The China Mystique: Pearl S. Buck, Anna May Wong, Mayling Soong, and the Transformation of American Orientalism by Karen J. Leong [in AsianWeek]
08 Sep, by in Adult Readers, Chinese, Chinese American, Nonfiction, Repost
Leong examines the lives of this trio – author of The Good Earth, the APA actress of all time, and the Wellesley-educated wife of Chiang Kai-shek – as the most prominent women associated with...
Two interesting facts emerge: 1. young girls are bonded together to become laotongs (literally, “old sames”) for life and 2. women communicate using nu shu, a secret women-only written language. In the novel, 80-year-old...
Here’s an auspicious debut about three generations of the Lum family of Orange County, California, who may or may not be trying to survive a death curse, who have...
The first two installments of a new trilogy from YA master Yep. Tiger’s Apprentice opens with the untimely death of Mistress Lee, the current Guardian of the mysterious rose which holds the future hope...
The title, Hua Song, means “in praise of the Chinese community.” Undoubtedly, the remarkable book is a beautifully rendered, bilingual record of Chinese communities throughout the world, past and present.
Review: 
Based on the author’s family’s experience of adopting their own little girl, this story is told from the brother’s point of view as he lovingly anticipates meeting his sister-to-be from China.
Review: <a...
Confession time: I was ready to hate these – those names, for heaven’s sake! But how entertaining – and empowering – to have a hapa Chinese American girl, Agatha Wong, and her...
Su-Jen becomes “Annie” when she immigrates to Canada at age 6 with her mother. Her father has set up a Chinese restaurant, and in the small Ontario town...
In this updated 25th-anniversary edition of how to read your personal horoscope, you’ll find a lot of “Uh-huh,” and “Oh, wow – that’s so true!” going on. Lau even cross-tabulates...
Everything you ever needed to know about celebrating the good life like a real Chinese American – from the New Year to dragon boats to weddings and even funerals. And just in...
A haunting, lovingly illustrated story, told from the point of view of a basket that serves three generations of a Nepali family. As the basket's frail, aged owner is about to be left on...
An intimate memoir about a three-decade relationship between the Dalai Lama and the author Chan that begins with high-pitched giggles over Chan’s Fu Manchu-style mustache and ends with the gift of a...
Based on historical accounts, Ha Jin’s third novel opens with the words of an elderly man who records his memoirs for his American-born grandchildren. He
methodically recounts his experiences as a young “volunteer” Chinese army...
One of the more intriguing, original novels I’ve come across in a long time – although I can’t really tell you what happened because I still haven’t figured it out. Presented in...
From one of the bad-boy editors of 
Belle Lettres for Kids
What lovely serendipity that just as our oldest child started reading in 1999, one of my very favorite writers, 
Jen’s third novel is a bittersweet examination of the Wongs, a complicated Chinese American family with a father named Carnegie (!), a Caucasian mother called Blondie, two Asian adoptee daughters, and one towheaded birthson....
This new edition of a bestselling classic biographical novel – should be on every student reading list! – includes a new essay, “Reclaiming Polly Bemis,” and discussion questions. <a href="http://www.mccunn.com/"...
Chang’s debut novel, following her memorable short story collection Hunger, is filled with complex characters and intricate details about their troubled lives. At its center is the narrator, Hong, a woman caught in multi-layered, multi-generational betrayals...
One part culinary history about one of the best kitchen tools ever invented; two parts personal memoir that includes travels around the world; three parts story-telling about a number of...