Customer Reviews

Asian American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology

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"Asian American Literature: A Brief Introduction and
Anthology," edited by Shawn Wong, is an impressive
achievement. The book gathers a range of pieces in many genres by more
than 30 authors. The authors represented are a diverse group. There is
a good balance of male and female writers. The authors represent both
United States-born individuals and immigrants. One author, Frank Chin,
is a fifth-generation Chinese American. Other authors trace their
roots to Japan, India, China, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Malaysia, or Laos. Some represent biracial
backgrounds. Several generations of writers, from Sui Sin Far
(1867-1914) to Monique Thuy-Dung Truong (b. 1968) are
represented.

Several genres of literature are also represented. The
selections in the anthology are grouped into four sections: nonfiction
prose, fiction, poetry, and drama. Each author's contribution is
preceded by an interesting individual introduction which contains
useful bibliographic data; this material is further supplemented by a
bibliography at the end of the book. Editor Wong also includes a
fascinating preface to the whole book. This supplemental material is
full of interesting information, such as the story of Wong's
rediscovery of pioneering Japanese American writer Toshio Mori.

There
are many highlights to this fine anthology: Amy Tan's essay
"Mother Tongue," in which she reflects on "the
different Englishes" she uses; Bienvenido Santos' "Quicker
with Arrows," a story of interracial love during World War II;
Bharati Mukherjee's "The Management of Grief," a story about
the aftermath of an apparent terrorist bombing; Lawson Fusao Inada's
"Legends from Camp," a cycle of poems about the internment
of Japanese Americans in U.S. concentration camps during World War II;
Watako Yamauchi's "The Music Lessons," a play about the
struggles of a Japanese American family during the Depression of the
1930s; and much more.

I did find a small number of typographical
errors or apparent factual mistakes throughout the book; for example,
at one point Frank Chin's novel "Donald Duk" seems to be
mistakenly referred to as "Donald Pink" (I know of no novel
by the latter name). And the concluding bibliography, while useful, is
confusingly presented. But these problems aside, I found "Asian
American Literature" to be an enriching anthology. This is one of
those wonderful books that is excellent both for classroom use and for
individual reading. I believe that this book will move you emotionally
and impress you artistically while at the same time educating you
about Asian American culture.