Ann Hui

I'm so glad to be finished this book. I read it for a Library Book Club gathering on Monday. It really was not very interesting to me , perhaps because I have read much better books that covered similar topics. It's is a memoir written by a woman who works for The Globe and Mail, a Canadian Newspaper. She writes about travelling across Canada, to small towns that have Canadianized or Americanized Chinese Restaurants, and how often the only jobs that a Chinese immigrant could find were in small towns, running the restaurants. She intersperses this with the story of her grandparents, and parents immigrating to Canada, as well as her present day challenges as her father is dying of cancer. I never felt engaged with the characters, or the story.

For a much better book on this topic, I suggest Midnight At The Dragon Cafe by Judy Fong Bates which was excellent, and covers Chinese immigration and living the life atop Chinese restaurant in a small town. Other excellent books that that cover the Chinese immigration to Canada experience are Jade Peony and All That Matters by Wayson Choy

Disappointing.… (altro)

"a place to turn the radio up loud
to wipe your feet
a life where your skin changes its name
to look like the guy playing the role"

Boat People written by Mayra Santos-Febres and translated by Vanessa Pérez-Rosario is a collection of poems that draws attention to "other border" that doesn't get attention, the ocean of the Caribbean. This borderless border also gives hope to so many that it will be an entry and opportunity for the "American Dream". However, this dream is also more often than not denied to those who dare cross the waters because they are Black and Brown people whose languages are not welcome unless uttered by white tongues.

Santos-Febres spotlights the water's history and the birth of the diaspora. She reminds us of the pain of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and how these waters were also a place of refuge for free Black Peoples to make a home. She highlights the interconnectedness of Haitians, Dominicans, enslaved Africans and Puerto Ricans in the ways she honors their dialects and keeps the parts of their language that would lose context and affection if translated. She delves into the imaginary and honors those who have met their death in these waters, either by choice or circumstance and creates a world where they will meet their needs and find peace underneath the shores.

The overarching message that resonates in these poems is that immigration is a condition involving people and when we think about immigration our focus should be on the people and showing compassion. Honor their history. Honor their journey. More importantly, honor their right to dream as big as you and I because the choices for immigration are many and complex. Most of the time immigration is a product of colonialism, collapsed economies, climate disasters, displacement due to tourism, gentrification and funded coups by outside forces, mainly the U.S. These aren't just extra bodies. These are actual people that have been harmed in the worst ways and relegated to the margins of society and told that they don't belong. Overall, this collection was an ode to the Boat People and giving them their rightful place in history.

Vanessa Pérez-Rosario did a fantastic job on translation. I loved the format of having the Spanish version side by side with the Englis version. I was able to go back and forth and sift through some of the language. Vanessa's translation kept its original beauty and added clarification in places where I was a little confused. I loved that the translation was intentional and kept the original versions of certain words that have no English translations. The translation really honored the work and kept its integrity.… (altro)

Hui and her husband travelled across Canada visiting "chop suey" style Chinese restaurants for a newspaper article she was writing for the Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper. Interspersed with the travel chapters she relates her family's history as immigrants and starting a business in Burnaby, BC.

The trip across Canada was as exciting as the restaurants they visited. So many were surprising and unique, more or less shapeshifting to fit the community they served - like the Chinese pierogis in Alberta or the Korean/Pizza and Donair restaurant in Moncton offering bulgogi pizza.

Arriving on the tiny Fogo Island, Newfoundland they discovered there was no taxi service. Asking a local for advice caused him to shout out the request to a crowd of men nearby. One offered the use of his car while he was in Gander. "Just drop off the keys at the desk when you're finished."

Reading this book was a real treat. Recommended.… (altro)