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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
For "Asian American Women Writers" (Spring 2021 semester).
slow-paced
i liked the performance of the audiobook. It was an interesting story. Not sure I took much from it but it was a neat read and different than I expected. Mostly I learned about how hard it is for women in Chinese culture and how hard it is for Chinese-American girls to grow up and have to be in both cultures at once.
What can I say about a feminist classic that came out when I was five years old? Probably not too much of value or interest, really. But I wish I were around when it came out, to understand how groundbreaking it was in that moment, the way it incorporates family and Chinese myth into memoir, how it addresses questions of voice and language (was this before Gloria Anzuldua's How to Tame a Wild Tongue, or after?), how the story of mothers-and-daughters resonates with what is happening at the time.
Because reading it now, I'm stuck in this place of simultaneity: in some ways, this book makes this absolutely compelling case for the immigrant experience it presents, and in others, it's been kind of surpassed by things that have happened since. It's a great book that risks being a dead letter.... I don't think it's completely that. It's really well written and presented, and there are lots of weird comic scenes here that come off absolutely, like when Kingston's mother and aunt go to find the aunt's first husband. There's a lot of domestic comedy here that still really works. And there are also moments that go on too long-- the scene where our narrator torments a Chinese classmate, for one, is painfully protracted well past its point being clear. Maybe some of the other moments as well, like her mother's combat with a spirit at medical school? But mostly this is really good, and in the last sections entirely, I was moved even though I knew I was being asked to be moved. It's a very accomplished little book.
Because reading it now, I'm stuck in this place of simultaneity: in some ways, this book makes this absolutely compelling case for the immigrant experience it presents, and in others, it's been kind of surpassed by things that have happened since. It's a great book that risks being a dead letter.... I don't think it's completely that. It's really well written and presented, and there are lots of weird comic scenes here that come off absolutely, like when Kingston's mother and aunt go to find the aunt's first husband. There's a lot of domestic comedy here that still really works. And there are also moments that go on too long-- the scene where our narrator torments a Chinese classmate, for one, is painfully protracted well past its point being clear. Maybe some of the other moments as well, like her mother's combat with a spirit at medical school? But mostly this is really good, and in the last sections entirely, I was moved even though I knew I was being asked to be moved. It's a very accomplished little book.
An interesting narrative that weaves family history with fictional narratives. A beautiful insight into the perspective of a young, female Chinese American. Loved the retelling of Hua Mulan.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Interesting book, I loved the kind of odd vibes as the author twists stories and reality together. It was cool!
I read this back in college but reread it again for a book club. Really, though, I didn’t remember a whole lot and had to Google a quick synopsis to make sense of what I was reading once I started the second chapter. I did enjoy a lot of the stories but also got lost in other parts, figuring I must be missing the deeper meaning. I kinda wish I could have someone explain parts as I was going since I am sure there is a lot of cool analysis for the parts I didn’t get. Still, I enjoyed the read overall and think it is interesting to consider the way that our family lore shapes us and gets passes along.
3.5
2021 RHC Tasks 1 & 13
First Read: College Years or early 20’s
Second Read: 55
2021 RHC Tasks 1 & 13
First Read: College Years or early 20’s
Second Read: 55