Samantha Parker
Northwest Asia Weekly
Dial A for the aunt
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Berkeley, 2021
When Madelin Chen went on a blind date, she didn’t expect much. After all, the date was arranged by her nosy mother. But one thing she never thought of was that she accidentally killed that person. Instead of calling the police, she turned to the nosy mother, and then she called Meddy’s three more nosy aunts to help them get rid of the bodies. Join a so-called family curse, a billionaire wedding where five people are working, the reappearance of Meddy’s great college love-the one she let off-and then there is a wrong comedy in which everything may go wrong, indeed in this way.
Think of the “crazy rich Asian” meeting “Bernie’s Weekend”.
The first thing to “dial A” is that you need to fall into chaos and madness. Meddy’s Indonesian Chinese family is the most illogical in dealing with the dead (a simple alarm can solve so many problems). Once we accept this as readers, we can truly enjoy the ridiculous glory of this story—— I mean the best way. When it comes to who has the best way to dispose of corpses, the competition among aunts is lively and is the peak of Asian aunts’ behavior.
One thing Sutanto really emphasizes here is the family dynamics between Meddy, her mother and her aunt. I really like the way they quarrel and keep making each other nervous in a way that only family members can do. But they always help each other-even if it means helping to cover up potential crimes. Just because these women are the definition of riding or death, does not mean that they will always get along well. But then again, what family?
Correct sliding
Alyssa Ray
Avon, 2019
Rhiannon Hunter may be behind a revolutionary dating app, but her only concern in real life is her career. After being burned down (at the expense of the above-mentioned profession), for her, romance is not just an occasional hook-up.
When she was dating former football star Samson Lima (Samson Lima), Rui began to rethink her rules. But then he disappeared, and she believed that her rules were a good idea.
As Rhi continued her life, she buried the damage caused by Samson’s Phantom. But when he unexpectedly returned to her life, despite his connections with business rivals, these feelings began to resurface. Even if Samson persuades her to give him another chance, Rhi is still cautious.
“Swipe to the right” is a story about a second chance and learning to trust again. In addition to Rhi’s handling of her romantic stance, her past experience also pointed the way to her career path. Rai did an excellent job of emphasizing the struggles Rhi has experienced in the app industry as a woman of color, without being too strict or preaching—this would have been easy to do.
Then there is Samson, he has his own problems to solve, how his football career ended. As a long-term romance lover, I like that when he was an athlete (retired), Rai did not automatically make him a typical gentleman, killing its ladies in the dating department (because they often end up with this type) ). Samson has moments of his clumsiness, which makes him even more cute.
I also appreciate the diversity of all the characters in the story-not just the protagonist. In addition to black Rhi and Samson Samson, Rai (South Asian Americans) also includes their friends and family from different backgrounds. This is the real situation of the world, and more stories should be.
What we lost in the water
Eric Nguyen
Knoff, 2021
When Huong arrived in New Orleans with her two young sons, she was unemployed, homeless, and worried about her husband Cong in Vietnam. So when she settled in their new home, she sent him letters and tapes about the life she built for the children-hoping that Cong would find a way to cross the river so that they could be reunited like a family.
But in the end, Huong realized that Cong would not come. When she started to accept this, her sons tried to forge their own way, troubled by a man and country they never really knew, but cast a long shadow in their lives. By joining the local Vietnamese gang, Tuan found friendship and connection with his roots, while Binh (his name is Ben) embraced his adoption country and sexual orientation. As for Huong, she eventually left and dealt with a Vietnamese car salesman who was also new.
“What We Lost” is a story about finding an identity-as individuals and families-after loss and tragedy. During their search, as the three protagonists met different people throughout their lives, Ruan emphasized how people from the same community have different immigration experiences, even if they have similar backgrounds. The experiences of the same family members may even be different-these experiences may tear a family apart or bring them closer (or both).
As this column proves, I have read a lot about families with first-generation immigrant parents and second-generation children born in the United States. But I have not encountered many stories about the “1.5 generations” who immigrated when they were young-they grew up mainly in the United States, but they may have some memories of their home country.
Although I grew up with relatives and friends of this generation, I didn’t really stop to think about their growing years and how they are different from me, even though I have known them all my life.
Samantha can be info@nwasianweekly.com.
