Eat A Bowl Of Tea: A novel of New York's Chinatown [Paperback]

Louis Chu (Author), Jeffrey Chan (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0818403950 | ISBN-13: 978-0818403958

Their marriage rites were beautiful, in the tradition of Old China. Their honeymoon was exquisite... until the bridegroom mysteriously lost his sexual powers.

'Eat a Bowl of Tea' is a compelling story of life in the Chinese-American community of New York City. It's pages come alive with the maneuvers of the Tong leaders, the colorful visitors to the Money Come mah-jong club house, the gossip of closely-knit Chinatown.

Mei Oi's girlish dreams were of the day she might marry and go to the Golden Mountain to live. It was the dream come true when Ben Loy arrived in her native village from the United States to take a bride. To Ben Loy, Mei Oi's beauty was perfect as a star. to Mei Oi, Ben Loy was a handsome 'gimshunhock' warrior from New York. Neither seemed to care that their marriage had been arranged in advanced of their meetings by their parents.

It was a marriage of tension, turmoil and frustration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lyle Stuart (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0818403950
• ISBN-13: 978-0818403958
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great experience of New York's Chinatown, May 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Eat A Bowl Of Tea: A novel of New York's Chinatown (Paperback)

Eat a Bowl of Tea by Louis Chu was first published in 1961. It's a satire of New York's Chinatown's bachelor society.Characters include the Ben Loy the son of a "bachelor" father. He has been sent to China after WWII to get married. After getting married to his bride Mei Oi, they return to America where he finds himself impotent to love his traditional good wife. Another character Ah Song is a thug and a gambler who seduces Mei Oi. The story continues and basically depics Chinatown and the Chinese Americans of the time. In the novel there are examples of the language with the heavy Chinese accent. The story expresses the theme of the bachelor's society and and the morals of a traditional wife compared to a prositute.

Pages 250

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am impressed by the emotional depth of this work., July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eat A Bowl Of Tea: A novel of New York's Chinatown (Paperback)

After reading Louis Chu's book, much of recent work by Asian Americans seemed even more lackluster than before. Chu writes about Asian American culture with the emotional depth and dignity that it deserves. I got this book from my brother who also felt dissatisfied with the representations of Asian life a la Amy Tan, Kingston, etc. They don't seem to write with the same respect for Asian romanticism that Chu recognizes with such literary power.If you want to see an intimate, caring portrait of NYC Chinatown, start here...

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic!, March 18, 2002

By 

[e-mail] (Chinatown, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eat A Bowl Of Tea: A novel of New York's Chinatown (Paperback)

Truly original. There are no "oriental" stereotypes in this important book. It is purely Asian American. I'm sure it will be treasured throughout the years. Eat a Bowl of Tea came out in 1961 and it is the first Chinese American novel set in Chinese America. That alone should motivate you to buy this book. It's a shame that Louis Chu is no longer with us, he could've authored more books -- "Wow, your mother!"