Customer Reviews

Potato Queen

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The focus of this narrative novel is Juancho Chu, a young gay Filipino man who moves to San Francisco, finds a job at a travel service that specializes in Asian travel, and commences looking for a boyfriend. Juancho is a self-admitted "Potato Queen" ... a gay Asian who is attracted mostly to mature white men. (It's just a coincidence I read this shortly thereafter finishing and reviewing another called "Rice Queen", which is about mature white men attracted to young-looking Asian men, which are also common in this book. In a sense, this book puts the other better in perspective.) Juancho quickly meets another "PQ" in the person of his coworker Rowell, and Rowell's "RQ" ex-lover/best friend Gerald, and they form the core of a group of friends that explores San Francisco's gay nightlife together.

This is a coming-of-age story, in the sense that Juancho's search for love and acceptance is really starting within himself, as he strives to be more self-assured, open to others, and be more certain of what he wants out of life, same as his American friends are finding out for themselves. The book gives interesting cultural and class insights regarding Juancho's native country, which help the reader to understand Juancho's emotional journey toward acceptance. Although the author is also Filipino, there is no way to tell how much of this is autobiographical. But the story Mr. Sy tells is relatively captivating and emotional, suggesting more than a detached involvement in Juancho's progress and revelations. His progress is summarized poignantly in Juancho's final line, which reads: "I would rather be alone in America, than a freak in my country."

Not exactly light reading, but thoughtful and interesting nevertheless.

Rafaelito Sy masterfully captures the heart of a man in search of love and his own identity. From his beginnings in the Phillipines to his adopted home in San Francisco, the main character, Juancho Chu, is vividly portrayed by the author. The insight into Juancho's soul and those of the people that come and go in his life is inspiring, moving and entertaining. Sy skillfully bridges cultural gaps, giving insight into Filipino-American culture and Asian-Americans in the gay community. He reels us into these worlds, usually plagued by stereotypes and assumptions, and shatters preconception, revealing the truth as we accompany Juancho in his search.

This entertaining first novel looks to be the initial triumph for this inspiring writer. A must read!

I feel that Potato Queen is a poignant Asian-American story about class, immigration, and racial identity in the gay community. The relationships between Asians (mostly Filipinos) and Caucasians represent the struggle that people of color have in order to assimilate into a community that prides itself for its unity. Yes, the characters are sad - racial segregation and objectification are hardly any cause to be happy - but more than that, they are hopeful and loving. Through lush details and lyrical prose, the author effectively conveys strong and complex emotions. A fresh perspective on an often unspoken issue.

A totally captivating story. I could not resist turning page after page to follow the lead and his band of soul-searching comrades. Once every few years, you hear a unique gay immigrant voice. A few years ago, it was Realuyo's Umbrella Country; in 2005, Sy's work resonates with a story that touches the heart and warms the soul. Love, pain, happiness, risk, abandon, friendship, acceptance and alienation served in a bite-size but scrumptious lumpia -- just to extend the food metaphor.

Potato Queen is like getting to know familiar places all over again: (bars in the Castro and Polk), sights (in San Francisco), and queens (of all colors partying away in the City). Sooooo retro cool. Nice job!

Potato Queen manages to combine romance, humor, and a serious look at racism/ racial views within the gay community all with style! Bravo to Mr. Sy!

I'm not much of a book reader, but when I picked up Potato Queen, I couldn't put it down. Sy writes with such vivid imagery and creates such compelling characters that I was instantly sucked into the world he creates. The book has humor, too. It brought back a lot of memories.


Mark Greenbaum



FIVE STARS