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Book Book Club By Caroline Cha I’ve always loved reading. When I was a child, I would read whatever books I could find – fiction, biography, mystery and so on. You name it, I read it. What really interests me, however, are Asian Pacific American accounts of memoirs and/or historical fiction. In high school, I filled out a survey about my favorite books. When I completed the list and stepped back to examine it, I was amazed by how many of them were APA-related literature. On that list, I’ve got Kim Ronyoung’s Clay Walls, David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars, Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha, and Helie Lee’s Still Life with Rice and In the Absence of Sun, among others (including perennial favorite Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan). I actually had the chance to meet Helie Lee several times in high school and exchange ideas about what we could do to improve the lives of those in North Korea , an area about which we both are passionate. She’s a talented writer with an amazing, larger-than-life voice. In any case, I want to share my enthusiasm about Clay Walls – the first book on my list. I love the way that language is employed so simply, yet descriptively and poignantly. It’s a story about an immigrant Korean family trying to make it in the United States from the 1920s to post-World War II period. The book is divided into three sections. The first is narrated by Haesu, a strong, resolute, spunky woman who eventually becomes the mother of the Chun family. I really admire the way that Haesu takes responsibility for her new life even in the face of relentless adversity. For instance, she quit her job as a cleaning person because she felt that her employer demeaned her. On another level, Haesu tries to remain strong despite her unhappy and unsatisfying marriage. The second section is from the perspective of Haesu’s husband’s, who is simply referred to Chun (the family’s surname). Chun works hard to provide for his family, but unfortunately, becomes sucked into a poker game to keep his struggling business afloat. The final section is narrated by Haesu’s daughter, Faye, who is the youngest of three children and the only daughter. I feel that she has the most complex story as she grows up with dual identities as a Korean and as an American. Overall, Clay Walls not only describes the multifaceted experiences the Chun family faces upon immigration from Korea to the United States , but also lends an empowering and uplifting voice to the real-life families who have undertaken similar journeys. Most of all, people, groups, and cultures want their stories to be told and remembered, and Clay Walls does just that, as well as benefiting the larger Asian-American community as a whole. Write to Caroline Cha at ccha@usc.edu
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