Saturday, September 11, 2010

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok



Why do I keep picking up these Chinese-American immigrant books? I say that I don't like them and then I check yet another one out from the library. I wonder if I am internally working out some part of my identity through literature.

So yes, I did pick up another one of these books, but luckily this one had NO mention of a Formica table! Cool! Note to all of those Chinese-American authors out there: Not every book needs to mention a Formica table! Not every Chinese family has one! Oh wait, my grandma had one, so now my sister does, so maybe we do. Back to the book.

Kimberly moves with her mother from Hong Kong to Brooklyn. To earn a living and to repay a debt to her aunt, they work in a sweatshop.

I was really into this book. The only disappointment was the Epilogue. It talked about the main character, but did not let me know what happened to any of the supporting characters whom I had come to care about.

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