Girl in Translation

• Author: Jean Kwok
• Amazon Link

I was browsing through Amazon and stumbled on this novel. It was published recently (April 29, 2010) and already had garnered a whole bunch of accolades from the press. While there were few ratings, I was impressed that in such a short time it had racked up almost 50 reviews on Amazon, with an average of 4 1/2 stars. If that wasn't enough, the story was one that was right up my alley; a young Chinese girl and her mother land up in New York, eke out a living by working in a sweatshop in Chinatown and live in a decrepit building in Brooklyn. The book promised authenticity as well, since the author came to the US from Hong Kong and had a similar childhood in New York. You can read more about the author, Jean Kwok here.

The book is very well written and it is effortless to read. I read it in just a couple of sittings and was moved by the story of Kimberly Chang. She is an adorable little girl is telling a story that no little girl should have to go through. The book made me have a lot more respect for Chinese immigrants who are all around us in the Bay area. Who knows how many of them had challenging upbringings and endured similar hardships. After reading this book, I can't help but feel that we Indians had it easy out here. Most of us came here for our graduate studies, were teaching assistants or found jobs that paid a decent wage that we could get by on. None (or if some were, they certainly are not telling) of us were exploited in a sweatshop and lived in inhuman conditions.

There were some aspects of the author's style that I couldn't quite comprehend. For instance, she would suddenly italicize certain words and spell them phonetically in a sort of mis-pronounced way. My guess is she is trying to remind the reader that the little Kimberly did not understand many of the things that were said to her, especially the words that are italicized. However, those are few and far between and not really consistent, i.e. it is unclear why those particular words were chosen.

The book is a joy to read and is quite moving. I was intrigued to find out how much of the book was really based on Jean's own experience and you can read her blog (after you read the book). The book is really doing well and made it to the NY Times Bestseller list this month. I recommend this book to anyone who is eager to learn more about Chinese immigrants in the US, their struggles, culture and society. It is a great first novel from Jean and I am sure there will be many more to come.