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lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
4.0
I'm unsure of how to rate this book. I haven't seen many Canadian-Chinese memoirs regarding mental illness and this is such a dysfunctional, abusive family I don't think I can judge the use of dark, mean humor from a survivor of such a family but it was a difficult read as both a daughter of immigrants (not Chinese) and being a part of a dysfunctional family.
dorayang's review
4.0
Stranger than fiction, this is a very intriguing memoir on a family that most people rarely have a glimpse at.
kateslowreads's review
3.0
This is an incredibly important book with a vital perspective on mental health and illness, and family. Schizophrenia is a disorder with a lot of stigma in Western society and people with it are rarely treated with the kindness and understanding they deserve. This book demonstrates how traditional beliefs can also adversely impact people with this disorder.
As always with the goodreads scale, I rated this book based on my enjoyment of it, which was lessened because the abuse and mistreatment was brutal to read about, and though vivid, I found the description macabre and grotesque (which is brilliant, stylistically, just not my cup of tea to read).
As always with the goodreads scale, I rated this book based on my enjoyment of it, which was lessened because the abuse and mistreatment was brutal to read about, and though vivid, I found the description macabre and grotesque (which is brilliant, stylistically, just not my cup of tea to read).
anaiira's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.0
I have such conflicting emotions about this book.
On one hand, it's very gripping, very revealing, darkly humourous, everything that it promises.
On the other hand, I find this whole narrative incredibly untrustworthy somehow. I keep reading this book and looking for details to validate my gut feeling that I'm dealing with an unreliable narrator (and maybe not intentionally so, after all, the book reflects quite a lot of body dysmorphia, POC immigrant anxiety, childhood trauma) and I would find certain details that just simply don't line up.
On the other, other hand, I wonder if my skepticism and defensiveness is related to how much I can identify with the stories that Wong is telling. A lot feels like it's exaggerated for comedic effect (not specific incidents, just the way things are told and described, like the endless crass and cruel nicknames for people). I kept telling this story to my partner and saying shit like, "parts are for sure awful and bad the stuff that happen to her, but she just fully exaggerates how poor her family behaves or how they interact, presenting them in the context of a culture where such behavior is viewed as cruelty without really reflecting on the fact that it's the flip side of a coin where love and familial dedication is both a struggle and a commitment." Like, there is something more interesting and aching about the guilt of wanting different than just lambasting relatives.
Or like, how her parents are fully convinced of the Woo-Woo ghosts - I'm trying so hard to figure out what woo woo would even be. That's not the word for ghost, it's maybe vaguely the words for inauspicious or inappropriate behaviour and there is a spiritual element to it, but probably is more related Confucian philosophy than actual mysticism.
On the final hand though, this book must have been a relief, a burden of complaints finally set down.
In any case - for me - kind of an OK book. Let's see if in a few months I'm still thinking about it and reflecting on it.
Changing this book to 4.0, I still don't really like it, but I think about it a lot, and I think about how it influences and affects me a lot.
On one hand, it's very gripping, very revealing, darkly humourous, everything that it promises.
On the other hand, I find this whole narrative incredibly untrustworthy somehow. I keep reading this book and looking for details to validate my gut feeling that I'm dealing with an unreliable narrator (and maybe not intentionally so, after all, the book reflects quite a lot of body dysmorphia, POC immigrant anxiety, childhood trauma) and I would find certain details that just simply don't line up.
On the other, other hand, I wonder if my skepticism and defensiveness is related to how much I can identify with the stories that Wong is telling. A lot feels like it's exaggerated for comedic effect (not specific incidents, just the way things are told and described, like the endless crass and cruel nicknames for people). I kept telling this story to my partner and saying shit like, "parts are for sure awful and bad the stuff that happen to her, but she just fully exaggerates how poor her family behaves or how they interact, presenting them in the context of a culture where such behavior is viewed as cruelty without really reflecting on the fact that it's the flip side of a coin where love and familial dedication is both a struggle and a commitment." Like, there is something more interesting and aching about the guilt of wanting different than just lambasting relatives.
Or like, how her parents are fully convinced of the Woo-Woo ghosts - I'm trying so hard to figure out what woo woo would even be. That's not the word for ghost, it's maybe vaguely the words for inauspicious or inappropriate behaviour and there is a spiritual element to it, but probably is more related Confucian philosophy than actual mysticism.
On the final hand though, this book must have been a relief, a burden of complaints finally set down.
In any case - for me - kind of an OK book. Let's see if in a few months I'm still thinking about it and reflecting on it.
Changing this book to 4.0, I still don't really like it, but I think about it a lot, and I think about how it influences and affects me a lot.
merrmerrs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5