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willschick85's review against another edition
4.0
I only recently learned of Gish Jen and her work and am absolutely mesmerized. These stories follow the lives of different Asian-Americans—snapshots of an America that I think is much more deserving of representation in popular culture. The first story, “Who’s Irish?” is told from the perspective of a Chinese grandmother who tells a story about her half-Irish granddaughter.
In another story called “Duncan in China,” we follow a Chinese-American who travels to China to reconnect with his heritage and teach English—the story is amazing!
It’s such a great collection that I know I will be returning to these stories again.
In another story called “Duncan in China,” we follow a Chinese-American who travels to China to reconnect with his heritage and teach English—the story is amazing!
It’s such a great collection that I know I will be returning to these stories again.
leafreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
As with many short story collections, some of this book's stories were gems while others fell flat for me. The title story had me laughing out loud, while several in the middle of the collection just left me depressed. I definitely appreciate the way Jen's stories explore so many different facets of the Asian American experience. However, the novel Mona in the Promised Land does it better than Who's Irish.
cori_blackman's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the writing style and the different voices in this collection of short stories about growing up Chinese-American.
ksopko8823's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The title of this one jumped out at me - I never pass up the opportunity to remind myself I'm Irish. Imagine my surprise when the characters in the main story were actually Chinese.
Did not lessen my enthusiasm, however, because I'm also a sucker for a good story and also for cultural clashes.
The other stories included in the collection were okay, but not as great as the first. Worth a read.
Did not lessen my enthusiasm, however, because I'm also a sucker for a good story and also for cultural clashes.
The other stories included in the collection were okay, but not as great as the first. Worth a read.
coffeeshouldbedark's review against another edition
4.0
i love short stories and gish jen is so talented at being able to hold the complexities of interracial relationships, cultural issues and intergenerational issues while using humor to sidestep the seriousness of it all.
iteechesinglish's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this collection of stories. They were really thought provoking and despite the fact that they were short I found myself getting immersed in each of them. I would even think about them when I wasn't reading the book. A lot of them deal with issues of race, immigration, class, and identity, but there's also a lot about family and romantic relationships. Didn't expect to enjoy these as much as I did, but it was really worthwhile reading.
aislingryan01's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
jjoannacanread's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
asilrenrut's review against another edition
5.0
In addition to portraying a wide array of characters and spaces I have never met before--you know what I mean, right? In certain stories, you're like, "I know this character."--not in Jen's stories--I love her quirky word choice. The collection is cliche-free, as I far as I can tell, a does, as the cover jacket text promises, provide "a gently satiric look at the American Dream." Well worth the read. After the opening title story, there is a bit of a slow patch, but if you appreciate the subtlety of her work, as I do, you won't be disappointed if you press on.
kuhrin's review against another edition
4.0
What a great collection of stories. I picked this up after reading a [a:Samantha Lan Chang|8858|Lan Samantha Chang|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277823829p2/8858.jpg] interview where she cites Gish as a similar author. Gish has a wonderful roughness to her writing, a deadpan humor that eases the harshness of the stories. While I wouldn't necessarily compare these stories with Chang's, I'm eager to pick up a novel.
House, House, Home, the last story in the book, really got into the question of voluntary exclusion. Juxtaposing an eccentric and affluent art professor with Pammie, a child of immigrant parents who was raised poor and with struggle, told a bigger story of how we ascribe ourselves to an identify just as much as we rebel against that which we came from.
House, House, Home, the last story in the book, really got into the question of voluntary exclusion. Juxtaposing an eccentric and affluent art professor with Pammie, a child of immigrant parents who was raised poor and with struggle, told a bigger story of how we ascribe ourselves to an identify just as much as we rebel against that which we came from.