A Cab Called Reliable: A Novel [Paperback]

Patti Kim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1998

An extraordinary debut and exciting new voice in multicultural fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

An affecting if uneven debut in which a Korean girl, newly immigrated to the US, struggles to transcend the chaos of a strange land and of a violent, overstressed family. Ever since Ahn Joo arrived in Arlington, Virginia, with her parents and younger brother, her parents have fought unceasingly about her father's drinking and her mother's lack of respect. It's true, Ahn Joo realizes, that her father contradicts the stereotype of the hardworking Korean immigrant who opens a grocery and proceeds to grow rich in America. Fleeing an abusive father of his own in Korea rather than moving to the US in pursuit of wealth, he lacks ambition and seems happy with his welding job. Still, even eight-year-old Ahn Joo is unprepared for her mother's extreme reaction to her husband's laziness: One day, as Ahn Joo is walking home from school, she sees her mother, with her son in tow, fleeing home in a cab with the puzzling name ``Reliable'' painted on the door. Entering their apartment, Ahn Joo finds a note from her mother promising to come back for her someday, but as the years go by and her mother never calls or writes, the girl is left alone to face adolescence, care for her father, and puzzle out her family's mysteries. The author deftly evokes such vivid moments as Ahn Joo's embarrassment when her father takes over a snack cart in Washington, and her depiction of her heroine's struggle to come to terms with a new land--as well as of the push-pull relationship between father and daughter--are both memorable and moving. In the end, though, the lack of any real catharsis or resolution renders the parts greater than the whole. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Elegantly and humorously told...precise and assured storytelling." --The New York Times Book Review

"Rarely does a debut novel make a reader hunger for the author's next book, but anticipation is precisely what one feels after reading A Cab Called Reliable by Patti Kim...It is the story of one young woman's attempt to span the breach between what is and what ought to be." --The New York Times Book Review

"An obvious literary prodigy...remarkably accomplished." --USA Today

"Affecting...memorable and moving." --Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312190301
• ISBN-13: 978-0312190309
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #644,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SANGUINELY SENSATIONAL, June 25, 2001

By 

Lisa Sloane (Gaithersburg, Md) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cab Called Reliable: A Novel (Paperback)

Perfect for those looking for something that straddles the line between light, romantic reading and soul invoking literature. Patti Kim's first novel, "A Cab Called Reliable", offers a bit of both, and will certainly leave readers yearning for her next published work. This short, coming of age novel tells the struggle of a young girl trying to find herself, her heritage, and her family.

Our spirited, slighted protagonist, young Ahn Joo, is left alone; her only semblance of guidance coming from a cantankerous, alcoholic father, who is more concerned with the stickiness of his rice than the well being of his family. Tragically, this sweet, innocent girl is deserted not out of circumstances beyond anyone's control, but because the mother she reveres couldn't take it any more and simply left, taking Ahn's favored younger brother. What follows is the story of a confused, prepubescent girl forced to manage something a grown woman was not capable of. At the tender age of 9, Ahn Joo is not only expected to figure out how to become a successful, independent young woman; she is also is sidled with the task of raising a father, and making him into productive, member of American society. She does both beautifully, though not without any growing pains. Undergoing the trials and tribulations of maturing, Ahn Joo uncovers disturbing secrets of her ancestry, perplexing mysteries about herself - what she is supposed to be, and unnerving ideas regarding life in general. The only one she can count on to resolve and make sense of these countless predicaments is herself. All this while Ahn Joo constantly searches for a mother's love and acceptance that she sadly never finds. Remarkably, instead of using these numerous maladies that have plagued her life as an excuse not to prosper, she has the tremendous ability to turn them inward and develop her exceptional talent as a writer.

Some have criticized that this novel does not portray the average asian-American household in an avuncular light, or that it as not as ethnic as the typical Asian-American novel; but typicality is over-rated. `A Cab Called Reliable is real. Certainly the characters in this novel do not fulfill the average American's typecast of the generic immigrant Asian, but that makes this wonderful work all the more interesting and much more endearing. The author has the ability to appeal to multiple nationalities, transcend the hurdles of racism and relate to all readers, no matter what provenience they possess.

Upon reading this novel, one can't help but catch the eccentric, lively spirit and optimism of Ahn Joo. With it's completion, you may be a little stronger, a bit wiser and more ready to tackle your greatest obstacles. The reader will have renewed faith in the ideal that patience and perseverance can heed astounding results, even if it doesn't bestow the story book endings you set out to find.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Flavor, November 22, 1999

By 

Margaret Lee - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cab Called Reliable: A Novel (Paperback)

Much of Asian-American Lit seems to center on the immigrant experience, and the resulting growing pains one contracts from it. A Cab Called Reliable, has this centralized theme as well, however it would be an injustice to marginalize it into "Asian-American Literature". I don't mean to clump other works under this constricting label, but the flavoring of A Cab Called Reliable is inexplicably different. Typical as the storyline may seem, the richness of the details make it anything but typical. After reading a train of Asian-American books, I prepared myself for yet, another piece of work about the trials living in White America. Yes, Ahn Joo and her father did face these trials, but they remain peripheral in her identity formation. I witnessed her break into womanhood, guided by the off-kilter relationship with her father. As a result, her identity, and basically the crux of the book, goes beyond the immigrant experience, transcending culture and race. Patti Kim brings in the juices often snubbed by many Asian-American authors: betrayal, drama, and discovery. She deals with risky business when writing about an Asian-American father daughter relationship (a term basically foreign to the Asian culture) yet executes it in a convincing, and touching manner. I fell in love with Ahn Joo's character, not so much for characterestics which make her a likeable person, but because she carries an air of uncompromising humanness. Bravo to Patti Kim for an excellent piece of literature!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a powerful piece of writing, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Cab Called Reliable: A Novel (Hardcover)

Patti Kim's novel is a powerful and elegant piece of writing that gives a young Korean girl, Anh Joo, a voice of her own while growing up in America. Kim takes us inside the world of this 11 year old girl, where we were able to watch her to grow up and become a woman. I felt as if I was really there with Anh Joo when she was telling her stories. Sometimes I was in tears and other times i was in laughter while reading the novel. Overall, I found this novel to be emotional, moving, and humorous. When I started to hear the voice of little Anh Joo, I just could not put the book down until I was at the end.