In honor of today being Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) I thought it would be fun to recommend my favorite books written by Chinese/Chinese-American authors. I also tried to find books that I felt related to the idea of newness, rebirth, or change to fit into the theme of the New Year; fun fact: this year is the year of the snake.
(In no particular order)
- Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah: This beautiful memoir follows an unwanted daughter in 1940s China on her journey through life. With her mother having died while birthing her, Adeline grows up with a family that considers her bad luck, her step mother hates her and disallows her from having fun or making mistakes. Adeline, however, does not allow these shortcomings to stop her, she is intelligent and works very hard in school and manages to make her own happy ending. This is a book that reminds us what it’s like to be a child, Yen Mah does an excellent job of portraying the child mindset, this allows for the reader to feel as if they are right there with little Adeline, enduring her trials alongside her. Yen Mah has also written a number of books which specifically delve into the culture and history of China such as A Thousand Pieces of Gold and China: Land of Dragons and Emperors.
- Last Night at The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo: Set in the 1950s Chinatown in San Francisco, this book follows a seventeen-year-old Chinese-American Lily Hu. With McCarthy-era red-scare looming, Lily is under significant stress as her father is at risk of losing his job due to suspected communist ties. To compound the stress that poor Lily is under, she’s begun to come to terms with being a lesbian and has discovered that she is in love with another woman. Lily and her lover, Kathleen, explore their identities together at the lesbian bar, the Telegraph Club. As this powerful historical fiction enters full swing, Lily and Kath share a powerful story of love in the face of fear and oppression. This book is a beautiful piece of both Chinese-American culture and queer culture, an instant classic and one which I love to reread.
- Know My Name by Chanel Miller: I know that I recommended this book last week but being that it’s one of my favorite memoirs of all time and written by a Chinese-American author, I felt that it belonged here as well. To avoid repeating myself, here is what i wrote about this book last week: “Written by the victim of the infamous Stanford sexual assault case, Miller uses this powerful memoir to take back her story. In this book we are painted a picture of a fiery woman torn down after being sexually assaulted at a party and dealing with harassment for years to come. In this book Miller says she will not stay down, if not for herself then for every sexual assault victim who is empowered, too, by her story. This book is a powerful example of the effects of sexual assault which go far beyond the event itself, Miller is poignant, provocative, and overwhelmingly human, a living breathing example of moving forwards.”
- Medusae by Theodora Sarah Abigail: “A girl is born every hour; Goodbye, says the mother. Who are you? asks the father. Every hour a new curse is unleashed upon the world.” This poetry book written by a Chinese-Indonesian author, is truly a love letter to womanhood; using a mix of realism, symbolism, and mythology, Abigail paints us a picture of multitudes, of childhood, young love, and maternal affection. This book is also accompanied by a number of beautiful illustrations which truly reel you into the poetry; some quotes from Medusae will stick with me until my end “Through our stories, we condemn women who cannot be tamed, transforming them into monsters and murderers. I think nothing in this world is as frightening as a woman, and that is why the world always seeks to destroy her”. This book is a snapshot of what womanhood means to Abigail and it is impactful in its simplicity.
Happy Lunar New Year, TC! I don’t know about you, but my resolution this year is to keep reading.
