An Empire of Women by Karen Shepard [in aMagazine: Inside Asian America]
11 Oct, by in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Repost
As I read Karen Shepard’s debut novel, An Empire of Women, I couldn’t help thinking if the title was some sort of sarcastic joke, if not a blatant mistake, because the utter...
Twelve short stories about daily life in modern China, penned by National Book Award winner for Waiting. The collection could be read as a companion title to Waiting, as Ha Jin returns to the same Muji...
Modern Girls
Growing up in a large, extended family in Hong Kong, 
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My initial reaction – and it does not fade through the course of the book – is utter annoyance at yet another non-Asian exoticizing, objectifying, making inscrutable the Asian culture and its people. But...
Raj Kamal Jha’s slim debut novel, The Blue Bedspread, is fabulous. It is perhaps the best book I’ve read this year – maybe even several years. It’s also a precious find, not the least...
In Overdrive: Frances Park’s Sweet Road to Success
What began as a short story has quickly become Frances Park’s breakout novel. When My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon...
A word of advice: Don’t read The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (which just won the Pulitzer for fiction) at the same time as Anita Desai’s new collection of short stories, Diamond Dust....
To reveal that the theme song to Meera Syal's novel, Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” might...
In the title poem of Russell Leong’s 1993 poetry collection, The Country of Dreams and Dust (West End Press), an epic work encompassing the history of the Chinese in America, Leong alludes to what...
Sam wakes up one day with the face of his elderly grandfather. He has a frustrating time trying to convince his family and friends that he really is still Sam...
A lovely story about a young Japanese boy who learns about Christmas for the first time from his California-born Japanese American mother as she prepares a special pine tree, decorated with paper...
Mark is in bed with a high fever. His Uncle Scott sends him a metal box for trout flies, which brings back memories of Mark’s first fishing trip. He’s transported to a sparkling river,...
Luke and his father embark on a camping trip to "the Lost Lake," where the father used to go with his own father. When they arrive they find that too many others have discovered...
Taro is known throughout the village as its laziest citizen. When a rich merchant moves into town, he hatches a plan to ensure an easy life by convincing...
Aekyung, a young Korean girl recently arrived in the U.S., is teased at school for her different features and has not yet made friends. Inspired by a dream about King Sejong who created Hangul,...
A hardworking, childless elderly couple are led to the fountain of youth by a mysterious bluebird and warned to take just a sip. Their greedy neighbor hears about their discovery, rushes to the magic...
Donnie’s friends always force him to play the enemy because, as a Japanese American, he looks like "them." But Donnie’s valiantly father served in World War II and his uncle fought in Korea. His friends want...
Hoi, a young Chinese boy, arrives in America in 1865 to work on the railroads. Because his favorite food is American pies, his friends rename him "Pie-Biter." He quickly grows to be a strong young man....
Every year, the extended Yang family gathers from all over the Hawaiian island of Oahu at Grandma’s house to celebrate New Year’s Eve. This year, young Marisa will help make the dumplings for Grandma’s...