The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Childhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston [in What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature]
A young girl grows up in the San Francisco Bay Area divided amidst the stories and myths of her parents’ faraway past in China and her own experiences as an immigrant’s daughter coming of age in a foreign, Caucasian world.
Considered the Asian American literary work to break into the mainstream, The Woman Warrior has also been, on and off, the most-taught text on U.S. college campuses, especially in the last decade. The term “ghosts” in the subtitle refers to the Chinese name for Caucasians – white “ghosts” because of their pale skin.
While the Library of Congress lists the book as a “nonfiction” work, an argument as to the book’s proper classification – should it be considered fiction? – remains ongoing.
Reviews: “Asian American Titles,” What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature, Gale Research, 1997
“Necessary Titles for the APA Heritage Bookshelf,” aMagazine: Inside Asian America, April/May 2001
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 1976
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Discussion