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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Eddie gets it. He is one of the few Asians that is outspoken about race, bringing down the bamboo ceiling, breaking the model minority myth, and social injustice that POC face. Heck, he even shares the same view of university asian organizations as I do! I really enjoyed it because it's so refreshing to hear this because I am always so frustrated that none of the asians I know bring topic of injustice and racism up.
There were entirely way too many quotes from this novel that popped out to me:
Chapter 8 "There was so many gaps in my American culture understanding because we just didn't get it at home. It always hurt me writing or debating because I didn't share their references. But that summer, I was determined it wouldn't stop me. I wouldn't talk about things they knew anymore . I would use the references that made sense to me and make them catch up."
Chapter 10 "Every club had things they negotiated for, but the asian clubs were always just happy to be vocational organizations. Everyone went and joined the club for resume filler, but when there was actually something to speak out about, no one wanted to be the punk that jumped up to get beat down."
Chapter 10 "We play into the definitions and stereotypes others impose on us and accept the model-minority myth, thinking it's positive, but it's a trap just like any stereotype. They put a piece of model-minority cheese between the metal jaws of their mousetrap, but we're lactose intolerant anyway! We can't even eat the cheese."
Chapter 10 "I was sick and tired of half-assed potlucks thrown by ABCs (American Born Chinese) who didn't even know how to cook Chinese food. These same ABCs couldn't speak Chinese and didn't care - but you don't have shit without your native tongue. African slaves were forced by threat of physical punishment to abandon their native languages, but a lot of us just gave ours up with a shrug - these Uncle Chans convinced us to assimilate, shut the fuck up, and play the part. What they didn't understand is that after you have the money and degrees, you can't buy your identity back. I wasn't worried about degrees, but I cared about my roots Even if I hated what it meant to be an Asian in the American wilderness, I respected the Chinese home I was raised in."
Chapter 10 "They're all dying to live under the bamboo ceiling and subscribe to the model-minority myth; I'm not OK with that shit."
Chapter 12 "It may seem contradictory to say I want people to preserve their culture and then reject certain things like the model-minority expectations, a la carte, but there is a fine distinction to be made between stereotypes and actual culture. I don't care if you have high SAT scores or use chopsticks. All I want to know is if you are aware of shared problems and issues due to our skin, eyes, and country of origin."
Chapter 14 "As a minority at law school, I was on a lonely-ass island so I joined APALSA. It was the first time I ever joined an Asian club. Within a few months, I remembered exactly why I hated it. Everyone was concerned with jobs, but not what it should mean to be an Asian with a law degree...I proposed that we spend money on cultural events or bringing in Asian councilmen/woman to speak with us, but they only cared about jobs and an annual ski trip... For some reason I can't explain, black people just understand the quan better than Asians. I know I'm being ignorant and stereotyping, but for real, the BLSA and MLSA always understood from jump when I mentioned how programming should talk about social issues and not just jobs."
Chapter 16 "Race. Race. Race. My entire life, the single most interesting thing to me is race in America. How something so stupid as skin or eyes or stinky Chinese lunch has such an impact on a person's identity, their mental state, and the possibility of their happiness. It was race. It was race. It was race."
So glad I gave this book a chance. His voice is so honest, unafraid, and needed in the community. The model minority bubble is real. White passing, assimilating, the bamboo ceiling... all too real.
There were entirely way too many quotes from this novel that popped out to me:
Chapter 8 "There was so many gaps in my American culture understanding because we just didn't get it at home. It always hurt me writing or debating because I didn't share their references. But that summer, I was determined it wouldn't stop me. I wouldn't talk about things they knew anymore . I would use the references that made sense to me and make them catch up."
Chapter 10 "Every club had things they negotiated for, but the asian clubs were always just happy to be vocational organizations. Everyone went and joined the club for resume filler, but when there was actually something to speak out about, no one wanted to be the punk that jumped up to get beat down."
Chapter 10 "We play into the definitions and stereotypes others impose on us and accept the model-minority myth, thinking it's positive, but it's a trap just like any stereotype. They put a piece of model-minority cheese between the metal jaws of their mousetrap, but we're lactose intolerant anyway! We can't even eat the cheese."
Chapter 10 "I was sick and tired of half-assed potlucks thrown by ABCs (American Born Chinese) who didn't even know how to cook Chinese food. These same ABCs couldn't speak Chinese and didn't care - but you don't have shit without your native tongue. African slaves were forced by threat of physical punishment to abandon their native languages, but a lot of us just gave ours up with a shrug - these Uncle Chans convinced us to assimilate, shut the fuck up, and play the part. What they didn't understand is that after you have the money and degrees, you can't buy your identity back. I wasn't worried about degrees, but I cared about my roots Even if I hated what it meant to be an Asian in the American wilderness, I respected the Chinese home I was raised in."
Chapter 10 "They're all dying to live under the bamboo ceiling and subscribe to the model-minority myth; I'm not OK with that shit."
Chapter 12 "It may seem contradictory to say I want people to preserve their culture and then reject certain things like the model-minority expectations, a la carte, but there is a fine distinction to be made between stereotypes and actual culture. I don't care if you have high SAT scores or use chopsticks. All I want to know is if you are aware of shared problems and issues due to our skin, eyes, and country of origin."
Chapter 14 "As a minority at law school, I was on a lonely-ass island so I joined APALSA. It was the first time I ever joined an Asian club. Within a few months, I remembered exactly why I hated it. Everyone was concerned with jobs, but not what it should mean to be an Asian with a law degree...I proposed that we spend money on cultural events or bringing in Asian councilmen/woman to speak with us, but they only cared about jobs and an annual ski trip... For some reason I can't explain, black people just understand the quan better than Asians. I know I'm being ignorant and stereotyping, but for real, the BLSA and MLSA always understood from jump when I mentioned how programming should talk about social issues and not just jobs."
Chapter 16 "Race. Race. Race. My entire life, the single most interesting thing to me is race in America. How something so stupid as skin or eyes or stinky Chinese lunch has such an impact on a person's identity, their mental state, and the possibility of their happiness. It was race. It was race. It was race."
So glad I gave this book a chance. His voice is so honest, unafraid, and needed in the community. The model minority bubble is real. White passing, assimilating, the bamboo ceiling... all too real.
Things to know about Eddie Huang, according to Eddie Huang. He is:
"1. A smelly Chinese kid who didn't think he was good enough.
2. The kid who thought life was unfair and determined to come up on some Malcolm-X-read-books-and-flip-the-script-on-'em shit
3. A cynical nihilist who thinks it's all bullshit and the only thing left to do is get paper."
If this bothers you, unsubscribe immediately. If you're easily offended by stereotypes, and weed culture, this book is not for you, bro. If you like food, 90's hip hop references, specifically basketball, sneakers, EPs, and the 1st generation experience, you'll love it!
I had so many feelings about this book. I was drawn to reading it, because I am a huge fan of the television show of the same name, but I did not know much about Eddie Huang, the ViceLand star, and restaurateur. The minute I started reading it, I realized I actually knew nothing about Eddie Huang.
I really loved his description of his favorite books and his retelling of how he used black history, culture, and hip hop to find a way to find a place to fit in with the misfits, and social outcasts, found his tone and writing style very interesting, but wondered how his writing would be characterized if he had been a black author. His privilege allows to to speak in a way that is not a option for many, and led him to very unique experiences, including becoming a drug dealing lawyer.
Overall, I could relate to his stories of returning home, learning to redefine yourself and your place in this country, and the pressure of always needing to please your parents.
"1. A smelly Chinese kid who didn't think he was good enough.
2. The kid who thought life was unfair and determined to come up on some Malcolm-X-read-books-and-flip-the-script-on-'em shit
3. A cynical nihilist who thinks it's all bullshit and the only thing left to do is get paper."
If this bothers you, unsubscribe immediately. If you're easily offended by stereotypes, and weed culture, this book is not for you, bro. If you like food, 90's hip hop references, specifically basketball, sneakers, EPs, and the 1st generation experience, you'll love it!
I had so many feelings about this book. I was drawn to reading it, because I am a huge fan of the television show of the same name, but I did not know much about Eddie Huang, the ViceLand star, and restaurateur. The minute I started reading it, I realized I actually knew nothing about Eddie Huang.
I really loved his description of his favorite books and his retelling of how he used black history, culture, and hip hop to find a way to find a place to fit in with the misfits, and social outcasts, found his tone and writing style very interesting, but wondered how his writing would be characterized if he had been a black author. His privilege allows to to speak in a way that is not a option for many, and led him to very unique experiences, including becoming a drug dealing lawyer.
Overall, I could relate to his stories of returning home, learning to redefine yourself and your place in this country, and the pressure of always needing to please your parents.
emotional
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism
I decided to read this book after watching the show on ABC.
This was an interesting book about growing up Taiwanese in America. Eddie isn't always likable, but I still enjoyed his memoir.
This was an interesting book about growing up Taiwanese in America. Eddie isn't always likable, but I still enjoyed his memoir.
I am going back and forth on this book for a few reasons. First and foremost, how do you really rate a book about someone's life in their own words? This is the book Eddie Huang wrote about himself, his own experiences, and his own perspective on the world. It's an engaging read, likely because Huang is an engaging, charismatic person.
There are structural issues; some of this rests on the fact that the formatting of the ebook I borrowed from my library was... questionable and cut out several section breaks. But this book really felt like a hip hop song where the the artist writing the rap verse and the person writing the melody/bridge didn't actually collaborate that much and just kind of made the words fit. Huang is a gifted enough writer that I couldn't quite put my finger on what was bugging me about the book until I'd finished it.
That said, there's definitely a feeling of... lack of reflection? Other reviewers pointed out that a lot of the book feels like a long humble-brag with bits of shock value sprinkled through. They're not wrong, and while I would challenge that those bits are bad, I really get what they mean about it being sometimes hard to take. For as much as there are places where Huang absolutely owns up to shitty behavior (the Steak-n-Shake waitress situation), there are absolutely places where it definitely feels like that own up is more lip service than anything honestly felt (y'all let a family's pet rabbits out IN FLORIDA so they could be free because fuck rich white people? Like go off, but not when it comes to pets and the gator state.)
Still, it's not my business to judge Huang on his experiences and the stuff he did. He's a person. One who's really different from me, and one who absolutely deserves space to tell his story. He and I would never be friends, but it was cool to read about his life and perspective, and I'm curious to read his second book.
There are structural issues; some of this rests on the fact that the formatting of the ebook I borrowed from my library was... questionable and cut out several section breaks. But this book really felt like a hip hop song where the the artist writing the rap verse and the person writing the melody/bridge didn't actually collaborate that much and just kind of made the words fit. Huang is a gifted enough writer that I couldn't quite put my finger on what was bugging me about the book until I'd finished it.
That said, there's definitely a feeling of... lack of reflection? Other reviewers pointed out that a lot of the book feels like a long humble-brag with bits of shock value sprinkled through. They're not wrong, and while I would challenge that those bits are bad, I really get what they mean about it being sometimes hard to take. For as much as there are places where Huang absolutely owns up to shitty behavior (the Steak-n-Shake waitress situation), there are absolutely places where it definitely feels like that own up is more lip service than anything honestly felt (y'all let a family's pet rabbits out IN FLORIDA so they could be free because fuck rich white people? Like go off, but not when it comes to pets and the gator state.)
Still, it's not my business to judge Huang on his experiences and the stuff he did. He's a person. One who's really different from me, and one who absolutely deserves space to tell his story. He and I would never be friends, but it was cool to read about his life and perspective, and I'm curious to read his second book.
In general I don't enjoy books where the main character is unlikable. This book falls in that category. He's violent, he does drugs, he sells drugs, he sells illegal merchandise, he speaks badly of others. Apparently he's smart, but he tries super hard not to act like it. Why would I want to read about this?
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This is the best book I’ve read of 2020. Listen to the audiobook. Eddie Huang does a phenomenal job.
Once again, my dad knew something I didn't. Looking back, I realize it wasn't just that I was Asian. I was a loud-mouthed, brash, broken Asian who had no respect for authority in any form, whether it was a parent, teacher, or country. Not only was I not white, to many people I wasn't Asian either.
(In case you were wondering, this book contains explicit language, drug and alcohol use, depictions of violence and racism, descriptions of drug dealing, and abuse)
TL; DR- after striking out with both his book and sitcom, I think my best bet at supporting Eddie Huang will be through his food.
I tried supporting Eddie Huang through his sitcom and had mixed feelings, so I thought I'd have better luck going starlight to the source. That a mistake. If "based off the book" is code for "we kept the name of the title and the characters," the producers did a brilliant job because there's really no resemblance between the two...which is probably a good thing because the book is not really sitcom material. (I wonder who read this and thought, "I'm going to turn this into a sitcom!" Because I just don't see the connection...)
According to my friend Merriam-Webster, a sitcom is about a group of characters who are involved in different funny situations. This is about as far from funny as you can get, and it's not very lighthearted either. I get why they made such dramatic revisions to the book before putting on air. There's a reason somebody said > an accurate portrayal of this book would have to be on HBO. I mean, Eddie's life is not exactly family-friend. Even if you were to look past the adult nature of the book's content though, the actual memoir is a bit of a mess.
I appreciate Eddie Huang's hustle; he's obviously doing something right if he has a published memoir and has a groundbreaking TV series based (however loosely) off of it. Good for him. This just isn't for me.
Eddie Huang is not your stereotypical Asian American, and he'll be the first to tell you that. He is unapologetically himself throughout the book. He's a brash, no frills kind of guy and could not care less about offending you or shattering you expectations of a good, quiet Asian. He's obviously smart and has a BA in English and won the Barbara Lawrence Alfond English and Zora Neale Hurston Awards, but that never really translated onto the page for me.
The whole book feels fragmented. Just as Eddie bounces around from school to school, he takes the reader from story to story without building a cohesive narrative. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like a story of someone's life. It's more like a rambling inner monologue spilling out onto the page. The memoir reads like someone took some drugs and had a stream-of-consciousness journaling session. He'll go off on random tangents and start waxing poetic about food, hip-hop culture, or whatever else he wants. Entire paragraphs are devoted to lists of his specific interests at different points in time, and he describes basketball, street wear, and hip-hop in painstakingly detail. He also name drops like crazy. Everyone and their mom gets a shout out in this book. Seriously, if you've ever spent any extended period of time with Eddie Huang, your name is in this book. The problem is, they're not even names people care about.
It's a shame because, Eddie Huang is an interesting, albeit controversial, individual with a compelling story to tell. He sees race, inequality, and injustice through an interesting lens but his perspective gets lost in this hot mess of a book. I want to hear more about Taiwanese gangster making it in America with steak houses and seafood restaurants. I want to hear more the guy who bled out all over an English paper he was determined to finish after getting in a brawl with some childhood enemy. I want to hear more about the attorney dealing drugs on the side. I want to hear more about the streetwear designer campaigning for Obama. I want to hear more about little brother who thinks opening a gua bao restaurant is stupid but drops everything to help open it anyway. That is the kind of memoir I want to read, not this a mess of stories cobbled together with hip-hop lyrics and lists of what was hot during the 90s.
This guy is kind of amazing--Asian-American hustler, high school gangster, hip hop-loving, basketball obsessed, pot smoking, law school graduate, comedian and foodie who opens his own restaurant in New York. Parts of this memoir were tough to read (the gangster parts) because he uses such heavy slang but I enjoyed much of it and found myself amazed at how all of the parts of his life helped him to become who he is, and found expression in the unique restaurant that he creates. This book has a lot to say about racism in America. I think a lot of teenagers might be helped by reading this man's story.