mahatma199524e

Basically, Lucky Girl is about an adopted Chinese girl who gets in touch with her birth family and the story of why and how she was adopted. Furthermore, not only does she describe her life with her adopted family, but also how she came to meet her birth parents and her interactions with them. I was actually surprised with how much I enjoyed the book. Yes it has several flaws, but because I am second generation South Asian, I could understand the complexity of being an American and being Asian, and being Asian-American. I could relate of wanting to be "American" and also of wanting to reclaim one's native culture. The sense of not getting to be close to her mother, like her sisters is the feeling that stays with you in the end. The difficulty of "returning home" for an adopted child is portrayed fairly well. Another important aspect that was well-done was the incorporation of Chinese culture and the use of Mandarin. As someone versed in Chinese culture, I really appreciated how much she covered not only the gender roles in traditional Chinese society (the idea of girl being valued less than a boy), but also for covering the history of Taiwan (especialy Kinmen) through detailing her own family's history. Also, I wanted to say, there is a line that she says to her brother "Of course, you're my brother," I believe it sounds even more meaningful in Mandarin and it loses some of that emotion in translation.

2022-11-14 17:11