This book reminds me of every other book written by a Yankee about the south that seems to fulfill some type of longstanding grant quota of a publisher. While I appreciated the attempt to infuse the reader with olfactory sensations, the author's use of magnolia trees is too frequent and geographically wrong. There are all kinds of free resources to fact check, such as the Mississippi State Forestry Commission. One thing Mr. Cheng has artfully mastered is writing in incomplete sentences or in bullet form, just like people text these days. Was this intended as a novel? Or the basis for a screenplay?