Customer Reviews

China Dolls: A Novel

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

 

 

"China Dolls" is racist and sexist. The vast majority of male characters of all ethnicities are portrayed as chauvinist cavemen. This is especially true of all of the Asian American characters.

The female protagonists accept the glaring faults of the white men they encounter, such as Josh's arrogance and obvious Asian fetish, and Drew's blatant racism and sexism. The Asian male characters are harshly criticized and are not allowed second chances.

The female characters lament how being Asian American makes them feel marginalized in their careers and unhappy with their bodies. I don't understand how I am supposed to feel any sympathy for them since they themselves have such low regard for Asian men.

Toward the end of the novel, Lin realizes that she has unfairly judged her Asian ex-boyfriend Stephen. But this leads nowhere, and I get the impression that she would rather just wait for a nonracist white man.

I also found it interesting that the Asian mothers in the book are by far more domineering and controlling than the Asian fathers, which goes against the stereotype that Asian men are too controlling to be good romantic partners.

I actually emailed the authors and they responded that the "book is more about the women than the men." Apparently, they think that they are not responsible for their minor characters. I think that the authors just are not good writers and are simply benefiting from the public's interest in Asian women's stories.

I would love to say that this novel represents a very biased Asian American female perspective, but unfortunately, I suspect that many Asian American women feel exactly the same way as the authors.

While I found that this book was a decent read in one afternoon, it's particularly disturbing for the authors to try to break stereotypes of Asian women by unnecessarily reinforcing stereotypes of Asian men.

Halfway through the book, all the Asian men in the book seem to exploited by turning them into stereotypical caricatures and using them as a catalyst to push the development of the female protagonists. In order to break from stereotypes as young Asian women, they projected an image of the stereotypical Asian male and culture.

It's truly tragic when in order for Asian women to move up in society, they have to push Asian men down.

I just read the new novel China Dolls . . . .

On the surface, I really liked it. Well written, very funny, Fast fun read. Upon further reflection, I found it to be one of the most racially stereotyped and demeaning books I have read of late.

Yu and Kan do the exact opposite of what Alisa does in her books. Alisa presents a broad spectrum of different types of Latino people, with positive and negative qualities. With regards to the men in Dirty Girls, we have a Cuban Jew wife beater, a Mexican philanderer, a Puerto Rican nice guy, an idiot white guy, and an Aztec with a superiority complex. I am not suggesting that Yu and Kan represent other Asian groups, but all of their Asian American male characters are shown as weak, dorky, effeminate, or controlling.

The characters call the Asian men names like "Asian Warrior Man." p 136

p 129 "Haven't you ever gone out with an Asian guy before? "Oh yeah, in college, Mike Tang. He was a nice guy. He told me he loved me five minutes after we sat down for dinner."

All the white guys are described as tan, gorgeous perfect bodies. When any of them make rude degrading comments, their actions are excused but when the Asian male characters say something offensive, they are lambasted for being "traditional male chauvinist pigs."

I just find it so sad that it is bad enough that white media desexualizes Asian American men, but that Asian female writers do it as well. In the history of primetime television, there has only been one Asian man that has kissed a woman (Jin and Sun from Lost) That was the main reason that I created the Tim Lee character in my book was to show a gorgeous Asian man that all the girls are in love with.

I have been reading everything in the chick lit genre I can get my hands on while I revise my book because I am learning so much by reading. In China Dolls, I found that I couldn't distinguish at all between the three characters and they all seemed to have the same voice, so I am really trying to make all my characters distinct.

This novel attracted my attention for a number of reasons. First, it is a novel about young, Asian-American women trying to be successful in challenging careers in New York City. (In this case, sports reporter, attorney and stockbroker.) My wife is a young, Asian-American woman trying to build a successful career as an accountant in New York City. In a closely related second, this novel shows relationships between these Asian-American women and non-Asian men which also strikes close to home for me. Finally, China Dolls is a first novel and I always make an effort to read first novels that seem interesting in a long-standing attempt to support new writers.

So, given all that, how did I like this novel? To be frank, I have to say it is only "so-so."

But I should be fair. Even with my connections to the themes of this novel, perhaps I am not the right audience and my judgement is therefore somewhat suspect. Perhaps it would resonate more with women and, more precisely, Asian-American women. Still, whatever its audience, there are some weaknesses here.

Most importantly, it is not particularly well written. The prose is pretty flat and cliche-ridden. There are no real surprises to the plot and the concept of fate that often resonates in novels by Asian writers is watered down to the point of tastelessness. I also felt their portrayal of many of the Asian characters (mothers, fathers, grandparents) was surprisingly stereotypical. I am basing this on my encounters with my wife's family which made these characters ring untrue for me.

The three lead characters did offer some depth and insight, most likely because they are based on the experience of our two authors (a sports reporter and an attorney) but it wasn't enough to really carry me through the novel. What this bodes for their next novel (which the dust jacket says they are "hard at work on"), I don't know.

"China Dolls" centered around three Chinese-American women who were best friends for the longest time, living in New York City. M.J. is a journalist writing for a sports magazine, Alex is an attorney working for a Manhattan firm while Lin is a stockbroker with Merrill Lynch. Although, all three women are highly successful, each had to deal with her respective immigrant family, especially with regards to her single status. All three women's families are rather traditional and old-fashioned, as they hope that they daughters would be able to find partners with respect and money, preferably of Chinese descent too.

This was an average read for me as the plot was rather thin. It was sort of fun and interesting, especially the "ethnic" aspect of the book but it wasn't very engaging to read. As mentioned by one of the reviewers here, it was sort of "Sex and the City" read except that the women were all Chinese with careers in law, journalism and investment. This wasn't the best in this genre, but it was certainly average.

"China Dolls" is sassy, smart, and such a fun read! When I first saw this book, I was dubious on whether I could relate to it or not because it was multicultural. However, this is a novel that every woman can relate to a la 'Dirty Girls Social Club' and 'Waiting to Exhale'. The characters of M.J., Alex, and Lin are incredible, strong willed woman whom you want to root for from the beginning to the end.

Most books feature fashion designers, publicists, and bridesmaids but Yu & Kan feature a female sportswriter as one of the main characters, which I thought was refreshing. We all have dealt with the trials and tribulations that M.J. has. Her dreams of being a sportscaster are shattered by prejudiced people in the sports world and receives a lack of support from the most important people in her life--her parents. Being able to fight and overcome all the negatives in her life is such an inspiration to readers.

Alex and Lin also have their own unique story and the warm ending of this book makes you feel good about life, love, and your friends in the end.

An entertaining and reasonably well written first book, with interesting main characters. That said, it doesn't explore the issues facing Asian American women in both their relationships and careers very deeply. There are some insightful and touching moments, but most of the story's potential isn't fully realized. The plot is divided into three parts, one for each woman, which are all connected by a fortune teller's prophecy; this helps the story move at a good pace, but is far too obvious a contrivance. I can't quite bring myself to give it 4 stars, but I'm looking forward to the next work by these authors.

Chinese Americans M.J., Alex and Lin are best friends and have been so since they met as children. Each encourages the others to seek their dreams. Thus M.J. is a sportswriter hoping to make TV broadcasting; Alex has become a successful lawyer; and Lin has succeeded as an investment banker.

Each of their parents is concerned with the Americanization of their offspring, as the only acceptable roles for an Asian female are wife and mother. However the three musketeers want more from their lives and plan to prove to their respective families that Asian women at least in the United States can be all they want to be.

The American assimilation that divides the third generation from especially the first (the second is caught in a tug of war) is aptly described in CHINA DOLLS. Readers will see the Grand Canyon in beliefs as the acceptable Chinese norm (brought from the old country) clashes with the desires of women to be all that you can be in a society that encourages much more flexibility. Although none of the three young professionals are fully developed, the clashing lifestyles make for an interesting tale as each ahs to decide between gratifying their family by staying inside the narrow cultural restraints or satisfying themselves by taking advantage of the wider opportunities America offers.

Harriet Klausner

It doesn't matter if you're Asian or not or if you're single or not, China Dolls is a lot of fun! The characters are sassy and smart, the plot moves along briskly and New York City is always an exciting setting for a story. "Sex and the City" may be in re-runs, but here are three young ladies to help fill that void for readers.

Not usually the type of book that I pick up for myself, but I have to admit it was a lot of fun. Like the idea of a woman writing for a sports magazine! That's a nice change of pace. I can see the Sex and the City aspect, but that doesn't bother me at all. It was a good show. I also liked the cultural aspects here. Definitely a fun read, pick it up.