Review
“It is exciting to see works that take risks by experimenting with form... This collection pushes against assumptions about Chinese Canadian literature and shows support for emerging writers. In this way, Strike the Wok argues the importance of showcasing contemporary fiction in order to reflect the changing Chinese Canadian literary community.” —Ricepaper FROM THE TORONTO STAR: The Chinese restaurant. The laundry. Computer nerds and dragon ladies. Iconic images and stereotypes. In "Snaps — A Satire" by Iris Li, a frustrated Chinese-Canadian writer tells her publisher: "What you want from me are caricatures ... The good obedient daughter who fights to be her own person but never succeeds. The trampy whore of a cousin who rebels against her upright upbringing and subsequently got into a car crash because she drove while hitching up her skirt to make it shorter, lost control of the wheel, crashed into a parked car, which burst into a crescendo of flame and rendered her ugly and deformed, thus serving as a profound lesson to the good, obedient daughter never to stray from her parents' teachings." To which the publisher replies: "Brilliant. Make that into a story." The editors of Strike The Wok, a collection of 29 short stories, have avoided "recognized Chinese stereotypes" with such success that the anthology lacks any obvious unifying theme, other than the ethnicity of the writers. This is progress of a sort, although it leaves the reader wondering whether there is such a thing as "Chinese Canadian fiction" that differs from, say, "Canadian fiction." In the end, the stories succeed or fail on their literary merits, not their Chinese-ness. Among the successes: Lien Chao's "Neighbours" describes a chance encounter between a woman originally from Beijing and an older white couple at a Canada Day celebration at Eglinton Square. Chao captures the combination of social tension and personal warmth so typical of such meetings, and her restrained writing style creates space for the reader to engage the characters. Andy Quan's "Ants" makes no overt references to anything Asian but deals with the relationship between two gay men, Jerry and Mick. Again, the quality of the writing sets this story apart, as well as its sweet romantic tone — it seems odd that gay writers are more willing to write warmly about love than straight writers, who seem obsessed with gender conflict. Finally, Fred Wah's poetic "I Hardly Ever Go Into King's Family Restaurant" touches on the cultural themes of separateness and longing without sentimentality. He ends with his conflicted narrator eating in a restaurant on a cold January night in Canada while his thoughts drift to "a smoky star-filled night in China," where men climb in caves to collect nests for bird's nest soup, "the frightened cries of the swallows themselves as piercing as a foreign language."
Book Description
A young man contemplates piano lessons and hockey; two misfits in Chinatown discover love; a Vancouver woman fondly recalls her parent's old house in Newfoundland; a girl goes to Canada to escape her father; a tired old woman recalls her origins as an orphan for sale; a teenage girl cuts off her hair and leaves home...
This new anthology brings together some of the most exciting works of fiction by contemprorary Chinese Canadian Writers. Representing three generations of Chinese from a variety of backgrounds, including writers born in Canada as well as places outside, presenting a diversity of themes and styles, and set in various geographical locations and time periods, Strike the Wok is a truly kaleidoscopic look at Chinese life from modern Canadian perspectives. Internationally renowned as well as newer voices are included.
Contributors:
Judy Fong Bates, Lien Chao, Grace Chin, Ritz Chow, Wayson Choy, Jessica Gin-Jade, Kagan Goh, Goh Poh Seng, David M Hsu, Harry J Huang, Winston C Kam, Khoo Gaik Cheng, Alexis Kienlen, Lydia Kwa, Larissa Lai, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Edward Y C Lee, SKY Lee, Iris Li, Andy Quan, Loretta Seto, Ben Soo, Madelaine Thien, Sherwin Tjia, Fred Wah, Gein Wong, Jim Wong-Chu, Terry Woo, Kam-Sein Yee, Paul Yee
“It is exciting to see works that take risks by experimenting with form... This collection pushes against assumptions about Chinese Canadian literature and shows support for emerging writers. In this way, Strike the Wok argues the importance of showcasing contemporary fiction in order to reflect the changing Chinese Canadian literary community.”
—Ricepaper
