By Samantha Diaz
Ambition shouldn’t get in the way of genuine happiness.
When does a hard working individual ever take time for themself? In her second novel, The Comeback, Lily Chu presents a diligent lawyer who sacrifices her personal life for a successful career, only to have her viewpoint turned around when a handsome musician invites her to consider a new perspective on life.
Ariadne Hui has followed in her father’s footsteps, planning every step of her way. She is a dedicated lawyer for her firm and a likely candidate for the partner position. Yet, what she doesn’t anticipate are years of diversity blindness. Ari is surrounded by white colleagues who look past her dedication and instead gravitate towards people with their own background, such as the new hire, Brittany. Brittany is young, comes from a prestigious law school, and is white. Almost immediately Brittany is welcomed to important meetings and engages with senior colleagues–something Ari has been excluded from. However, this is just a small bump in the road for Ari who hopes that her hard work and her father’s lawyer acquaintance, who happens to be Ari’s boss, will get her closer to the top.
After all, as the “good,” dutiful daughter, Ari thinks she has to do what her parents tell her to do, especially when her older sister, Phoebe, has decided to pave an unconventional life path and travel the world supplementing herself with enough food, shelter, and fun by working odd jobs. Feeling resentful towards her sister, Ari focuses her efforts on career success, especially now that her father has suffered a heart attack. Ari’s mother thinks the heart attack came from overwork and stress, but her father doesn’t agree and continues to worry about work. He wants Ari to be a partner for her law firm, urging her to work hard. Despite the health scare and the possible glimpse into her future, Ari continues to strive to achieve partner to bring her father peace, even if it means sacrificing her own.
However, Ari’s best friend and roommate, Hana, invites her cousin Jihoon to stay with them while he reevaluates his current relationship. While Hana is out of town for work, the time Jihoon and Ari spend together offers a new experience of genuine happiness. It is a blissful few weeks until Hana is back in town and Jihoon comes out with a major secret: he is a famous K-pop idol for a group called StarLune, and Ari has unknowingly become their entertainment company’s lawyer. As Ari juggles work, family, and personal concerns, she now has to dodge paparazzi, netizen fans, and rumors.
Of course, this story does delve into a heart-fluttering romance. Jihoon falls hard for Ari, and Ari slowly falls for Jihoon. Between work and trudging through the K-pop scene, Ari guards her heart. Their romantic relationship can never work out, she argues: Ari lives in Toronto, Jihoon lives in Seoul, and their careers require them to stay in their respective cities. But love has a funny way of breaking down doors and painting new dreams.
It’s not easy striving for something, only to wait and watch as time passes by. Ari watching the career she has fought so hard for only to be undermined by unforeseen circumstances is something I can relate to. She represents thousands of individuals who dedicate themselves to a goal with little-to-no recognition in the process. The long work hours take away from enjoyable moments and opportunities, such as Ari’s passion for travel planning: “It’s self-indulgent to take the time to do this when I should be ruthlessly triaging my emails, but my pen doodles over a page in my travel notepad.” Even though she views it as self-indulgent, she loves making someone’s vacation experience memorable and knowing that her sister is traveling the world, this hobby underscores the thorniness of what she wants versus her realities
Understandably, it’s Ari’s father who instills in her this overachieving drive. He pushes her to succeed at the cost of sacrificing enjoyable hobbies, echoing tiger mom narratives. This leads to her eventually becoming the overworked person that she is, who views her father’s heart attack as no excuse for slowing down, speaking to how this pressure has turned her callous. After visiting her father in the hospital, she decides to go on a walk and Jihoon insists on joining Ari, painting a romantic vision of the two of them wandering under the Toronto night sky. While together, Jihoon asks her what would please her father to which she replies, “Only if I’m also working. Otherwise he’d consider it a wicked waste of time when I should be trying to get promoted.”
The “good daughter” role could stem from the absence of Ari’s elusive older sister, Phoebe. When Ari was a teenager, Phoebe left the house and never looked back, which made Ari resentful. When Ari is older and confronts her sister, the conversation ends with Phoebe calling Ari a repressed child and marching out the door of the café, speaking to how even Phoebe can tell that their dad’s upbringing has had a harmful impact on Ari’s psyche. Ari recalls, “What infuriated me was that she’d left before I said what I thought of her.” Thus, creating an even more strained relationship, which adds layers to the Hui family dynamics.
It’s clear that Jihoon becomes Ari’s rock. He stands by her and comforts her during these unfortunate events. From seeing her dad at the hospital to having family dinners with Phoebe in attendance, Jihoon is there supporting Ari. In her world, that rock is normally the role of her best friend Hana. Maybe it is the common connection of overbearing parents, but Ari has always entrusted Hana with everything: “She’s my best friend and probably the most important person in my life. She knows me better than anyone. We’ve weathered a full spectrum of emotional crises including breakups and work setbacks and her mother and my sister.”
So when Ari learns that Hana had also kept the secret from her and shielded her away from the truth is the most hurtful blow out of the entire ruse. If I found myself in this position, I would have cried for days pondering whether I should forgive my best friend or run away. Going from a friendship of a solid foundation to uncertainty is depressing. This, to me, was the hardest part to read through because I feel so close to my own friends and can’t imagine happening this in my own friendships. I appreciate their friendship and didn’t want them to toss out years of memories.
The characters in The Comeback are captivating. I kept reading because I was so invested in seeing where they ended up. Was Phoebe going to leave again? Would Ari get promoted to partner? Does Jihoon stay in Toronto? Do Hana and Ari rekindle their friendship? So many questions ran through my head that I finished this read more quickly than I expected. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
The Comeback by Lily Chu is a reminder to follow your heart with a tender sentiment to family and friends. As Ari grapples with choosing between work versus pleasure, this novel emphasizes personal happiness as an acceptable path of life. If there is one idea to take from this story, it is to follow your journey with passion, possibilities, and enjoyment.
Samantha Desirae Diaz is a writer who explores true crime, paranormal, and romance stories. Born and raised in Chino, CA, she earned her B.A. in screenwriting from California State University, Northridge, and her M.F.A. in creative writing from Chapman University.