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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Powerful stories about the cultural conflict between a Chinese-American woman and her mother. At times the extensive fables that are woven into the narrative drag a bit, but it's worth it when Kingston brings it back to her own relationship with her family.
22.
"Maybe that's why my mother cut my tongue. She pushed my tongue up and sliced the fraenum. Or maybe she snipped it with a pair of nail scissors. I don't remember her doing it, only her telling me about it, but all during childhood I felt sorry for the baby whose mother waited with scissors or knife in hand for it to cry - and then, when its mouth was wide open like a baby bird's, cut. The Chinese say 'a ready tongue is an evil'.
I used to curl up my tongue in front of the mirror and tauten my fraenum into a white line, itself as thin as a razor blade. I saw no scars in my mouth. I thought perhaps I had had two fraena, and she had cut one. I made other children open their mouths so I could compare theirs to mine. I saw perfect pink membranes stretching into precise edges that looked easy enough to cut. Sometimes I felt very proud that my mother committed such a powerful act upon me. At other times I was terrified - the first thing my mother did when she saw me was cut my tongue.
'Why did you do that to me, Mother?'
'I told you.'
'Tell me again.'
'I cut it so that you would not be tongue-tied. Your tongue would be able to move in any language. You'll be able to speak languages that are completely different from one another. You'll be able to pronounce anything. Your fraenum looked too tight to do those things, so I cut it'" (194-5)
"Maybe that's why my mother cut my tongue. She pushed my tongue up and sliced the fraenum. Or maybe she snipped it with a pair of nail scissors. I don't remember her doing it, only her telling me about it, but all during childhood I felt sorry for the baby whose mother waited with scissors or knife in hand for it to cry - and then, when its mouth was wide open like a baby bird's, cut. The Chinese say 'a ready tongue is an evil'.
I used to curl up my tongue in front of the mirror and tauten my fraenum into a white line, itself as thin as a razor blade. I saw no scars in my mouth. I thought perhaps I had had two fraena, and she had cut one. I made other children open their mouths so I could compare theirs to mine. I saw perfect pink membranes stretching into precise edges that looked easy enough to cut. Sometimes I felt very proud that my mother committed such a powerful act upon me. At other times I was terrified - the first thing my mother did when she saw me was cut my tongue.
'Why did you do that to me, Mother?'
'I told you.'
'Tell me again.'
'I cut it so that you would not be tongue-tied. Your tongue would be able to move in any language. You'll be able to speak languages that are completely different from one another. You'll be able to pronounce anything. Your fraenum looked too tight to do those things, so I cut it'" (194-5)
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5. This was a memoir mixed with myth. The author tells their life story as a Chinese immigrant through vignettes of life experiences combined with mythical stories. This probably would have rated higher for me if the myths hadn’t been included, but that’s probably just personal preference and not really a critique of the writing.
I think I liked this book. To be honest I had a hard time getting into it but my favorite sections were the ones about Brave Orchid both in school and in relationship to her sister. I feel like much of this book was far beyond my scope of real understanding in regards to the ghosts and mysticism of Chinese culture, and yet I found myself pulled in and feeling a range of emotions from being appalled to rooting for the "underdogs." Overall I am so glad I read it! So glad because it has stretched me, my understanding of Chinese immigrant realities and helped me see the world with a broader lens.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced