Hapa Girl

A Memoir

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Hapa Girl by May-lee Chai, Temple University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: May-lee Chai ISBN: 9781592136179
Publisher: Temple University Press Publication: March 23, 2007
Imprint: Temple University Press Language: English
Author: May-lee Chai
ISBN: 9781592136179
Publisher: Temple University Press
Publication: March 23, 2007
Imprint: Temple University Press
Language: English

In the mid-1960s, Winberg Chai, a young academic and the son of Chinese immigrants, married an Irish-American artist. In Hapa Girl ("hapa" is Hawaiian for "mixed") their daughter tells the story of this loving family as they moved from Southern California to New York to a South Dakota farm by the 1980s. In their new Midwestern home, the family finds itself the object of unwelcome attention, which swiftly escalates to violence. The Chais are suddenly socially isolated and barely able to cope with the tension that arises from daily incidents of racial animosity, including random acts of cruelty.

May-lee Chai's memoir ends in China, where she arrives just in time to witness a riot and demonstrations. Here she realizes that the rural Americans' "fears of change, of economic uncertainty, of racial anxiety, of the unknowable future compared to the known past were the same as China's. And I realized finally that it had not been my fault."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the mid-1960s, Winberg Chai, a young academic and the son of Chinese immigrants, married an Irish-American artist. In Hapa Girl ("hapa" is Hawaiian for "mixed") their daughter tells the story of this loving family as they moved from Southern California to New York to a South Dakota farm by the 1980s. In their new Midwestern home, the family finds itself the object of unwelcome attention, which swiftly escalates to violence. The Chais are suddenly socially isolated and barely able to cope with the tension that arises from daily incidents of racial animosity, including random acts of cruelty.

May-lee Chai's memoir ends in China, where she arrives just in time to witness a riot and demonstrations. Here she realizes that the rural Americans' "fears of change, of economic uncertainty, of racial anxiety, of the unknowable future compared to the known past were the same as China's. And I realized finally that it had not been my fault."

More books from Temple University Press

Cover of the book Understanding Dogs by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Rain Without Thunder by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book The Dance of Politics by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book James Naismith by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Life And Death In Intensive Care by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Soccer in a Football World by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Unraveling the Real by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Lesbian & Bisexual Identities by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Violent Belongings by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book The Heidegger Case by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book The African Transformation of Western Medicine and the Dynamics of Global Cultural Exchange by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Lucia by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book Transient Images by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book From Black Power to Hip Hop by May-lee Chai
Cover of the book African American Jeremiad Rev by May-lee Chai
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy