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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
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.
tenten's review
"If you've never felt even a pang of yearning about acceptance, you are not really an outsider, she maintained. Your brand of alienation is romantic and sentimental, and I resent it."
This quote pulled from the last story, "House, House, Home" aptly sums up the theme of the entirety of the collection for me. From the first story about a Chinese grandmother with differing child-rearing ideals from her daughter and son-in-law, to the middle story about a man who, aimless in the United States, travels to China and discovers it was not what he expected. These short stories are smart and layered, with interestingly developed characters throughout. The stories explore marriage, old age, Chinese and biracial identity, and many other, always relevant themes.
I enjoyed the book. Admittedly, I tried reading it quite some time ago and, though I was having a good time even then, I stopped and did not return to again until now. So much time had passed that I forgot all but one of the stories, so it was as if I was reading it for the first time. I was surprised by the length of two of the stories, but that may be because I am more used to anthologies than I am short story collections. The last story was the weakest, for me, but it was still pretty good. I don't have a favorite, because, overall, I really enjoyed all the stories about the same amount, except for the last. I don't know if I would re-read this in its entirety again, but there are definitely a few stories that I will refer to more than once in my life.
I think I need to re-evaluate my Goodreads rating system so, for now, I will leave this unrated, but it is definitely 3+ stars.
This quote pulled from the last story, "House, House, Home" aptly sums up the theme of the entirety of the collection for me. From the first story about a Chinese grandmother with differing child-rearing ideals from her daughter and son-in-law, to the middle story about a man who, aimless in the United States, travels to China and discovers it was not what he expected. These short stories are smart and layered, with interestingly developed characters throughout. The stories explore marriage, old age, Chinese and biracial identity, and many other, always relevant themes.
I enjoyed the book. Admittedly, I tried reading it quite some time ago and, though I was having a good time even then, I stopped and did not return to again until now. So much time had passed that I forgot all but one of the stories, so it was as if I was reading it for the first time. I was surprised by the length of two of the stories, but that may be because I am more used to anthologies than I am short story collections. The last story was the weakest, for me, but it was still pretty good. I don't have a favorite, because, overall, I really enjoyed all the stories about the same amount, except for the last. I don't know if I would re-read this in its entirety again, but there are definitely a few stories that I will refer to more than once in my life.
I think I need to re-evaluate my Goodreads rating system so, for now, I will leave this unrated, but it is definitely 3+ stars.
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