Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings (Asian American Experience) [Paperback]

Sui Sin Far (Author), Amy Ling (Editor), Annette White-Parks (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0252064194 | ISBN-13: 978-0252064197 | Publication Date: June 1, 1995

This volume reprints stories from Mrs. Spring Fragrance, along with other previously uncollected stories and journalistic essays by the first published Asian North American fiction writer. During an era of extreme Sinophobia, the Eurasian Sui Sin Far (1865-1914) courageously chose to write of the Chinese in North America as humorous, tragic, charming, and loving--in short, as human. Her stories sympathetically portray a group caught between worlds, inheritors of traditional Chinese values who find themselves thrust into boomingly mercantile and extremely race-conscious cities, such as San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Montreal, at the turn of the last century. Offering an introduction that situates Sui Sin Far in her historical and literary contexts, Amy Ling and Annette White-Parks select from Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1914) two dozen of the finest stories, including "In the Land of the Free," "The Story of One White Woman Who Married a Chinese," "Her Chinese Husband," and "The Wisdom of the New," as well as (from the "Tales for Chinese Children" section) "The Story of a Little Chinese Seabird" and "What about the Cat?" The second portion contains previously uncollected writings, including journalism and fiction that appeared in the Montreal Daily Witness, Los Angeles Express, New York Independent, The Westerner, and New England Magazine. The final piece, "Sui Sin Far, the Half Chinese Writer, Tells of Her Career," was printed in the Boston Globe in 1912, two years before her death. Amy Ling, professor of English and director of the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the author of Between Worlds: Women Writers of Chinese Ancestry. Annette White-Parks, an associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, is the author of Sui Sin Far/Edith Maude Eaton: A Literary Biography.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author, the daughter of a Chinese mother and a British father, whose family eventually settled in Montreal, wrote these stories and articles in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and they have held up well, both as works of literature and as snapshots of their time. The first half of the book is a group of stories first published in 1912. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is a Chinese woman transplanted to Seattle who both pleases and perplexes her Chinese husband by becoming ``Americanized.'' Many of Far's characters are caught in the bewildering expanse between Chinese and white communities. In ``Its Wavering Image,'' a white reporter courts a woman who is the child of a white woman and a Chinese man, insisting, ``You are a white woman--white. Did your kiss not promise me that?'' ``The Story of One White Woman Who Married a Chinese'' follows its protagonist through two marriages, first to an abusive white man who, though he talks about writing a book on social reform and suffrage, derides her as stupid, then to a Chinese man for whom she does embroidery. The latter part of the book contains a few uncollected short stories, but consists mostly of articles Far wrote about the Chinese community. One chronicles the fate of ``Half-Chinese Children,'' while another gives a straightforward account of the customs ``In Los Angeles' Chinatown.'' There is a dignified, formal quality to Far's writing that helps capture a moment. This collection is a fine tribute to one of the brave early mothers of multiculturalism.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A fine tribute to one of the brave early mothers of multiculturalism." -- Publishers Weekly

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252064194
• ISBN-13: 978-0252064197
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Asian American

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great short stories!, March 8, 2002

By 

Kai Bond (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings (Asian American Experience) (Paperback)

I like Sui Sin Far a lot more than Maxine Hong Kingston or Amy Tan. I'm glad someone finally portrayed Asians correctly. You can always count on this important author.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On Time, Perfect Condition, October 6, 2008

By 

D. Martinez - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings (Asian American Experience) (Paperback)

I was super excited when I got the book I ordered. I ordered it on a Friday and received it on a Monday. !! Perfect timing too! I thought it was going to take a long time to get it, but surprisingly it didnt take long at all. I ordered another book like 2 weeks ago, and I still havent received it :(
Overall I was really happy with my product. It was in super great condition and it had notes in it too that I could go off by because they were pretty accurate!

0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It's hard to review a product that you never got., April 20, 2009

By 

S. Gilliland - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings (Asian American Experience) (Paperback)

This ITEM never came. I was dissatisfied with this. I had to give it one star anyway. I didn't want to though.