Surprisingly, the Asian American women I know in my life who've read this book almost all hate it, even though it panders to their demographic. It's probably for the same reason I dislike so much of Asian American male literature: it's all fake and so image-conscious, trying so hard to earn non-Asian approval regarding our most embarrassing racialized behavioral tendencies.
>"I dislike so much of Asian American male literature: it's all fake and so image-conscious, trying so hard to earn non-Asian approval regarding our most embarrassing racialized behavioral tendencies."
One hundred percent agree. It's a strait jacket we're putting on ourselves.
And yes - I should pick up a copy of her book and take a deeper look at it.
This was a great write up. The anon-Jason synthesis reading is something that flew right over my head, to be sure. Very intriguing.
This added a lot more to my understanding and enjoyment of the novel. Still, the further I get away from finishing your novel, the more I come back to the theme of suffering. That sticks with me still—does suffering offer up anything other than pain? Do you people actually grow from grief, or do they just sink and then level out?
Hi! I just read your book and I really liked it. I basically interpreted it like you said at the end- I thought of Jason as a sort of imaginary friend/split personality of the main character. It didn't seem quite "real" that he could pop up just long enough to beat people up and bed random women, then disappear again. It seemed more like the sort of thing that the main character would invent as the wish fulfillment/polar opposite of himself, who still talks in the same sort of pseudo-intellectual overanalytical way.
Please write your Yellowface critique! I wrote mine here and so far, nobody's come after me, haha: https://salieriredemption.substack.com/p/yellowface-saving.
Surprisingly, the Asian American women I know in my life who've read this book almost all hate it, even though it panders to their demographic. It's probably for the same reason I dislike so much of Asian American male literature: it's all fake and so image-conscious, trying so hard to earn non-Asian approval regarding our most embarrassing racialized behavioral tendencies.
>"I dislike so much of Asian American male literature: it's all fake and so image-conscious, trying so hard to earn non-Asian approval regarding our most embarrassing racialized behavioral tendencies."
One hundred percent agree. It's a strait jacket we're putting on ourselves.
And yes - I should pick up a copy of her book and take a deeper look at it.
This was a great write up. The anon-Jason synthesis reading is something that flew right over my head, to be sure. Very intriguing.
This added a lot more to my understanding and enjoyment of the novel. Still, the further I get away from finishing your novel, the more I come back to the theme of suffering. That sticks with me still—does suffering offer up anything other than pain? Do you people actually grow from grief, or do they just sink and then level out?
Thanks! I think, for me, the ending partly answers that question with a moment of hope. I could sum it up this way:
"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets through."
- Leonard Cohen
Hi! I just read your book and I really liked it. I basically interpreted it like you said at the end- I thought of Jason as a sort of imaginary friend/split personality of the main character. It didn't seem quite "real" that he could pop up just long enough to beat people up and bed random women, then disappear again. It seemed more like the sort of thing that the main character would invent as the wish fulfillment/polar opposite of himself, who still talks in the same sort of pseudo-intellectual overanalytical way.
Glad you enjoyed it AJ!
If you have a spare moment, I'd greatly appreciate an Amazon & Goodreads star rating or review. Thanks!
Really excellent work here, @ARX-Han. I'm enjoying roaming through your catalogue and look forward to reading "incel" very much.
Thank you my good man!