About this title: Maxine Hong Kingston writes about the bonds as well as the conflicts between women in Chinese-American culture--how the traditional Asian way of life is transformed in the new world for better and for worse. In the process, Kingston tells the story of her life, her coming of age, and her assimilation into American culture.
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Description: Good. 0679721886 Paperback, Condition: Good; somewhat worn, with some underlining/highlightling within; will work well as a reading copy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780679721888ISBN:0679721886
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780679721888ISBN:0679721886
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780679721888ISBN:0679721886
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"I've finally finished Maxine Hong Kingston's Warrior Woman: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. The "ghosts" refer to her Chinese mother's habit of calling everything that isn't explainable, i.e. not Chinese, a ghost. There are immigration ghosts, ghost ghosts, American ghosts, neighbor ghosts, ghosty ghosts, even the author is sometimes referred to as a ghost because she chatters on and on like ghosts in her new country.
I honestly must say that I'm not sure if I liked the book, but I really couldn't say why.....
The book is divided into five short stories.
"No Name Woman" is about Kingston's aunt who gave birth to an illegitimate child and then killed herself. On the evening of the baby's birth and the mother and child's death, the entire village storms through the house, destroying everything because the aunt "dared" to bear a baby out of wedlock. From the moment of her suicide, Kingston says that the aunt was basically erased, forbidden afterlife existence because of her crime. It is a very powerful story.
"White Tigers," I just don't remember.
"Shaman" is about Kingston's mother. Before coming to America, her mother was a powerful doctor. The only part I really remember is how she went one on one against a ghost in a school and won.
"At the Western Palace" deals with the arrival of Kingston's aunt from China, her culturation into America, her mother's fierceness in her sister's right to her husband's home (the husband's remarried an American), and the aunt's subsequent fall into madness.
"A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe" is a story that deals with Kingston's own feelings and confusion in regards to her Chinese/American identity.
i don't know. I kind of feel like I did after I read Jean Rhys' Wild Saragasso Sea. Is something wrong with me? Why am I having such a hard time identifying with important female authors? Is it their style? Is it their story? Throughout the book, my interest wavered -- HIGH! Ok. Low. Highish. Lowish. High. Higher. Ok then! Hmmm."
"Maxine Hong Kingston uses five short stories based on the experiences, both real and imagined, of five women, including herself, in Chinese society. She speaks with a voice that is full of innocence yet anger, and her words unravel with feminine strength and courage. These five stories demonstrate the power of women, despite the fact that Chinese society expects them only to become slaves and wives. In this way, Kingston stands up for Chinese females, and by finding her voice and breaking the silence, she rebels. Through her writing, her journey of vengeance, becomes the female avenger - the woman warrior."
"Authentic voice of a Chinese woman, daughter of immigrants in California. The whole arc of immigrant experience is explored in a series of vignettes,, loosely related; the collision of cultures, stories, traditions and realities revealed through coming of age experiences of the narrator. My very favorite part of the whole book was "At the Western Palace" where Brave Orchid brings her sister, "Moon Orchid" over to reclaim Moon's "husband". There's a profound point to that story being that sometimes, it's just not possible to "adjust" or "adapt" to a different culture."
By Heather,
Shek Pai Wan Resettlement Estate, 00, Hong Kong
"At the beginning of this book, I had a very difficult time reading it--mainly because the grammatical structure seemed off. Then it took me the longest time to figure out that the author was referring to white people when she said "ghost". I was lucky enough to recall that the Chinese word for white people means "white ghost", and suddenly the book made a whole lot more sense. I can't say that I really like this book; however, it is realistic and disturbing. I want to say that this book is unique in it's story telling, but it's the first piece of Chinese literature that I've read, and so I don't know how it compares. It definitely gave me insight into what Chinese women think and are expected to do. When it comes down to it, I don't suppose I really know what to think about this book."
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