Rebecca Kuang is an extraordinary author, in part because each of her novels uses different genres. In this book, Lily Chen is a Chinese-American Yale student who decides to spend a summer in Taipei in an intensive language program to improve her Chinese. Now, Lily is a young woman experiencing culture shock for the first time, and she makes some epic mistakes. Her program is difficult and her roommate is super annoying. And then mid-program she experiences a personal tragedy, the death of her maternal grandfather (Gonggong) in China which results in a profound identity crisis. Thus, the story is intensely introspective, all about belonging. Some of the writing is transcendent, like attending a piano concert. Overall, an amazing coming-of-age novel about self-discovery and understanding.
Category: travel
Travels With Charley – John Steinbeck
In 1960 at the age of 58 and after his last novel, Steinbeck sets out on a road trip with his faithful dog Charley, in search of America. After 10,000 miles over 4 months, this epic trip comes to an end. No surprise: the writing is superb. Steinbeck is a keen observer of geography, and long periods of time in a camper truck provide frequent opportunities for reminiscing. One of the best sections is California: the giant redwoods, the magic of the desert, revisiting his Salinas home. There is also a melancholy, a palpable disenchantment with the world culminating with a disastrous exposure to racial tension in the South. Overall, this is a stunning portrait of American complexity.
