uncles, cousins and even her own father, so she didn't that that happen to her and Nathan, Like, hun, I know of it because all men in my family had abandoned us too, My grandfather, my ex brotherinlaw, my own father but my mom is happily married to my stepdad, so it's ok now, And the fact that Meddy basically made the decision of breaking up with Nathan there are more reasons, I know for it left me.
. . !!!!
ANYHOW, MOVING TO THE POSITIVE THINGS,
This book was funny from top to toe, Meddy's mom pretending to be her in a dateapp and matching with a random dude and then Meddy "killing" him accidentally, . . But turned out he didn't die due to the accident but of suffocation,
Meddy's aunts were funny too, Discussing in Indonesian, Chinese and English, having moments of calm when it comes to hide a dead guy's body in a cooler and moving him around like a purse.
Tho I don't jugde them: I've seen plenty of traumatizing shit to act cool when tragedies happen around me, lol,
The romance was kind of ok, It was more friends to lovers and it's pretty good, but I wanted more tension and pining, idk, oH, PLUS, I IMAGINED NATHAN AS SIMU LIU AND gtgtgtgtgtgt the world, Boi, Simu Liu is the sweetest, dork and adorable man ever, I am deeply in love with him, yes,
I also have to make some research on Chinese food and Chinese and Indonesian traditions as well,
I really liked the way family is portrayed here, How, despise of being a pain in the ass sometimes, they're for you in your hardest moments, I know not all families are like this, and I also wish mine would, but we can not have it all, right
The cherry on top for me was this, fellow swifties, if you're reading this, you know:
".
. . so it's
not a loss in translation, "
" sweet disposition. "
" all too well. "
I was crying and screaming when I read those lines, lmao,
Also, Tom Cruise Sutopo is a fucking dick and Jackie is better with Maureen,
One of the groomsmen saying "lol" as if it's an actual word made me lose my shit,
In overall, this book made me laugh so hard in some moments, I don't know if my humor is broken or if this was funny, but yeah, you had me cackling ata, m. for a bunch of middleaged Chinese women moving a cooler with a dead body on it, lmao,
previous review:
RTC but this book will easily be a comfort read, it was so funny i wanted to like this book so badly, especially because it seemed like jesse q, sutanto would be attempting to subvert genre conventions, but i just think i'm ultimately the wrong kind of person for this style of romcom.
people i think would like this book for no reason other than energy:
millennial disney adults
ppl who peaked freshman year of undergrad
fans of modern family
anyone who wears a birkenstocks ankle sock combo to trader joe's
i gave this an extra star because the general concept carried enough momentum to keep me engaged for most of the narrative, even as the novel's execution failed spectacularly.
i encountered far too many logistical inconsistencies and plot holes to list out fully, but i'll try to go through the most pressing issues i had with dial a for aunties.
a lot of it simply amounts to technical skillor a lack thereofsince i do feel that the heart was there:
unfortunately, meddy is my least favorite kind of romantic protagonist.
i cannot handle adults whose inner voice reads like tiktok millennials making videos with captions a la, "trying to understand gen z lingo LOL boomeralert whatsurharrypotterhouse!" if you use internet acronyms intext, especially if your main character is upwards of, i will be docking a star from my rating.
your prefrontal cortex has already finished developing, you have no excuse. beyond the juvenile inner voice, meddy is extremely wishywashy and almost never acts with an ounce of intelligence or critical thinking, which made the journey more harrowing than it needed to be.
i appreciate sutanto's disclaimer about representing trilingual immigrant families in anglophone contexts, but still feel like the aunty characters were written as punchlines.
they rarely ever transcend that plot function and it always seems to be specific to their cultural experiences the way they speak, their adherence to practices like chinese martial arts or medicine, the hierarchical/filial strife they feel with each other.
for example, second aunt's entire portrayal boils down to "doing tai chi in illtimed/awkward contexts, " like! what! please flesh these women out! the sisters' filial strife is one of the few auntyspecific plot points that i felt had the potential to enrich the narrative beyond "haha, tai chi pose funny!", and i would have loved to have seen that explored outside of throwaway commentary or sisterly sideeyes.
even the abandonment curse and all the men the aunties have lost would have been interesting to delve into! but both of these details remain onedimensional/unexplored from start to finish.
the filial strife is never resolved, the curse is waved away as are most plot points in this novel during a single ending interaction where meddy's mom is like, well, actually, it's not a curse! it's a blessing! like, okay, can we get some backstory some cultural history flashbacks hearttohearts with complex interplay IS EVERYTHING A JOKE IN THIS NOVEL
in that same vein, no one in this book reads as threedimensional.
like, okay, it's a romcom with a lot of mystery/murder elements going on, the plot/backdrop is busy, i get it, but in a romance book, your love interestAT THE VERY LEASTshould have flaws a personality anything beyond a basic point a MEET LOVE INTEREST to point b KISS LOVE INTEREST plot formula.
nathan did not have a personality, not in his flashback introduction or his present day reappearance, like. no development or growth. at all. he barely has any interests, i could not name one defining characteristic of his besides "is in love with meddy" and "literally does not know how to communicate.
"
the "literally does not know how to communicate" detail is particularly aggravating, i'm so sick of couples breaking things off in books without anything that extends beyond "okay, i'm gonna go" after an offhand lie/miscommunication.
like. BRO. YOU'RE TELLING ME THE GUY WHO'S MADLY IN LOVE WITH MEDDY IS NOT GOING TO PROBE ANY DEEPER WHEN SHE TELLS HIM OUT OF THE BLUE THAT SHE WANTS TO SEE OTHER PEOPLE WHEN THEIR RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT SUNSHINE AND ROSES UP TO THIS POINT LITERALLY NOT EVEN GONNA ASK, "WHEN DID THIS FEELING START" PERHAPS A, "IS THERE SOMEONE SPECIFICALLY YOU'RE INTERESTED IN" EVEN A "WHY HAVE I DONE SOMETHING WRONG LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS OVER COFFEE BEFORE WE MAKE ANY RASH DECISIONS" WOULD DO! AHHH! HETEROSEXUAL PEOPLE!!!!!!
moreover, how the fuck do you end one of nathan and meddy's first present day interactions with her explicitly saying she's not seeing anyone, only for nathan to go, "YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND" like two interactions later.
and then just make this face about it without asking any followup questions like any regular human being would go, "oh, but literally an hour or two ago, you said you weren't seeing anyone so was that a lie can you be a little more transparent with me since we've been kissing and reaffirming our attraction to each other" not just stand there like ouchie and walk away.
if by this point i'm supposed to believe nathan knew the feet he saw belonged to a dead person, i would have liked to see some descriptive hints, like him raising his eyebrows or squinting at meddy, rocking back on his heels, putting his hands in his pockets with a contemplative look, something to imply skepticism or uncertainty, ANYTHING TO CREATE A SENSE OF SUSPENSE
you can see why i had trouble with the writing in this book.
there are no breadcrumb trails to be followed, it's like, i just entered the tree line, BAM, i run smack dab into a carnivorous wolf, except the carnivorous wolf probably wears crop tops that say UWU and says stuff like, "i can't point a gun at another person," after literally pointing a gun at another person.
one of the most frustrating aspects of this reading experience is just how slipshod haphazard the conflict resolution is, every. single. time. sutanto expends all of her effort setting up absolute chaosat the cost of realismbut doesn't seem able to grasp the concept of slowburn or even emotional impact.
one of the best examples of this is present day meddy finally confessing to nathan that she's killed a man, only for him to be like "call me temperance 'bones' brennan cuz babe i already know " this entire confession/reveal scene takes place over two pages.
two. this was one of the few unresolved plot points that had propelled me through the book, and you're telling me, NATHAN KNEW ALL ALONG AND NEVER GAVE US ANY INTEXT CLUES TO INDICATE IT WHY THE FUCK WAS THIS MAN CRYING OVER MEDDY HAVING A BOYFRIEND IF HE KNEW THE BITCH IN HER BED WAS A CORPSE I READPAGES FOR AN ANTICLIMACTIC NONREACTION!! ".
. . It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to put two and two together, " DAMN, THEN ARE YOU TELLING ME THE ISLAND YOU'RE BOTH ON IS POPULATED BY NOTHING BUT DUMB BITCHES BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONLY MOTHERFUCKER WITHIN FIVE MILES WHO GUESSED HER ENTIRE HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER PLOT BASED ON NOTHING MORE THAN A LITERAL COOLER BY THIS LOGIC, YOU'D THINK SHE'D HAVE A HARDER TIME DUPING A WEDDING GUEST LIST OF LIKE,BUT NO EVERYTHING IS MIRACULOUSLY SOLVED WITHPAGES TO SPARE
meddy doesn't even have the excuse of annalise keating's charisma or bisexuality she's just like FFS I AM A LAWYER.
AND A HUFFLEPUFF and the sheriff is like fair enough have a seat ma'am
nothing in this damn book makes sense :/
i know this opinion isn't shared by most, but the minute maureen was introduced i sniffed the air and went.
. . oh no we got a covert lesbian in our midsts, except i was hoping i would be wrong because i hate the maniacal wlw trope when it's poorly executed and this instance was no exception! why the hell did you write one of your only lesbians like that! none of her characterization made a lick of sense! she had no character development! there was literally no leadup to her and her f/f relationship! came out of fucking left field!
none of these people act like adults with prefrontal cortexes.
like. in what world is this a logical conclusion to come to: in order to get my bestie to love me, i will hatch a burglary plot, then rescind it like halfway through so she knows i'm sexy.
THIS BOOK MUST THINK I'M STUPID!!!!!!!!!! AND I AM!!!!!!!! BUT I STILL HAVE STANDARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
AND THEN THE F/F COUPLE GETS TOGETHER WITHIN LIKE TWO MINUTESRIGHT AFTER A RUSHED REVEAL! EVERY! SINGLE! TIME!
this book is about as subtle as jared leto's "joker" depiction.
which is to say. not at all.
if you've read my reviews before, you know that i hate farfetched plot events in nonfantastical fiction, particularly when they're blundering or heavyhanded.
so. i think you can guess how i felt about the forensic science true crime writing in this,
it made me want to launch my book at a wall,
i just feel. that before undertaking subject matter as complex as modern murder, novelists need to do a little bit of research and outlining, ask your editors/creative consultants to mine your outline for plot holes before you throw yourself into the writing process, just. at least try to convince me you've made it past the law and order theme song once or twice, i. i can't. i can't accept the way meddy waltzed her way into the criminal justice system after claiming not to give a fuck or know anything.
. . about it and then skipped right out within a chapter or two because no one except her boyfriend suspected she'd had a hand in the murder or cared enough to pursue the crime any further.
and then we're immediately thrown into an unearned epilogue with a marriage proposal, after meddy went on and on about hating weddingsespecially the fact that they're a consumerist farce.
god, i would have much preferred her aunties brought up marriage proposals, only for meddy to take nathan's hand and say something to the effect of, "we don't need a wedding to be in love.
" boom. you made your point and solidified her admittedly flimsy character development, but no. we can't have nice things!
NOT EVEN A MOM/MEDDY CONFLICT RESOLUTION WHERE THEY SPILL THEIR GUTS TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT ANGER TO BLIND THEM.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so, evidently, i cannot cope with nonrealistic contemporary writing,/for me yall.