Asian American Novels & Writers | Asian American Poll

ASIAN AMERICAN NOVELS
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:11:22 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which of the following is the best Asian American novel?
China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston | 7%
No-No Boy by John Okada | 1%
The Foreign Student by Susan Choi | 8%
China Boy by Gus Lee | 4% American Knees by Shawn Wong | 3%
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston | 7%
Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan | 8%
Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee | 15%
Other | 47%

Who's your favorite Asian American writer?
Gus Lee | 13%
Amy Tan | 8%
Susan Choi | 8%
Maxine Hong Kingston | 11%
Chang-Rae Lee | 14%
Other | 46%

What best explains the remarkable disparity between the numbers of published AA female and male authors?
More AA females write than do AA males | 17%
American publishers have a fetish for Asian female authors | 32%
American publishers have an aversion toward strong AA male voices | 14%
Americans have a fetish for Asian female-white male themed books | 37%

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Comments posted during the past year remain available for browsing.

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WHAT YOU SAY

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yes

"Why do you have to read so deep into the love aspect of marriage?"

Marriage is all about love. The central theme of the book and movie was about mother/daughter relationships, not about Asian males versus White males.

"I am referring to the movie, because JLC is what the overwhelming majority of the public has seen, not the book."

This forum is for books that's what I'm emphasizing. The book was a hit among White women. It is safe to say that the majority of the moviegoers were White women who dragged their boyfriends and husbands to see it after reading the book. If you're worried about the image of Asian males because of that movie, then let me reassure you that White females are aware that the White majority have their share of playboys, abusers, and cheapskates etc. Open any paper or magazine and you'll be inundated with stories of loser White boyfriends and husbands.

"Another reason why Amy Tan sucks. She has no originality. Come on, the mother-daughter story has been around for ages"

Mother-daughter stories usually focus on one mother and daughter. Tan used four instead of one and artfully weaved the past of the mothers to the present-day situtation of the daughters. That, among many things, was why the book and movie was so well-received by literary and movie critics. Critics are not generous and would quickly pounce all over writers and directors if the product was bad.

"Amy Tan just copied this universal theme, took advantage of her situation back then (when Asians were almost non-existent in the American movie) by publishing the first Asian American version of the mother-daughter them (aka Joy Luck Club)..."

The same can be said for many fiction writers. I don't think she deliberately set her sights on writing a book when Asians were almost non-existent in the media. If you had the inclination, I think you would do the same and earn millions.

"Hmmm...I wonder why JLC portrays all WMs in a positive light."

If you interpreted it that way, it's unfortunate. As I said before, it wasn't an Asian male vs. White male thing. One could say that it was a women's empowerment thing but with a softer touch. It's not unusual for men to notice the pictorial more and less of the deeper aspects of the story. That's why porn magazines are popular with men not women. Action films enjoy a greater amount of male instead of female fans. If you read the book, you would have less trouble with it than the movie. It's fair to bring up the fact that the director was Wayne Wang, an Asian. The director has most of the say in how a movie gets made and the burden of depicting the Asian husband was on his shoulders through cast selection, character portrayal etc. I did neglect to mention that the Asian husband was White in the book and that Wayne Wang was the one who depicted the Asian husband that way. Like it or hate it, JLC will always have its critics and fans here but the book and video was a hit all over Asia because of its universal appeal.

tulux999 Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 15:19:07 (PDT)

yes

C'mon, don't feel so bad. If you were an Asian producing a movie with an all-Asian cast, you would have used a softer hand in depicting White females in interracial relationships. I blame the producer/director for making the Asian man stand out more. If you read the book, it was really no big deal. Whites are aware that they have their share of cheapskates, rapists etc. Show the movie to your grandchildren and (if you're still alive) your great-grandchildren. Tell them how much you hated it. You will get a big laugh out of them. Let's move on to other books and related topics. I plan to buy Yellow.
tulux999 Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 12:23:29 (PDT)

TO AC Dropout:

Good point: they DO exist and it is now our job to make fun of them because they are a legitimate target of ridicule. And yes, to ban JLC would be to shut down a voice to a segment of the As Am population, but that's the flipside of our point: the book, in my opinion, "shuts down" the voices of AM, who also are a PART of the As Am population, too, don't ya think? And don't we have a right to state our opinion, esp. since the book is such a money-maker at our expense? Nobody is saying ban the book; we're just saying, okay, she put it out there for the world to read, so we have a right to slam it: READY, AIM, FIRE!!!
AM Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 11:59:00 (PDT)

Calgon, take me away!

Argh! It's frustrating to argue about a movie that, AT BEST, is really just a mediocore, melodramatic and laughably corny film that belongs in the "Used Videos for Sale" bin at K-Mart. The scene where the young AF tells her husband (Andrew McCarthy of Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo's Fire) that she is not who she is, but a descendant of her ancient ancestor who died long ago in the misty recesses of her putrid imagination made me want to snorkle and spit up my soda in the middle of the theater. Booga booga! Oooh, a upper/middle-class AF snob discovers her voice is not her own but that of an ancient Oriental, heroic enchantress! Hmmm, ever think that her poor, long-suffering Asian ancestor might be rolling in her grave if she found out her descendant was marrying someone from St. Elmo's Fire?
Puh-leaze! Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 11:51:56 (PDT)

#neutron#

yr argument is off. i don't consider Manaa to be the "official voice" for asian americans just b/c they say the are, and as for eyes and ears, i trust my own and not some institutions.

kudos to you for trying to "step out of the box" and see the other side, and you may even be right that Manaa would not officially/publically risk their credibility by relying on double standards, but as far as i am concerned, Manaa has already lost their credibility if they recommended what is basically a cheesy movie that will NOT withstand the test of time except as an example of hokiness and a sell-out commercialism that caters to the white mainstream.
curryhouse Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 11:41:38 (PDT)

has anyone ever noticed that asian ameican writers tend to be married to white people? for korean american fiction, virtually every single book published in the last 6 years has been an author who is married to a non-korean! not that it makes any difference in the writing, but i thought that was weird.
fishstix Thursday, April 25, 2002 at 09:43:20 (PDT)

tulux999:

Why do you have to read so deep into the love aspect of marriage? The message of the Joy Luck Club is clear; flowerly emotions are not going to change the theme. According to the movie, white males are good. Asian males, whether in China or the USA, are bad. It doesn't get any simpler than this.

Just like JLC, when a movie is made after a book, there are always discrepencies between the book and the movie. I'm not going into every trivial discrepency. I am refering to the movie, because the movie JLC is what the overwhelming majority of the public has seen, not the book.

Another reason why Amy Tan sucks. She has no originality. Come on, the mother-dauther story has been around for ages. Not always in movies, but in books and stories from every culture in the world. Amy Tan just copied this universal theme, took advatage of her situation back then (when Asians were almost nonexistant in the American media) by publishing the first Asian American version of the mother-daughter theme (aka Joy Luck Club), made her millions, and lived happily ever after with her white husband. Hmmm..... I wonder why JLC portrays all WMs in positive light?
yes Wednesday, April 24, 2002 at 19:28:11 (PDT)

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