Book No. 49 of 2021
I will never not read collections of short stories on Asian American identity and the immigrant experience, and Vanessa Hua’s collection is very much my jam. The stories are rich enough that each one feels very much like it could be a standalone novel, and together they encompass a pretty kaleidoscopic depiction of identity in all its paradoxical complexities.
Many of the stories have some connection to the SF Bay Area, which made me feel at home. There are so many themes packed in: the tension between “native” Asian Americans and FOBs, the bittersweet baggage of being first-generation, the internal pain of navigating all-white spaces and bearing witness to racism aimed at others, etc. Of course there are also themes that people think of as “universal”: faith, (in)fidelity, rage, love, parenthood, etc. There are also two stories about camping that remind me why I don’t love camping.
It’s also really cool to see echoes of themes, characters, and plot points from Hua’s full-length novel, A River of Stars.
Similar Reads
This reminded me of Jenny Zhang’s Sour Heart, another book of short stories with similar themes.
One passage on the baggage of being with a white partner reminded me of Alexandra Chang’s Days of Distraction.
The story with the striving first-gen college student and the wealthy international Chinese students reminded me of Kelly Yang’s Parachutes.