Homebase by Shawn Wong [in What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature]
At 14, fourth-generation Chinese American Rainsford Chan is orphaned. Alone and searching, he recreates his family’s 125-year-long history in the U.S., wandering among his male ancestors, learning their stories and experiencing their lives. But even after 125 years, claiming America as “homebase” is still not without difficulty.
Originally published by I. Reed Books in 1979, the book subsequently went out of print. Ironically, it was only available in a German-language edition for several years until it was reissued in 1991. Although a very short novel, the prose is extremely dense, more reminiscent of epic poetry than straightforward narrative.
Review: “Asian American Titles,” What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature, Gale Research, 1997
Readers: Adult
Published: 1979, 1991
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