This is a far more intricate and involved narrative than the better-known Chinese-American women's novels (Joy Luck Club, etc).

MHK doesn't shy away from depicting the angry spirits within her female characters.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way by post to apoloniaX, who selected it from the Intercultural Virtual BookBox started by apoloniaX and contraforsa.

Received this book in the mail today.
Brilliant! Looking forward to read it!!!
Thank you, okyrhoe!

This was a great read! Maxine Hong Kingston is often compared to Amy Tan, as both are writing about Chinese mothers and daughters who have emigrated to the US. I found Hong Kingston not as easy to read, certainly more demanding – and deeper. The five chapters are self-contained, they are all about childhood memories, Chinese legends/myths and family stories. The shifts in perspective are particularly interesting, for example when she – the daughter – describes things from the point of view of the mother, in a very sensitive way. There are lots of issues the book addresses, the role of women, migration, cultural heritage, history, identity, …
Highly recommendable!
Thanks again, okyrhoe!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to Taiwan to Kathmeista.
Happy reading!

Caught this as a RABCK from ApoloniaX - thank-you very much :) I'm looking forward to reading this!

This was an incredible book and very interesting to me personally as I am married to a Taiwanese guy and know some things about the Chinese culture.

Haunted by her mother's tales of ghosts and by her fears of being not good enough as a daughter, the narrator struggles to find her place in the world. She is not American but she is no longer Chinese, caught in the nether-land of cultures and ideologies, she's trying to find her voice and who she really is. Is she the warrior woman of her mother's tales? Is she the unloved and despised daughter that her parents wish were never born? Is she the crazy member of the family?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took me a lot longer to read than I had anticipated but that was due to the thought provoking and dense nature of the prose. It's not like you can skip through a scene with a sitting ghost very quickly!!! (I had to listen to three different podcasts about books and movies after reading that chapter so I could fall asleep!) Nor is it possible to read such emotionally charged conflict between mother and daughter without being affected by it.

I was deeply moved by this book on many different levels and I believe this will be a book that stays with me for a very long time.

Thanks again to ApoloniaX for this RABCK. I'm going to consider what to do with this book next... Its such a great book I want to make sure it goes to the right place! :)

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sent off as an RABCK to a fellow BXer who I noticed was wishing for this book. Enjoy!

Received in Portland, Oregon. Thank you very much for the generous RABCK.

A magical read. Maxine Hong Kingston's parents are immigrants from China. Ms. Kingston grew up in California in the 40's and 50's. This is her attempt "to sort out what's just my childhood, just my imagination, just my family, just the village, just movies, just living." The book really brings into focus the challenges of the children of immigrants.

I read this at the same time as I was reading Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture. Ms. Kingston includes her mother's version of the Mulan story. (Mulan has become one of Disney's princesses.) And has Kingston's confusion as to what the story should mean to her, a Chinese girl growing up in the US in modern times.

I very much enjoyed Kingston's story of her mother coping with Kingston's aunt's dementia. The story rang true of what it is like to deal with a person loosing touch with reality.

Left at the OBCZ west of the fireplace.