Present Books Concering Typical American
| Original Title: | Typical American |
| ISBN: | 186207111X (ISBN13: 9781862071117) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (1991) |
Define Regarding Books Typical American
| Title | : | Typical American |
| Author | : | Gish Jen |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 304 pages |
| Published | : | May 14th 1998 by Granta Books (first published 1991) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. China. Novels. Literature. American. Adult Fiction |
Description Supposing Books Typical American
From the beloved author of Mona in the Promised Land and The Love Wife comes this comic masterpiece, an insightful novel of immigrants experiencing the triumphs and trials of American life. Gish Jen reinvents the American immigrant story through the Chang family, who first come to the United States with no intention of staying. When the Communists assume control of China in 1949, though, Ralph Chang, his sister Theresa, and his wife Helen, find themselves in a crisis. At first, they cling to their old-world ideas of themselves. But as they begin to dream the American dream of self-invention, they move poignantly and ironically from people who disparage all that is “typical American” to people who might be seen as typically American themselves. With droll humor and a deep empathy for her characters, Gish Jen creates here a superbly engrossing story that resonates with wit and wisdom even as it challenges the reader to reconsider what a typical American might be today.
Rating Regarding Books Typical American
Ratings: 3.42 From 1456 Users | 129 ReviewsJudge Regarding Books Typical American
This was not a joy to read. Up until the last 12 pages it all just kept plodding along heavily, the characters didn't make me laugh and I usually find Asian immigrants HILARIOUS. Yifeng (Ralph) Chang comes to the US from China to study engineering. He starts out proud of his virtuous ethical ideals and then they disappear. Same thing happens to his sister Theresa and eventual wife Helen. Ralph befriends a Chinese-American named Grover Ding, a millionaire with questionable morals of his own, andSorry I didnt like this book. I chose it to try and get an understanding but all it did was annoy me. It was slow and boring and Ralph is really annoying. The whole choosing a name thing is ok but after being to China I just dont think they do it like that anymore. Our tour guide chose his name based on Wilson from castaway.
Gish Jen's Typical American surveys a broad range of immigrant Chinese American experience, and is populated by round, psychologically complex characters interacting in believable and striking ways. Jen's flaw as an author might only be a flaw of the Chinese American community itself, a tendency to presume "too much democracy" and too much equality in a country that has a bit more complex melding of Western tradition, class division and attachment to its roots than appears at first sight.
This is an absolutely fantastic story! Gish Jen is a masterful storyteller. I'm a bit surprised by some of these low ratings, especially by readers who honestly declare that they didn't even get far with the book. How do you review a book you didn't even read? Anyway, I disagree with them. Gish Jen's stories will transcend future generations. If you haven't tried her work, Typical American is a great read.
This is an absolutely fantastic story! Gish Jen is a masterful storyteller. I'm a bit surprised by some of these low ratings, especially by readers who honestly declare that they didn't even get far with the book. How do you review a book you didn't even read? Anyway, I disagree with them. Gish Jen's stories will transcend future generations. If you haven't tried her work, Typical American is a great read.
I couldn't finish this book. The writing style was suffocatingly bland and I didn't care about any of the characters: Ralph, Helen, Theresa. They represent a very narrow slice of the Chinese American experience: privileged, overeducated and smug, possibly like the author. I couldn't relate to any of them, and whatever racism they must have experienced coming to America in the 1950s is ridiculously minimized and glossed over. Chinese-Americans are still seen as "foreign" 50 years after WWII so to
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