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Girl in Translation Jean Kwok 9781594487569 Books

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Girl in Translation Jean Kwok 9781594487569 Books

I had some ambivalence about this book at first, and mostly read it out of curiosity because it received such great reviews. The ambivalence was due to similarities between my own life and the character's - I am Asian, I immigrated to the US when I was thirteen, my previously well educated and professional parents became rough laborers, we were poor, I strugged with language and assimilation, and went on to two Ivy Leagues. So I thought: what can this book possibly tell me? Should there be such books to further the stereotype of the Chinese immigrant, who came to the U.S. poverty stricken and struggle to become doctors and lawyers? I chose to read it for two reasons: curiosity, and the fact that the author gave up science to become a writer and obtain and MFA - not very Chinese. I realized she must have had guts to risk the more certain path of a structured profession, for a career in writing. So I gave it a go. In the end, I do have to admit that I am probably a biased reader. Having had first hand experiences quite similar to the character's, there were times when I broke down while reading the book. It uncovered a lot of wounds and shame that I thought had gone away. I relived many painful moments which had been forgotten or buried away, and reminded me of who I was. Again, I realize this comes from a very specific perspective, but for having reacquainted me with an old sad self, I give it five stars.


Tags : Girl in Translation [Jean Kwok] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, an inspiring debut about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two futures. </b> When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor,Jean Kwok,Girl in Translation,Riverhead Books,1594487561,Chinese American teenagers;Fiction.,Chinese;New York (State);New York;Fiction.,Women immigrants;Fiction.,ASIAN AMERICAN NOVEL AND SHORT STORY,Chinese,Chinese American teenagers,Coming of Age,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Coming Of Age,Fiction Literary,Fiction-Coming of Age,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General Adult,Literary,New York,New York (State),United States,Women immigrants

Girl in Translation Jean Kwok 9781594487569 Books Reviews

Great book. It tells the story of a young girl and her mother struggling to survive as immigrants in Brooklyn. The book is filled with their triumphs and difficulties. It is inspiring and addictive.
Wonderful story. I highly recommend it.
This was an interesting version of a "coming of age". The main characters immigrated from Hong Kong to NYC and faced adversity for many years before the "from rags to riches" aspect of the story came true. I never really understood why they left Hong Kong, as their life there didn't sound destitute.
The quality of writing isn't excellent, but the book was easy to read in two sittings. There was an honesty to it, the characters came to life, and the descriptions and circumstances were convincing. The author focused on the misery many immigrants experience unless they are lucky enough to get a good education and change their life. The land of MILK AND HONEY is has flaws and the author lets it's readership know they include child labour and poverty.
I enjoyed Kwok's story, it's a fast easy read.
The weight and realism of the portions of the book which covered Kimberly’s home life and school life were not compatible with the romance novel tone/martyrdom of the love relationship with Matt. And I found myself really disliking the protagonist at the end, having made the choices she did. Those choices seemed to be a decision by the author to make her character more complex, for its own sake.

We’re also missing a lot of physical descriptors of the main characters - Kimberly as she grows, more detail about Ma, and of key others like Aunt Paula. I found it odd for these characters to truly come to visual life solely on my imagination, without any prompting. About all I know is Kimberly doesn’t like makeup, feels awkward about clothes, and Ma is frail.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is a moving novel about a young girl and her mother immigrating to New York in order to achieve a better life after the untimely death of the child's father. However, success in America isn't as easily gained as the mother hoped it would be. Now facing poverty, destitution, and a bitter family debt, Ah-Kimberly, the young daughter, fights and claws her way through the American schooling system by day, and a Chinese sweat shop by night, in order to make a better life for her, and her mother.

I would classify this novel a bildungsroman - a coming of age story where the moral and psychological growth of the protagonist from child to adulthood is measured in the great change of the main character. The novel depicts the true struggles of immigrants that come to this country NOT looking for a handout. And the truth of it is, it's hard. Very hard.

The novel shares the living conditions of the naive family as they attempt to make a life in America. They reside in a roach and rat infested apartment found for them by their jealous and superficial Aunt (who runs the sweat shop), where both Ma and Ah-Kimberly barely survive. There is no heat and they sleep under piles of clothing, mostly inadequate, for the harsh winters of Brooklyn. They make ends meet by eating small meals of rice, using their oven to provide heat in the small kitchen, and sewing blankets and clothes out of fabric they find in trash dumps.

The American schooling system is cruel and unforgiving for Ah-Kim. She certainly didn't come through the soft education system of the current times where everyone gets 1,000 chances to do everything, to pass everything. Her teachers, specifically the men, are mean and cruel. They mock her, accuse her of cheating when she does start to make progress, and shame her socially. The kids, well - they are American kids - disrespectful and indifferent to anyone that isn't like them. I cried the most reading about her schooling, especially when she was so young. It pained me, as a teacher, to read the way adults responded to her, to the way the other students treated her, to the indifference of the teacher to help her. But, like a truly intelligent girl, she beats the odds of the public elementary school system and is afforded an opportunity to go to a very private and prestigious private school.

Ah-Kimberly's climb to success is painful and scarred, which makes moments of triumph that much sweeter.

Jean Kwok paints an emotional journey of Ah-Kim and one the reader will not forget. I still feel tightness in my chest when I remember the struggles of this kind, hardworking family of two. I cried multiple times by chapter four, and the pull on the heart only increases as the reader becomes more involved with the story.

This is a book I highly recommend - in fact I'm going to request to teach this book next year in place of To Kill a Mockingbird - that is how strong of an impact it made on me. It gives insight to a different culture and I appreciated reading about the Asian sociodynamics rather than reading yet another book about the black/white dynamic in America. This opened my eyes to the depth and tradition long steeped within Asian communities. It was the perfect book to read after Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (link for this review - found after Reached by Allie Condy on the same post). I enjoyed the distinctness and diversity of the these two novels, both creating a respect for a culture outside of my own.

About the Author (from author page)

Jean Kwok immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood. She won early admission to Harvard, where she worked as many as four jobs at a time, and graduated with honors in English and American literature, before going on to earn an MFA in fiction at Columbia.

Her debut novel Girl in Translation (Riverhead, 2010) became a New York Times bestseller. It has been published in 15 countries and chosen as the winner of an American Library Association Alex Award, a John Gardner Fiction Book Award finalist, a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick, an Orange New Writers title, an Indie Next Pick, a Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award nominee and the winner of Best Cultural Book in Book Bloggers Appreciation Week 2010. It was featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others. The novel was a Blue Ribbon Pick for numerous book clubs, including Book of the Month, Doubleday and Literary Guild. Jean lives in the Netherlands with her husband and two sons.

To learn more about Jean Kwok, you can visit her website at [...]
If you are considering reading this book, I encourage you to do so.
I wouldn't say that I am well-read, but I have been blessed with educated grandparents who send me books they consider exceptional and meaningful. Although this book did not come to me through their recommendation, it easily keeps company with the classics and masterpieces that have. I have found kinship and inspiration in Kim, the protagonist, whose will is the bedrock on which her story rests. Her journey to escape poverty and find a meaningful adulthood is one that transcends backgrounds, but the rich culture of Kim's Chinese heritage is as important to her character as it is to the setting of this book. I can happily say I will be looking for more of Ms. Kwok's work.
I had some ambivalence about this book at first, and mostly read it out of curiosity because it received such great reviews. The ambivalence was due to similarities between my own life and the character's - I am Asian, I immigrated to the US when I was thirteen, my previously well educated and professional parents became rough laborers, we were poor, I strugged with language and assimilation, and went on to two Ivy Leagues. So I thought what can this book possibly tell me? Should there be such books to further the stereotype of the Chinese immigrant, who came to the U.S. poverty stricken and struggle to become doctors and lawyers? I chose to read it for two reasons curiosity, and the fact that the author gave up science to become a writer and obtain and MFA - not very Chinese. I realized she must have had guts to risk the more certain path of a structured profession, for a career in writing. So I gave it a go. In the end, I do have to admit that I am probably a biased reader. Having had first hand experiences quite similar to the character's, there were times when I broke down while reading the book. It uncovered a lot of wounds and shame that I thought had gone away. I relived many painful moments which had been forgotten or buried away, and reminded me of who I was. Again, I realize this comes from a very specific perspective, but for having reacquainted me with an old sad self, I give it five stars.