Customer Reviews

A Cab Called Reliable: A Novel

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

the content is real, moving, touching, emotional, humorous, and takes you back in time and yet it pulls you in and out. patti kim really has done something interesting-- the writing is beautiful and playful prose that reflect some of the thought process and creativity that flows from the protagonist (ahn joo)'s head.

and i really liked it that this book doesn't have to be a "korean-american book" since the story seems to transcend that cultural realm into something more human: of growing up, coming to terms with your reality and wants, of relationships with people in your life, etc.

I noticed how several reviewers show admiration for Kim as an Asian American author...but I feel that's limiting this book strictly to one scope. The way she wrote, the things she wrote about...were so identifiable that they called to the reader...PERIOD. Whether they be Asian American or not. The geographical region in which the story takes place is familiar to me (many of the cities are a few miles from my house) and she has described them with startling accuracy. Many of her school experiences were similiar to mine also though our points of views would undeniably be different. She has talent as writer but also the gift of writing in a way in which the reader empathizes whether they be of the same cultural background or not. I would recommend the novel to anyone.

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!

Although some may say that this novel does not reflect the Asian man, the father character in this novel as well the other characters do show some of the characteristics that is against the stereotypical norm and to my belief very prevalent in Asian culture. I believe this is one of many reasons why I like this novel. It brought to light the humanity in the Asian American stereotype.

"A Cab Called Reliable..." did the job of telling a story of culture, tradition, and growing up in a way few authors can do. Instaid of falling into the "coming of age" novel trap, Patti Kim made it into a beautifully disturbing tale that carries the reader gently through the tumultious world of Ahn Joo, a young Korean American growing up in modern-day Virginia. One can only hope it never ends, as Kim tells the tale so wonderfully, yet somethign so stark was never so poetic and as wonderfully written. Patti Kim deserves a few more book deals, just so more and more people can read her flowing prose and twisting story lines.

After reading Chang-rae Lee, this book is a breath of fresh air. The writing style is impressionistic and not a tightly written narrative and prose, and that allows for you to get much closer to what Ahn-Joo's interior and emotional world is like, things which of course don't come neatly packaged. I feel that her ability to get in touch with this painful interiority is what enables and inspires her to survive and strive. She is able to capture the interminable sadness of her father's life and what is a common Korean drama of mourning the legacy of abusive and repressed Korean fathers. The stilted writing of Chang-rae Lee's writing reflects the dilemma of his repressed characters but it also seems to close the door to trying to figure out a way that they might transcend being repressed, afraid and self-hating. Somehow Patti Kim achieves that.

I think it's wonderful that she has found the strength to tell her story in a way that isn't contrived. What is really frustrating about Asian American literature is NOT that it's just a way to mourn the difficulties of growing up in a white culture (a very white-centric view), but rather that any Asian American is trying to use the dominant culture's literature and point of view to express their own point of view. This poses frustrating paradoxes but Patti Kim does a great job of weaving in lots of different ways of describing her life.

If a lot of Asian American literature sounds like a lot of whining about white culture then please come up with a better way to express the Asian American point of view in the absence of any distinctive "Asian American Culture" outside of white culture. Maybe this "whining" is a way of feeling one's place out in in the dark: the emotional and psychological side of what it means to belong to both a dominant culture and ethnic subculture, both of which you can never really put your finger on except for the fact that both often hurt you and make you feel permanently rejected by other people who don't understand. An Asian American writer is further burdened with the responsibility of speaking for all of those voices that never get heard, especially from all the people who live incredibly painful and stunted lives because of the immigrant process and barely know how to stand up for themselves. It means that the literature (and many second-generation lives) have the burden of trying to make up for all of that, and of course nothing is ever going to be comprehensive enough or able to capture the immense sense of loss and muteness of millions of immigrants.

What I love about this book is that the narrator seems to stay true to herself and how she feels and what she sees. You can actually feel her submerging at times to her father's stories and imagining an entire Korea she only knows through him and she becomes obsessed with trying to make sense of them. The same thing seems to happen with her father and how she tries to interpret American culture that only she can really grasp, even if tenuously: the only way he can make sense of it is to work ridiculously hard and hope his daughter's life will make sense of it for him--which it can't. But either way, it seems she's trying to write a personal landscape that makes more sense to her and that's what seems vital, rather than mourning that she'll never fit in.

I would have to say that this is one of the best books I've ever read. I felt myself being completely drawn in to the story. Ahn Joo's views and experiences were written so vividly it was as if I had known her all my life. I couldn't help but admire the bravery and strength of this little girl as she navigates her way through a new and confusing and not always friendly world. Thank you Patti for giving such a wonderful gift to us all, you are an incredible writer. Keep them coming.