Book Review: Girl In Translation by Jean Kwok

Girl In Translation - Jean Kwok

Synopsis:
Kimberley Chang is only eleven years old when she and her mother move to America from Hong Kong.
Aunt Paula- the sister of Kim’s mother- who has lived in America for thirteen years, finances their entire journey and relocation to New York. She provides them with a dingy squat of an apartment, and a ‘good’ address so that Kim can attend a better public school than the one in her impoverished neighbourhood. She even gives Kim’s mother a job in the factory she manages- a sweatshop in Chinatown that pays its worker’s two cents per garment. Living in the vermin-infested apartment, with only an oven to keep the place warm, and speaking barely any English, the mother-and-daughter duo struggle in their new and unfamiliar surroundings.
To make matters even more difficult, Kim, who always got top grades at her school in Hong Kong, struggles to fit in and achieve similar results in her American school. Language barriers, poverty, and the need for her to work at the factory after school (helping her mother on the production line) means that she has little time to catch up with her classmates.
But Kim soon realises that if she wants to lead a better life than the one she has now, she has to apply herself at school, get into the best college she can, and make something of herself. She starts reading any English she can get her hands on, and before long, finds herself excelling at everything school-related. Kim is determined to make something of her life, leave poverty behind, and experience triumph over adversity. Along the way, she deals with love, heartbreak, mockery and challenges, but she is persistent in turning her dreams into a reality, and breaking free of the mould she has been put in.

What I gained from reading this book:
This novel, while fictional, focuses on appalling sweatshop conditions and child labour, which is still existent in America (and other, smaller countries) despite the ethical issues surrounding the problem. In Girl In Translation, the children help their parents in the factory every day after school so that they can make enough money to survive. Even though they are overworked, underpaid, and in dirty and dangerous conditions, many of the employees have no choice but to continue working there (either because they are illegal immigrants or because they don’t have any other skills to get them by in America). Kim’s mother speaks very little English, and is indebted to her sister for getting them out of Hong Kong, and paying for her tuberculosis medication while she was ill. She has no other real option but to work in those appalling conditions, and Kim feels obligated to help when she’s not studying. Because of this, Kim vows to use her intellectual gifts to go to college, get a great job, and help get her mother out of such terrible poverty.
This novel is a wake-up call to all people, especially when the lives of Kim’s rich classmates are contrasted with her own (living well below the poverty line).
This novel is also about courage, love and attempting to achieve the (perceived) impossible.

Positives:
This is a fantastic debut novel by Jean Kwok, and it features amazingly realistic characters. At times the story is so lifelike, that if you picked this book up and started reading it, you could be forgiven for thinking you’re reading the autobiography of an impoverished- yet gifted- Chinese girl growing up in America.

Negatives:
The life that Kim leads as a kid in America is tragic, to say the least. No child should have to endure the difficulties that she faces- studying at school all day and then working at a sweatshop with her mother until late at night.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Genre: Family/ Relationships

Recommended for: People who want to read an inspiring story about one girl’s persistence to improve her life, and save those she loves, from a lifetime of poverty.

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: The Family Law by Benjamin Law

The Family Law - Benjamin Law

Synopsis:
Benjamin Law- the third of five children, born to Chinese immigrants who settled in Australia- tells some of the stories of his childhood in this humorous, often cheeky biography. As one of the first Asian families to live in Caloundra, Queensland, in 1975, Law’s parents soon set up a popular Chinese restaurant, making the Law family an exotic household name for the white families living in the area. With the restaurant so popular, Law’s dad embarked on several business enterprises, which meant that while the family wasn’t poor, they also didn’t get to see their father that much. You could probably say that Law’s father is the absolute definition of a workaholic.
Regardless, Law recounts some memorable stories about life as a Chinese-looking, Aussie-speaking boy in Queensland.
Along with his three sisters and one brother, Law’s family life has been anything but ordinary- from hearing graphic accounts of birth and babies from his mother, to having the house raided when he was only four-years-old, by federal police looking for his illegal immigrant cousins.
In one chapter, Law tells of trying to learn Cantonese at a language school so he can better communicate with his extended family. While he understood some of the language, he found that he couldn’t actually communicate back, and hoped that lessons would help him improve, at least a little bit. He wasn’t terribly successful.
In another chapter, he recounts family holidays to the amusement parks in Queensland. His mother would act as a stereotypical Asian tourist, documenting everything on film, and he and his siblings would speak in loud, bogan voices so that other tourists wouldn’t think that they were tourists.
Law also tells of cockroach invasions, dangerous school camping trips, his Home and Away acting dreams, seeing his family naked, his mother’s aversion to technology, and gift-giving issues, among other unusual things…

What I gained from reading this book:
Family is an important theme in this biography, as anyone can tell simply from looking at the title! It’s obvious to anybody reading this book that Law shows deep respect and love for his family, even when they behave in seemingly dangerous (his brother, occasionally) or outrageous ways that would be considered out of the norm for most people. Even so, there is an underlying tone throughout the entire book that seems to say: ‘They’re my family- I have no choice, I have to put up with their wacky ways. But, boy, do I love them!’
This highlights the fact that although there can sometimes be friction between some family members, occasional bouts of stupidity and hilarity, and limited communication due to technology issues, there is nothing more important than the comfort of knowing that you have a loving family behind you.

Positives:
This book is quite funny, written with trademark Law wit (not unfamiliar to those who have read his contributions to Australian magazines). This self-confessed ‘double-minority’ writer (he is gay, as well as Chinese-Australian), paints a hilarious portrait of his life, and really makes you wish that you could meet his family, simply to be a part of it all.

Negatives:
There is a little bit of swearing and indecent language in this book, which some people might not be too happy about. But if Law had left it out, the stories wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining. If you can handle a little bit of cursing, this book is well-worth reading!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Biography

Recommended for: People who enjoy reading Benjamin Law’s articles and anecdotes in Australian magazines like frankie, and want to learn more about him and his childhood.

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: The Magpie Bridge by Liu Hong

The Magpie Bridge - Liu Hong

Synopsis:
Jiao Mei is a young Chinese national, studying in England and living with Barbara, her late father’s female companion.
Despite bouts of homesickness, and a longing for the salty and spicy Sichuan food of her homeland, Jiao Mei is enjoying her time in London, has made friends at the university she attends, and is in a new and promising relationship with an architect named Ken.
However, life as she knows it is about to change when she is one day woken by a young Chinese woman who claims to be her grandmother. Despite her disbelief about the apparition’s declaration, Jiao Mei finds herself conceding that the woman is who she says she is, despite having been dead for several years.
The woman, Tie Mei, not only calls Jiao Mei by her childhood nickname, but she imparts knowledge about their family’s painful and complex past and reveals secrets that not even Jiao Mei is aware of.
Tie Mei also gives her granddaughter a message that is becoming increasingly hard to ignore- Jiao Mei is pregnant with Ken’s child, and she has the family reputation to uphold.

What I gained from reading this book:
This novel gives a fascinating insight into Chinese culture, and the way that Jiao Mei assimilates into the English way of life is representative of how so many foreigners have had to adapt to the Western world. Readers are able to see London from the point of view of Jiao Mei, but also through the eyes of her grandmother, who had never encountered ‘foreign devils’ before her death. Tie Mei’s reluctant acceptance of her granddaughter’s choices, and her gradual recognition of a life far different from her own as a young woman are also represented by the author, who is able to tell the story by shifting between the imperial gardens of nineteenth-century Beijing, and the grey bleakness of modern-day England.

Positives:
This novel is filled with old Chinese folklore, all of which contributes to the storyline, and gives the story a unique edge over others that have similar plots. Even the title of the novel, The Magpie Bridge, is taken from one of the folk stories that Jiao Mei recounts to her boyfriend Ken. It’s refreshing to see new literature mixed in with remnants of old stories that have been passed down through time.

Negatives:
Sometimes Jiao Mei’s representations of the characters in the novel seem contradictory, and although this is similar to real life, it can be disconcerting to readers. An example of this can be seen in Barbara’s boyfriend Bill. At times, Jiao Mei seems to despise him for always being around the house and being so sarcastic, yet she also seems to respect him for the way he treats Barbara, and she even appreciates how he sometimes smells of cigarettes. But even though she professes to sometimes like him, in actuality she barely tolerates him and goes out of her way to avoid him. While these actions may not be a problem on their own, Jiao Mei’s indecision about him tends to annoy after a while, and is also a common thread among several of the other characters in the story.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Genre: Family/ Relationships

Recommended for: People who are interested in old Chinese legends and superstitions, mixed with the reality of modern life.



Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

Mao’s Last Dancer - Li Cunxin

Synopsis:
Growing up in Qingdao, a poverty-stricken rural village in Northeast China, Li Cunxin’s life is already mapped out for him. Only divine intervention will prevent him from doing anything more than work in the fields for the Chinese government, just like his father does, seven days a week.
Even with his father constantly working, Cunxin, his parents and his six brothers barely have enough to eat, and share two beds amongst them. The only enjoyment in their lives comes from telling fables and folk stories, catching crickets, playing marbles, and pretending to be kung fu masters.
Despite his reverence for Chairman Mao, the communist leader whose every word is sacred and filled with promises for a better China, Cunxin can’t help but dream of a better life where his family can prosper and his beloved mother can have enough food to eat.
At age eleven, Cunxin’s life changes dramatically, when Madame Mao’s cultural delegates visit his school to select young peasants to train in ballet. It is hoped that the students will become faithful guards to the communist leader’s aspirations for a better China, and help to bridge the cultural gap in a country that is determined to avoid capitalist ideals at all costs.
Li Cunxin is one of the students chosen, an honour that sees him leave his hometown, family and friends and move to the dauntingly large city of Beijing.
In the years that follow, Cunxin learns to push his body to the limits, dances for international ballet companies and befriends the American president and first lady. This is his remarkable and challenging story.

What I gained from reading this book:
This novel provides a fascinating insight into the world of communist China during Chairman Mao’s ruling, and the views that were once held regarding countries like America and Britain. It is also interesting to see how Li Cunxin’s life was shaped by communist propaganda and how he was able to form his own perceptions about Western countries, having actually visited them and learnt about the people living there.
The most important thing to note about this book, however, is Li Cunxin’s strong sense of nationalistic pride. Despite some of the problems that he had with the Chinese government, Cunxin was still determined to represent his country and make his family proud. It is this on-going determination that makes Cunxin’s biography so interesting to read.

Positives:
Cunxin doesn’t shy away from telling the story as he remembers it- he recounts watching the execution of men accused of being too wealthy when he was a boy, and tells of the squalid conditions that he faced while living in his village. He also points out the vast differences in the wealth of the Western world, in comparison to the poverty of the world that he grew up in, and raises questions about why such poverty exists.

Negatives:
Some people may wonder how Cunxin and the other Chinese people could be so brainwashed by the communist propaganda spouted over the years but as you read the novel you can understand the reasons why. The Chinese people didn’t really have much of a choice if they didn’t want to face accusations of treason or be executed. Chairman Mao’s propaganda was also spread through his Red Book that everyone was supposed to own and study, and his values were among the first things taught at school. So it is through no fault of their own that the Chinese believed almost everything that they were taught about Chairman Mao and his ideals.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Genre: Biography

Recommended for: People interested in a young boy’s journey from poverty to international stardom



Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below: