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A review by vjy
Deceit and Other Possibilities: Stories by Vanessa Hua
3.0
3.5/5, 3 if had to give full stars
I originally read Hua's short story "Accepted," for my Asian American literature class. I found her writing innovative, focusing on aspects of the Asian American experience that are often overlooked in favor of more model minority-esque tales ("Accepted" is about a girl who pretends to be a Stanford student after being denied). I found most of the stories in the collection to be interesting and unique, and I think Hua does a good job of keeping the reader on their toes. I did think that the overarching theme of deceit did kind of limit Hua's ability to really shine, because the continued theme became a little repetitive after a while despite her best efforts to keep it fresh. It's also difficult to empathize with a lot of the characters due to their deceptive natures, and often times the stories don't have very satisfying resolutions. Other themes also repeat throughout the collection, like religion, familial duty, and issues of money.
The story I liked the most was "What They Shared," I think it does a good job of capturing the divide between American-born and foreign-born Asian Americans, the different struggles both face and the lack of understanding that often occurs between them. I think I might have enjoyed the book more if I had read all the short stories more spaced out, reading them all at once meant I was more overwhelmed by their similarities.
I originally read Hua's short story "Accepted," for my Asian American literature class. I found her writing innovative, focusing on aspects of the Asian American experience that are often overlooked in favor of more model minority-esque tales ("Accepted" is about a girl who pretends to be a Stanford student after being denied). I found most of the stories in the collection to be interesting and unique, and I think Hua does a good job of keeping the reader on their toes. I did think that the overarching theme of deceit did kind of limit Hua's ability to really shine, because the continued theme became a little repetitive after a while despite her best efforts to keep it fresh. It's also difficult to empathize with a lot of the characters due to their deceptive natures, and often times the stories don't have very satisfying resolutions. Other themes also repeat throughout the collection, like religion, familial duty, and issues of money.
The story I liked the most was "What They Shared," I think it does a good job of capturing the divide between American-born and foreign-born Asian Americans, the different struggles both face and the lack of understanding that often occurs between them. I think I might have enjoyed the book more if I had read all the short stories more spaced out, reading them all at once meant I was more overwhelmed by their similarities.