The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee

Observations on Not Fitting In

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Travel, Adventure & Literary Travel, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee by Paisley Rekdal, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
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Author: Paisley Rekdal ISBN: 9780307429087
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Publication: December 18, 2007
Imprint: Vintage Language: English
Author: Paisley Rekdal
ISBN: 9780307429087
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication: December 18, 2007
Imprint: Vintage
Language: English

When you come from a mixed race background as Paisley Rekdal does — her mother is Chinese American and her father is Norwegian– thorny issues of identity politics, and interracial desire are never far from the surface. Here in this hypnotic blend of personal essay and travelogue, Rekdal journeys throughout Asia to explore her place in a world where one’s “appearance is the deciding factor of one’s ethnicity.”

In her soul-searching voyage, she teaches English in South Korea where her native colleagues call her a “hermaphrodite,” and is dismissed by her host family in Japan as an American despite her assertion of being half-Chinese. A visit to Taipei with her mother, who doesn’t know the dialect, leads to the bitter realization that they are only tourists, which makes her further question her identity. Written with remarkable insight and clarity, Rekdal a poet whose fierce lyricism is apparent on every page, demonstrates that the shifting frames of identity can be as tricky as they are exhilarating.

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

When you come from a mixed race background as Paisley Rekdal does — her mother is Chinese American and her father is Norwegian– thorny issues of identity politics, and interracial desire are never far from the surface. Here in this hypnotic blend of personal essay and travelogue, Rekdal journeys throughout Asia to explore her place in a world where one’s “appearance is the deciding factor of one’s ethnicity.”

In her soul-searching voyage, she teaches English in South Korea where her native colleagues call her a “hermaphrodite,” and is dismissed by her host family in Japan as an American despite her assertion of being half-Chinese. A visit to Taipei with her mother, who doesn’t know the dialect, leads to the bitter realization that they are only tourists, which makes her further question her identity. Written with remarkable insight and clarity, Rekdal a poet whose fierce lyricism is apparent on every page, demonstrates that the shifting frames of identity can be as tricky as they are exhilarating.

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