Underkill: An Allen Choice Novel

I'm a literature grad student, and I've had the opportunity to follow Chang's writing for some time now. His first two novels were clearly attempts to delineate the racial dynamics in America (Asian/African American as well as class issues), and with this Allen Choice series he seems to be trying to write about Korean Americans in a similar but almost subterranean way. He is writing about an Americanized Korean American man as a Private Investigator, a man who looks into the grit of American lives (Korean American lives in Over the Shoulder, and now the L.A. Underground and ecstasy scene in Underkill) all the while investigating his own life, both external and internal life. Allen Choice has no ethnic or racial ties--he's afloat and alone. He actually has NO ties (familial or relationship), which on some level echoes Chang's previous novels. The archetype of the PI is the isolated man, and here Allen Choice is isolated on so many levels it's dizzying, because family, race, profession, and now relationships have served to separate him from conventional society. Chang has taken the model of the PI and used this to exploit his other themes of alienation. This takes not only mystery fiction but Asian American fiction to new levels. I highly recommend this series for readers looking for exciting, well-written stories with a bit more substance than the usual genre entertainments.

This series is turning out to be one of the best and most interesting ones I've read, and I've read a lot of them. I love Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane and Sue Grafton and a bunch of others, and this one definitely ranks up there because Allen Choice is a very realized and intriguing character. I was trying to tell a friend about this series and found it hard to describe because it's so centered on the character instead of just the mystery. It's almost like this is a regular novel about an investigator and so there's naturally a mystery because it's his job, but it's not about the mystery...it's about the guy himself. The writing is awesome.

The wait is over...I was thrilled to see a follow-up to Over the Shoulder and read Underkill over the weekend. It's a real page-turner, and Chang deftly avoids the usual cliches associated with raves and drug use. I especially enjoyed the human dimensions of the story - the family and personal relationships, and the way Chang interweaved these elements into an already strong plot. I usually find myself skipping sentences, paragraphs or even pages of text when authors feel compelled to show off their research for a novel, drowning us in unnecessary details; Chang's style is well-balance though, and Underkill never gets bogged down like that. Chang is a talented author and I hope to see more soon!

Unlike Over the Shoulder, this installment of Allen Choice moves us into different and deeper terrain: we get a piercing look at his emotions as his life and relationships fray. What's missing is the broader sociological scope of Over the Shoulder, but what's added is the in-depth look at Choice. It's as if the author decided to go inward rather than outward, which seems like an odd but interesting choice (no pun intended) for a thriller. I also missed the philosophical thoughts, but they have been replaced by an investigation into his ideas of relationships. This is turning out to be a very unique mystery series. I think James Sallis's mysteries are similar, though of course different in terms of character and style.

I hate it when a series keeps doing the same thing but this Allen Choice mystery doesn't do anything like that. I liked the first one, and this is better written. The mystery isn't about Allen's family. It's just part of the things shaking him up. If you've ever been through a break-up you'll identify with what Allen is going through. It's very well done how this sequel is totally different but is still about Allen. I can't wait to see what's next.