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cherreadssharereads's review
5.0
Purchased this book almost three years ago when I was browsing a local bookstore waiting for dinner reservations. I consider it fate that this book snagged my eye and I ended up purchasing it -- what won me over was seeing Professor Elaine Kim's name on the cover, I'm not gonna lie. (Elaine Kim is a media studies prof at UC Berkeley and she is the reason I am so absorbed with Asian Americans in American media.) If you don't want to read the rest of this review, just know that I file this under MUST READ if you love literary fiction and/or you are looking to diversify your bookshelf.
This anthology of short stories by Asian Americans from all different walks of life took me on a whirlwind! Each story was so well-written, I was sucked into each story and spit out at the last period. I discovered new authors I had never heard of -- seriously feel like I've been living under a rock *cry emoji*. I had never heard of Theresa Cha before until I read Cathy Park Hong's essay on her life & death, and then I read her short in this anthology during the same week (what a coincidence, huh?!).
Several shorts that stood out to me and got me thinking long after the story was over:
- Gina Apostol surprised me with "Cunanan's Wake" because I didn't think of Andrew Cunanan as a person with a family who mourned him. My first introduction to Cunanan was via the show "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story," which tells the story of Andrew Cunanan's obsession with S&M and older gay men and how he plotted Versace's murder. (The show has forever changed the way I view actor Darren Criss because he was just TOO good in the show. Also, I couldn't finish the shower because of the violence.) The short humanized Cunanan for me and gave me a different perspective on him -- I mean, it doesn't justify or negate the fact that he is a killer and killed one of the most talented fashion icons the world has ever seen.
- "Submission" by Karl Taro Greenfeld painted such a realistic & poignant picture of Sandi’s desperation and meticulousness. I was rooting hard for Sandi because she’s Hong Kongnese and I have a soft spot for HK.
- Akhil Sharma's main character in "Surrounded By Sleep is a child and to hear his perspective on his brother's paralysis and brain incapacity was heart-wrenching.
- Ka Vang's dark humor and feminist thought hidden in “Ms. PAC-Man Ruined My Gang Life” haunted me along with visuals of the gang fights with scissors and screwdrivers.
Ending here for now, planning to revisit these shorts in a couple of years with renewed eyes.
This anthology of short stories by Asian Americans from all different walks of life took me on a whirlwind! Each story was so well-written, I was sucked into each story and spit out at the last period. I discovered new authors I had never heard of -- seriously feel like I've been living under a rock *cry emoji*. I had never heard of Theresa Cha before until I read Cathy Park Hong's essay on her life & death, and then I read her short in this anthology during the same week (what a coincidence, huh?!).
Several shorts that stood out to me and got me thinking long after the story was over:
- Gina Apostol surprised me with "Cunanan's Wake" because I didn't think of Andrew Cunanan as a person with a family who mourned him. My first introduction to Cunanan was via the show "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story," which tells the story of Andrew Cunanan's obsession with S&M and older gay men and how he plotted Versace's murder. (The show has forever changed the way I view actor Darren Criss because he was just TOO good in the show. Also, I couldn't finish the shower because of the violence.) The short humanized Cunanan for me and gave me a different perspective on him -- I mean, it doesn't justify or negate the fact that he is a killer and killed one of the most talented fashion icons the world has ever seen.
- "Submission" by Karl Taro Greenfeld painted such a realistic & poignant picture of Sandi’s desperation and meticulousness. I was rooting hard for Sandi because she’s Hong Kongnese and I have a soft spot for HK.
- Akhil Sharma's main character in "Surrounded By Sleep is a child and to hear his perspective on his brother's paralysis and brain incapacity was heart-wrenching.
- Ka Vang's dark humor and feminist thought hidden in “Ms. PAC-Man Ruined My Gang Life” haunted me along with visuals of the gang fights with scissors and screwdrivers.
Ending here for now, planning to revisit these shorts in a couple of years with renewed eyes.
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