Marilyn Chin

Marilyn Chin has composed a surreal exploration of family and Asian American identity. It is an amusing blend of hi-jinks, copped parables, zany violence, and political commentary dressed in erotic costumes. The book is a melee of many dishes joined together with seamless ease, and that is its victory. This fiery collage is a roller coaster ride that is altogether humorous, biting, violent, sexy, and so much fun.

Honestly, I did not understand the point of this book and that is fine. The narrative structure is not straightforward, nor is it easy to follow at times. The story (if you chose to call it that) primarily focuses on the experiences of Chinese twins Mei-ling and Moon struggling to adapt to American society while adhering to the traditional values of Chinese/Hong Kong culture taught by their domineering Grandma Wong. The book is mainly a vehicle to discuss various topics such as politics, show more sexism, identity, purpose, classism, sexuality, guilt and a wide spectrum of other subjects primarily told through the lens of second-generation Chinese Americans and their immigrant parents mostly in humorously violent and abstracts ways. This book is not for casual readers. I think this book should be added to a literary course, if it hasn't been done so already because it offers a different tone, voice,agency and perspective from our own. Read it, perhaps you'll not like it, but hopefully you'll learn something. show less

I first read this after taking a class on Chinese lyric poetry and was delighted by the ways Chin works with that poetic tradition.

Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen by Marilyn Chin is a novel comprised of nearly four dozen interconnected pieces — essays, short stories, erotica, retellings of Buddhist tales. Somewhere in this rat's nest of stories is supposed to be the story of sisters living with their strict grandmother, being forced to deliver Chinese food ordered from the family restaurant — and the revenge they take on their worst customers.

Maybe it was the era (the 1980s) or maybe it was the location (Southern show more California), but the raunchiness (excuse me, erotica) was a hinderance to the plot, instead of something poetic or thought provoking.

I ended up skimming the book, skipping to the next chapter when things got too disgusting or too unbelievable. Except for the story of the grandmother terrorizing the neighborhood, the rest of the book has slipped my mind.

Your reading experience though may vary. show less