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A review by theladydoor
My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong
5.0
I am fully convinced all the less than stellar reviews of this book came from people who misunderstood the central premise of this book. Iris Wang, the protagonist of this darkly funny coming of age story, is not likable. She's not meant to be! She's spoiled, lazy, thoughtless, and reckless, and most of all, so much fun to read about. She takes after a long line of literary heroines who are less than perfect; think Becky Bloomwood (Shopaholic), Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the Wind), or Cher (Clueless). At least Iris's foibles stem from a bone deep insecurity and fear of not being liked, and they mostly only hurt herself.
As a self-identifying "bad Asian", I felt a kinship with Iris as she flubbed her SATs, failed to graduate high school, and ultimately didn't get accepted into a single college. Granted, I never did anything quite so drastic, but I was always less interested in school than I felt I should be, and always felt inadequate as a result. There were also so many other small things I identified with in this book. I saw bits and pieces of my own parents in Iris's loving and well-meaning, but ultimately ineffectual parents. I also felt the pressure of trying (and failing) to live up to the expectations and hopes of two people who loved me more than anything.
Earlier this year I put [b:White Ivy|50892388|White Ivy|Susie Yang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593355573l/50892388._SY75_.jpg|59249351] on hiatus because I felt like I couldn't see any of my experiences as an American raised Chinese girl in Ivy. I felt much more of a kinship with Iris. Whenever she lamented feeling like she didn't fully belong in America or China, I remembered going to China as a kid and immediately being singled out as an ABC. When she overanalyzed her zodiac sign and her designation as a flower-hearted Tiger, I thought about my grandmother and her lectures to me about my Dragon nature. When she gobbled up food without abandon, I found myself craving xiaolongbao and mapo tofu as made by my aunties.
If I haven't convinced you to give this book a try yet, I'll also mention the writing in this book. It's absolutely captivating, written in a style that echoes the cadence of Chinese speech in modern English. Lindsay Wong manages to put to paper the stream of consciousness chaos of a teenage girl's mind, and she does so with so while injecting Iris's narration with so much humor and self-deprecation.
I truly enjoyed this novel, and I hope there are readers who will give this book a chance. If you go into it with an open mind, I really think you'll enjoy it too.
As a self-identifying "bad Asian", I felt a kinship with Iris as she flubbed her SATs, failed to graduate high school, and ultimately didn't get accepted into a single college. Granted, I never did anything quite so drastic, but I was always less interested in school than I felt I should be, and always felt inadequate as a result. There were also so many other small things I identified with in this book. I saw bits and pieces of my own parents in Iris's loving and well-meaning, but ultimately ineffectual parents. I also felt the pressure of trying (and failing) to live up to the expectations and hopes of two people who loved me more than anything.
Earlier this year I put [b:White Ivy|50892388|White Ivy|Susie Yang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593355573l/50892388._SY75_.jpg|59249351] on hiatus because I felt like I couldn't see any of my experiences as an American raised Chinese girl in Ivy. I felt much more of a kinship with Iris. Whenever she lamented feeling like she didn't fully belong in America or China, I remembered going to China as a kid and immediately being singled out as an ABC. When she overanalyzed her zodiac sign and her designation as a flower-hearted Tiger, I thought about my grandmother and her lectures to me about my Dragon nature. When she gobbled up food without abandon, I found myself craving xiaolongbao and mapo tofu as made by my aunties.
If I haven't convinced you to give this book a try yet, I'll also mention the writing in this book. It's absolutely captivating, written in a style that echoes the cadence of Chinese speech in modern English. Lindsay Wong manages to put to paper the stream of consciousness chaos of a teenage girl's mind, and she does so with so while injecting Iris's narration with so much humor and self-deprecation.
I truly enjoyed this novel, and I hope there are readers who will give this book a chance. If you go into it with an open mind, I really think you'll enjoy it too.