Customer Reviews

Her Wild American Self: Short Stories

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This debut collection of short stories from a Fil-Am woman writer was a joy to read. Although some stories were not as well-developed as others, I enjoyed them for the different characters who struggled with the same issues--identity, language, their place in the world, etc.

The most memorable stories for me were the same story she used for the title of the collection, and "Baby Lust". I found "Her Wild American Self" and the character Augustina to be very poignant and tragic--what does this particular story say about the woman's feelings, passions, and her choices? The second story I found myself being drawn to because it is so deeply troubling and disturbing. The images Ms. Galang portrays of the (I believe psychotic, but what woman wouldn't be after a miscarriage?) woman and her desire for cups of soup with little shrimp floating in it is very dramatic, and I found myself shuddering in revulsion.

Certainly some stories could be improved upon, but this debut collection shows a strong emerging voice of a woman writer from the APA community.

Finally! A book that covers the duality of living within two vastly different cultures, AND being female. Galang's characters are strong and their dialogue honest. The best of the bunch is "Lessons on How You Never Lived Back Home," which is a self-reflection of a Filipina-American coming to terms with her identity, and the difficulties in accepting completely and equally her two homes -- The Philippines and the U.S. Anyone who's been caught in between two separate "worlds" can relate to the truthfulness and poignancy of Galang's stories

I cannot help but marvel at how hastily you dismiss Galang's collection of short stories without grappling with any of the issues this book is meaning to communicate. While certainly there is an element of anger essential to this book as a commentary on the Filipina-American experience, the women of this novel are not so one-dimensional. Can a woman's search for meaning after the death of a child, or the struggle of family acceptance be classified solely as anger? Galang's stories are much more than that. They are a poignant illustration of how one can struggle to find identity, and more importantly, how one can struggle for an identity between cultures. These Filipina-American women are the embodiment of social and individual problems, which are not solved through a simple plot resolution in each story. Rather, the lack of finality in the stories disallows the ability to dismiss the argument Galang is raising with the end of the story. The stories force you to think. In my personal view, these stories are beautifully constructed within the minds of women, imparting the dualistic feeling of making me want to cry and rage against the silence of so many others concurrently.

A delightful book. As a Filipino-American woman growing up in the midwest during the 60's and 70's, the stories in the book resonate with my own experiences. The short stories effectively and in many cases, humorously describe the pressures that many Filipino American women experience -- family obligations, women's prescribed roles, high expectations, Filipino-style classism and colonized behaviors, Filipino-American style Catholic shame, the affect of American-style racism---exotifying Asian-American women -- and our attempts to deal with it. My sisters and cousins that were raised in the Midwest also commented that they recognized, related to and enjoyed the stories. It is nice to see our own experiences reflected in American literature -- finally!

Galang's voice is lyrical, poetic. This is a beautiful short story collection. That they are about the Filipino American community adds to its value in literature. Readers hardly hear about Filipinos getting published, so as a Fil-am I am happy to have heard of and read this collection. Many congratulations. Hope to see your next book soon, Miss Galang.

Perceptive and true to her identity, M. Evelina Galang presents various cultural conflicts in simple language and with amazing insight. A book about the Filipino-American female by a Filipino-American woman, this piece of work is one of a kind. Whether you're a Filipino-American woman or a native-born Filipino woman living in America, you'll feel Galang's words firmly ripping your insides open and urging you to look at it, see it, feel it, and eventually cherish it

i first heard of this book at a reading she did in new york. my dad made me go but i didn't want to go but when i got there and she started reading i became so involved in the story. i bought the book and read it all in one night. i still cherish the book.

I am very torn on the effectiveness of this novel. Galang's women have so much potential that I left all of the stories frustrated with their inhibitions, lack of insight and self-doubt. For a book that is centered around the lives of women, most male characters play a very dominating and oppressive role that also dampers the lives the women that cannot quite seem to get things right. One part of my mind wants to hail the book as perfectly capturing the lives of women and all of their uncertainties. The other part wants to scorn it as a work that unnecessarily portrays women as indecisive and inferior. I would recommend it as a though provoking collection that presents many relevant issues in the lives of Asian-American women, although it is hardly a emblem of the feminist movement.

The characters of the short story collection, "Her Wild American Self," live in a world of tenuous boundaries created by age, culture, gender, and geography where ways of thinking and living meet and force reconsiderations of assumptions and choices. In that dialogue there is talk of love, lost opportunity, longing, resignation, restraint, and the psychic cost of all those things, yet there is a renewal of hope. I urge you to listen to those voices in this work, those which we agonize over and those which sustain us.

I went out of my way to buy this book because of all these positive reviews from readers who did not identify themselves. I was disappointed with the book. The book and writer are, I am afraid, overrated.