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A review by markcdickson
Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book by Maxine Hong Kingston
5.0
“The extent of the soul is from oneself to wherever living beings are.”
A stream-of-consciousness story of a Chinese American struggling through his own internalised hatred.
Wittman Ah Sing is pursuing what he’s told himself he needs to do to find comfort in a country that insists on making him as uncomfortable as possible. As he begins to achieve, he then rages against the fact that nothing will ever actually be enough.
This is a depressingly contemporary-feeling book with a prose and astuteness that I can only aspire to create. Wittman is an insufferable, misogynistic human being that I couldn’t stand to be around for more than a minute in real life, but goddamn is he a fascinating character brought to life so vividly.
After not enjoying “China Men”, I was ready to write off Hong Kingston as an author who I only enjoyed a single book from. This book has fully changed my mind into making her someone who I can’t wait to read everything from.
Just don’t make me ever watch Wittman’s play in real life because oh good lord did it sound absolutely terrible.
A stream-of-consciousness story of a Chinese American struggling through his own internalised hatred.
Wittman Ah Sing is pursuing what he’s told himself he needs to do to find comfort in a country that insists on making him as uncomfortable as possible. As he begins to achieve, he then rages against the fact that nothing will ever actually be enough.
This is a depressingly contemporary-feeling book with a prose and astuteness that I can only aspire to create. Wittman is an insufferable, misogynistic human being that I couldn’t stand to be around for more than a minute in real life, but goddamn is he a fascinating character brought to life so vividly.
After not enjoying “China Men”, I was ready to write off Hong Kingston as an author who I only enjoyed a single book from. This book has fully changed my mind into making her someone who I can’t wait to read everything from.
Just don’t make me ever watch Wittman’s play in real life because oh good lord did it sound absolutely terrible.