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chrisljm's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
A wonderful memoir that gracefully interweaves culture, friendship, and youth.
I loved Hsu's lyrical writing and how nostalgic his prose was. The memoir was sprinkled with setting specific details that left me wistful of a time period where I didn't even exist yet. He recollects growing up as a second generation Asian American Californian youth in the 90s, interlacing the ways that shaped his identity, along with the clothes, music, and the cultural and political events especially during his college years. He also details the unlikely friendship he develops with Ken, and the grief and guilt he feels after Ken's murder. The memoir is vivid, atmospheric, and so insightful. You're transported to moments in Hsu's life where he is very emotionally honest in the way he shows us the person he was during his teens and early 20s.
Reading this leaves me reflecting on my own friendships and the inkling of fear I have of death, not for my own but for the people around me, and if I'll ever be able to remember them with the clarity Hsu seems to of Ken. I think the worst part of mortality, besides loss, is how fleeting memory is and the way details will be forgotten and how all we can ask is Can you stay with me a little longer?
I loved Hsu's lyrical writing and how nostalgic his prose was. The memoir was sprinkled with setting specific details that left me wistful of a time period where I didn't even exist yet. He recollects growing up as a second generation Asian American Californian youth in the 90s, interlacing the ways that shaped his identity, along with the clothes, music, and the cultural and political events especially during his college years. He also details the unlikely friendship he develops with Ken, and the grief and guilt he feels after Ken's murder. The memoir is vivid, atmospheric, and so insightful. You're transported to moments in Hsu's life where he is very emotionally honest in the way he shows us the person he was during his teens and early 20s.
Reading this leaves me reflecting on my own friendships and the inkling of fear I have of death, not for my own but for the people around me, and if I'll ever be able to remember them with the clarity Hsu seems to of Ken. I think the worst part of mortality, besides loss, is how fleeting memory is and the way details will be forgotten and how all we can ask is Can you stay with me a little longer?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Cursing, Hate crime, Violence, Racism, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Sexual assault, and War
kaymay29's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
I enjoyed the actual story of the author and his friends and the recounting his feelings and perspective on the events covered in the book, however throughout the book the author will use 1-2 pages to give a mini history lesson or explain theory. Personally, the theory explanations didn’t help me understand the theories when he later applied them to his life ( I feel adequately explaining theory requires more than one or two pages), I found them boring and at times didn’t see how some of the history lessons contributed to the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: War, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Child death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Minor: Drug use and Mass/school shootings
* The author gives descriptions of horrific events of the 90s at points in the book such as, hate crimes, murders, and child molestation.
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