Fifth Chinese Daughter

De: Jade Snow Wong

Narrado por: Andi Arndt

Originally published in 1945 and now reissued with a new introduction by the author, Jade Snow Wong's story is one of struggle and achievements. These memoirs of the author's first twenty-four years are thoughtful, informative, and highly entertaining. They not only portray a young woman and her unique family in San Francisco's Chinatown, but they are rich in the details that light up a world within the world of America. The third-person singular style is rooted in Chinese literary form, reflecting cultural disregard for the individual, yet Jade Snow Wong's story also is typically American.

We first meet Jade Snow Wong the child, narrowly confined by the family and factory life, bound to respect and obey her elders while shouldering responsibility for younger brothers and sisters - a solemn child well versed in the proper order of things, who knew that punishment was sure for any infraction of etiquette. Then the schoolgirl caught in confusion between the rigid teaching of her ancestors and the strange ways of her foreign classmates. After that, the college student feeling her was toward personal identity in the face of parental indifference or outright opposition. And finally the artist whose early triumphs were doubled by the knowledge that she had at long last won recognition from her family.

©1945, 1948, 1950 Jade Snow Wong (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Excellent!

My Grandmother gave me this book signed from the author. I have read it up to 60 times before. I was glad to share it with my husband and daughter on a road trip. They were both so engaged as I was. Jade Snow Wong's life was so charmed. It is a wonderful book telling the story of a girl of traditional Chinese immigrant parents and how they raised their children.

Excellent read!

Great story - I really hated for it to end. I hope to find other books by the author.

Just as wonderful as I remembered

My Father gave me this book to read when I was in my teens. I loved the peek into the life of conservative Chinese family, their day to day life and struggles and the fight for an "insignificant "5th daughter's independence and belonging as she straddles two cultures. Highly recommend for anyone who loves biographies and cultural insight.