White Jade & Other Stories

by Alex Kuo

WHITE JADE & OTHER STORIES is a collection of seven short stories and the title novella by the celebrated Asian-American author of LIPSTICK & OTHER STORIES, winner of the 2002 American Book Award.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1877655619
• ISBN13: 9781877655616
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Wordcraft of Oregon
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

fan for life

I can't get over how the title story in "White Jade" affected me. I had to wait a few months after reading the story to let it settle in my mind. It's that powerful for me. This is what I love about Alex Kuo - he startles. I used the book in a lit class I taught, and of all the stories in the book, including "10,000 Dildoes" the title of which titillated my students, our discussion turned deep and serious when we read "White Jade" together. My students were inspired to read more about China, more about the experience of Chinese and Chinese Americans in the US over time, and many became interested in their own family stories. Kuo teaches the reader not to accept one-dimensional representations of China or Chinese people, historically or in modern times. Frankly, it is as if Kuo wrote two books - "White Jade" could stand on its own, and the tone is so different from the shorter stories. My deepest fascination with literature began when I realized that the stories I read often reflected the realities of a time or place or experience that I had no access to, particularly not through the history books of my childhood (and in some cases, college). Kuo is one of those writers who takes me there and allows me to see what I couldn't possibly find on my own.

Compelling narrative exploration

Alex Kuo's new novella, "White Jade," is a compelling narrative exloration. The story's narrator is actually a long deceased mother. Her voice remains to tell her story, which is meant by the author to tell the story of her son's life in and out of war-torn, early-20th-century China. The narrative is powerful in its evocation of the experience of cultural and national dislocations connected to both China and the U.S. The characters' lives are dramatically disrupted and, in some cases, educationally and vocationally expanded by their travels both away from and toward their native China. I was moved by the power of the mother's voice and the emotional shadow that our beloved cast upon us as we live on, their voices becoming louder and more insistent as we age. And my imagination was also compelled by the readerly experience of watching successful people cope with the forced emigration and dislocation brought on by war, an experience that many American-born people have not often undergone. While countless Americans have suffered from war, we have not been invaded and reorganized by foreign peoples, and yet, we are peopled by families who have suffered from these numerous troubles abroad. Kuo's writing is impressively controlled and evocative of China and of a Chinese family whose emotions are likewise carefully modulated. I would agree with Kuo himself, who has said that "White Jade" might be the best thing he's ever done.

Alex Kuo, Master

Alex Kuo's "White Jade" is a unique and wonderful reading experience. The stories are like good jazz--you swing with them, but never know quite where they are going until you get there. In fact, they are amazing. This collection belongs in the Pantheon with Lu Xun and Borges.