Our Missing Hearts

Description

Our Missing Hearts is a dystopian novel that has been crafted by Celeste Ng and published in 2022. The novel is placed in a near-future America where the government serves its best by promoting “patriotism” and “American culture,” which made dissenting voices mute and marginalized groups, Asian Americans on the front.

The novel is centered around 12-year-old Bird Gardner, who lives with his father, since Bird’s mother, Margaret-a Chinese-American poet-cancelled out when Bird was quite young. Margaret’s work was deemed subversive and, after the infamous “Preserving American Culture Act,” similar artists were silenced, forbidden books were seized, and the children taken from their parents as part of an effort to settle any perceived threats to national unity.

The more Bird questions government actions, the more clues he uncovers about his missing mother. He finds secrets about his family are little different from the oppressive control that pervades the greater society. He learns of an underground resistance movement, where children are taken away from their families. Many of these will be related to his mother’s now-famous poem titled Our Missing Hearts—a rallying cry for those seeking justice.

At its core lies the theme of censorship, cultural erasure, and the power of storytelling. Ng explores how fear can best be manipulated to control society by those in power and how people come to be brave because of love, art, and resistance. Our Missing Hearts is an emotional, powerful study of how far people will go for their families and in the face of oppression, the resilience of the human spirit.