Barnes & Noble Presents Real Americans by Rachel Khong as Their May 2024 National Book Club Selection

The bookseller invites readers to join the free virtual event  

on Tuesday, June 4^th at 3:00 PM ET 

New York, NY – May 1, 2024– Barnes & Noble announces Real Americans as their May National Book Club pick and welcomes readers to join author Rachel Khong at a free live virtual event. The author will be in conversation with Lexie Smyth, Category Manager for Fiction at Barnes & Noble, and Miwa Messer, Executive Producer of Poured Over, the B&N Podcast, to discuss the title as well as answer questions from audience members. Attendees must register via Eventbrite to access the livestream on Zoom. 

“Real Americans is a sweeping narrative spanning three generations of a family across multiple continents,” said Lexie Smyth, Category Manager for Fiction, Barnes & Noble. “This is a book that asks big questions: what makes us who we are? Is it predetermined, or can it be changed? If you could give your child an advantage, would you? I know that Real Americans will inspire many rich discussions among our Book Club readers. I have been waiting to get this into their hands, and I couldn’t be more excited that the time is here.”

Rachel Khong’s sophomore novel is a story that will sneak up on any reader and will be carried with them long after the satisfying turn of the last page. Told in three parts from alternating perspectives, the magnetic narrative continuously calls into question how much or little agency we have in our own lives. Khong’s lyrical prose is profound as is her ability to seamlessly weave together threads of identity, class, race and family in a voice reminiscent of Min Jin Lee or Gabrielle Zevin. With hints of magical realism that amplify the powerful intersections between immigration, inheritance and influence throughout the novel — this book is a must-read for fans of Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom or Mary Beth Keane’s The Half Moon.

The Barnes & Noble Book Club selects a newly published work of fiction each month, chosen by their booksellers to provoke, engage and enthrall book lovers. The Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition of Real Americans features beautifully stained and stenciled edges. Leading up to the event, readers can share their thoughts and engage in conversation on social media using the hashtag #BNBookClub. During the livestream, readers are encouraged to participate in the discussion and submit questions to be answered throughout.

“I'm honored and grateful that Real Americans has been chosen as a B&N book club pick, and stunned by the beauty of the B&N exclusive edition with its stained edges,” said Rachel Khong. “Barnes & Noble was the first bookstore I encountered as a young reader in suburban Southern California so this distinction feels especially meaningful.”

The enthusiasm and word-of-mouth recommendations of Barnes & Noble booksellers across the country have sparked ardent praise from readers nationwide, turning great novels into bestsellers. Previous Barnes & Noble Book Club selections have included: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, The Night Ship by Jess Kidd, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and The Cloisters by Katy Hays.