Reviews

Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen: A Manifesto in 41 Tales by Marilyn Chin

nicolemillo's review

5.0

Not quite what I expected, but this was a fun and easy read. I don't usually enjoy short stories, but this collection felt rather less disjointed than most as the stories all featured recurring characters (primarily the twins: Moonie and Mei Ling; and their grandmother: The Great Matriarch). Very sexual at times and always funny, my copy includes a "Postscript/Some Notes" by the author at the back which help with understanding some of the cultural references in the 41 tales. Despite (or, perhaps, with the help of) its surrealism, the book makes interesting comments about being an immigrant in America, about traditions, and about cultural pressures and expectations from within and without one's 'people', which I'm sure other non-asian minorities can relate to on some level as I did, and which non-minorities may find insightful.
I love the imagery and 'magic' (literal and figurative) these stories possessed and, though I don't tend to re-read books, I can imagine re-reading whole passages of this one (if not re-reading it in its entirety!).