ranouchesan

4 separate, yet interwining stories of 2nd generation Chinese-Americans' ambivalence over their immigrant mothers' traditionl values. Their relationship is a classic Kundera-style tale of identity, memory and inheritance. Through their mothers' lifes, they realize that had they been in their mothers' shoes they, too, would have had a similar mind. The irony was not lost to them; alas, having been brought up in America instead, they finally saw the sad inevitability of the differences between their mothers and them. it begs the question: how much of my identity belongs to me, and how much is the result of a collective inheritance from the society? as the world becomes more globalized and more people yearn for greener pastures abroad, this book serves well to remind immigrants of their racial/country baggages (their collective memories of their native countries) and how futile it is to ditch that and, at the same time, take up the memories of another country in a bid to gain acceptance.

2023-02-13 08:27