In his sophomore novel, Jinwoo Chong delivers a narrative as meticulously crafted as a perfect piece of nigiri – deceptively simple in appearance but requiring immense skill to execute properly. I Leave It Up to You follows Jack Jr., a Korean American man who wakes from a two-year coma to find his advertising career, Manhattan apartment, and long-term relationship have all vanished. With nowhere else to turn, he reluctantly returns to his family’s struggling sushi restaurant in Fort Lee, New Jersey – the very place he fled ten years earlier.
What unfolds is a masterclass in second-chance storytelling that slices through layers of family obligation, cultural identity, and personal redemption with the precision of a well-honed yanagi knife. Chong has created a protagonist whose voice is so immediate and distinctive that readers will feel they’re sitting at the sushi counter beside him, watching as he reconnects with his estranged family and reluctantly steps back into the role he once abandoned.
The Art of Character Filleting
Chong excels at creating characters who feel startlingly alive on the page. Jack Jr. narrates with a sardonic, self-aware voice that captures the disorientation of having lost two years of his life while simultaneously confronting the consequences of choices made a decade earlier. His irreverent humor serves as both shield and weapon as he navigates his new reality:
“When you think about it, there’s very little parents are able to keep from you once you progress to adulthood. There is nobody you know better than a person who spent thirty-plus years baring their hopes, fears, everything to you, in the way they tied your shoelaces, made you lunch, paid for your college.”
The supporting cast is equally compelling, particularly:
Appa (Jack’s father) – A complex figure whose quiet pride and stubborn dedication to his craft mask deeper fears about aging and obsolescence
Emil Cuddy – Jack’s former nurse whose passion for theater creates a parallel narrative about pursuing dreams versus practical realities
Juno – Jack’s teenage nephew who creates viral TikTok videos of “Fish Daddy” (Jack) that both help and complicate the family business
The family dynamics crackle with tension and unspoken resentments, particularly between Jack and his recovering alcoholic brother James. Their relationship exemplifies Chong’s talent for depicting how families can simultaneously be sources of both deepest wound and greatest healing.
Structural Innovation: Twenty-Three Months Later
Chong employs a timeline that moves both forward and backward, mirroring Jack’s disoriented relationship with time after his coma. Chapter titles like “Twenty-Three Months Later” and “Another Month Later” create a structural rhythm that feels deliberately disjointed, allowing readers to experience Jack’s fractured perception of reality.
One particularly brilliant chapter, “Super-Fast Flashback Interlude Concerning—Among Other Topics—the Yoke of Filial Piety Inadvertently Enacting Damning and Irreversible Consequences for All Parties Involved,” employs third-person narration and a radically different voice to depict the fateful night Jack first abandoned the restaurant. This stylistic departure creates emotional distance that paradoxically intensifies the scene’s impact.
Cultural Authenticity Without Explanation
What distinguishes Chong’s writing is his refusal to over-explain Korean cultural references for non-Korean readers. Terms like “umma,” “appa,” “jjigae,” and “kimchi” appear without italics or exposition, embedded naturally in dialogue and description. The sushi-making scenes pulse with sensory detail and insider knowledge:
“To slice fish, one must see with the fingers, feel with the tips of the pads the tender flesh, capturing the lean meat at its ripest, the vertex point after capture and before spoilage where its flavor is forward but not overpowering.”
This approach creates an immersive reading experience while subtly challenging Western literary conventions that often exoticize Asian cultures and cuisines. Chong trusts readers to understand—or learn—without hand-holding.
A Feast with Minor Flaws
While I Leave It Up to You is predominantly excellent, a few elements prevent it from achieving perfection:
Pacing inconsistencies: The novel’s middle section occasionally meanders, with certain scenes of family conflict feeling repetitive
Unresolved narrative threads: The mystery of Jack’s car accident—whether intentional or accidental—receives less resolution than some readers might desire
Secondary character development: While Emil is richly drawn, his sudden disappearance and eventual return feel somewhat underexplored emotionally
Tonal shifts: The novel’s comedic moments occasionally clash with its more profound emotional revelations, creating jarring transitions
However, these criticisms feel minor compared to the novel’s considerable strengths. Chong has crafted a story that resonates with authenticity while never sacrificing entertainment value.
The “Second Novel” That Doesn’t Suffer Sophomore Slump
Following his critically acclaimed debut Flux, Chong avoids the dreaded “sophomore slump” by doubling down on his strengths—sharp dialogue, cultural specificity, and characters who feel lived-in—while exploring new thematic territory. Flux examined identity through a science-fiction lens, whereas I Leave It Up to You approaches similar questions through the more intimate frame of family and food.
Fans of Min Jin Lee’s multigenerational storytelling in Pachinko or Michelle Zauner’s food-centered memoir Crying in H Mart will find much to appreciate here, though Chong’s voice remains distinctly his own—more irreverent and willing to employ humor as an emotional delivery system.
Thematic Depth: Why We Run From Those We Love
At its heart, I Leave It Up to You explores a fundamental question: Why do we flee from the people who know us best, and why do we continue to love those who have abandoned us? As Jack gradually reintegrates into the family business he once rejected, Chong examines how:
Family expectations can feel both suffocating and sustaining
Cultural identity exists on a spectrum rather than as a fixed point
Obligation and love often become indistinguishable
Time alters but doesn’t erase our core selves
In one particularly moving passage, Jack reflects:
“We were like this for the longest time, each of us looking at the other, until Sam started to cry. His gulps of air were heavy and panicked, sounding louder and louder, growing. I blinked, slightly, becoming aware. I turned around. Umma was crying, her hands up at her mouth. All of the color had fallen away from Juno’s face. I saw Appa last, hands fallen limp at his sides.”
These moments of reckoning—when characters must confront the damage they’ve done to those they love—provide the novel’s emotional backbone.
Final Verdict: A Meal Worth Savoring
I Leave It Up to You confirms Jinwoo Chong as a significant literary talent whose work bridges cultures, generations, and literary traditions. Through his protagonist’s journey from reluctant returnee to restaurant owner, Chong examines how our attempts to outrun the past inevitably lead us back to ourselves—often via unexpected detours.
The novel’s strength lies in its refusal to provide easy answers. Jack’s second chance isn’t a neat redemption arc but a messier, more realistic process of acceptance and adaptation. The ending, which sees Jack literally running after a departing bus (and metaphorically chasing connection), perfectly encapsulates the book’s philosophy: second chances require sustained effort and the courage to risk rejection.
For readers who appreciate fiction that balances cultural specificity with universal emotional truths, I Leave It Up to You offers a deeply satisfying experience. Like the best meals, it leaves you simultaneously fulfilled and already anticipating your next visit.
Strengths:
Distinctive, authentic voice
Richly developed family dynamics
Cultural specificity without explanation
Perfect balance of humor and pathos
Immersive food writing
Areas for Improvement:
Some pacing issues in the middle
Certain emotional arcs feel rushed
Mystery elements underdeveloped
Occasional tonal inconsistencies
Much like the tteok served at the end of Jack’s omakase instead of traditional tamago, Chong’s novel subverts expectations while still delivering profound satisfaction. In an increasingly homogenized literary landscape, his willingness to write from a place of specific cultural experience without compromising narrative momentum or emotional depth makes I Leave It Up to You essential reading for fans of contemporary literary fiction.