A seducible boy is what I am.
Tiller in My Year Abroad by Chang-Rae Lee
Tiller is a directionless college student looking forward to an opportunity to study abroad when he meets Pong, a Chinese-American chemist/businessman who discovers abilities in Tiller the young man had never realized he possessed. Pong, for example, owns a chain of frozen yogurt shops, and Tiller can, in a couple of sentences, describe each flavor colorfully and accurately predict its sales potential.
Pong offers to take Tiller along with him on a business trip to Asia as something of a protege. Never mind college, this seems like too good an opportunity to pass up. On the trip Tiller continues to discover unknown abilities in himself, such as a karaoke talent that is widely appreciated.
Then Pong abandons Tiller in China, promising to return soon. Yet he doesn't, and Tiller soon finds himself trapped in virtual slavery.
Lee, a Korean-American novelist who teaches at Princeton, tells what happens to Tiller after his Chinese experience in alternate chapters. He now lives with an older woman, Val, and her son, Victor Jr. Val is in the witness protection program after testifying against her husband. That's one thing that hangs over this makeshift family. The other is that Val is suicidal, and Tiller must always be alert for signs that her depression may be worsening. Does she really love Tiller or does she view him just as someone who will be willing to care for Victor Jr. after she's gone?
The two stories never really come together, forcing readers to draw their own conclusions. What does Tiller's year abroad have to do with his life with Val? Has he traded one form of enslavement for another? Are any of us really free?
The author writes with the wordy richness of literary notables with names like Updike, Bellow and Roth. This may not be the most rewarding story you will read this year, but it certainly does stay interesting. You never know what might happen next.
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