Her Wild American Self

By M. Evelina Galang

Book Overview

Filipina American debut author displays the contradictions of Asian American experience with irony & enthusiasm, anger & wit.

The stories in Her Wild American Self focus on Filipina Americans--recent immigrants or first generation--and explore what it is to be American and female. Each character struggles with careers, motherhood, sisterhood, and roles within family and society, including the stereotype of the subservient Asian American woman. Neither fully accepting nor rejecting their Eastern and Western traditions, the characters in this collection attempt to come to terms with their bicultural upbringing. Ranging from the title story about a teenager who comes of age and falls from grace all in one tumultuous season, to a story about an artist who finds her medium and leaves her lover, to a story such as the one about a forty-two year old who realizes she has succeeded in establishing herself as her own woman, Her Wild American Self contains a rich and engaging mosaic of stories about contemporary Filipina American women.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566890403
• ISBN13: 9781566890403
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Coffee House Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 15 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 10

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book -- resonates with my own experiences

A delightful book. As a Filipino-American woman growing up in the midwest during the 60's and 70's, the stories in the book resonate with my own experiences. The short stories effectively and in many cases, humorously describe the pressures that many Filipino American women experience -- family obligations, women's prescribed roles, high expectations, Filipino-style classism and colonized behaviors, Filipino-American style Catholic shame, the affect of American-style racism---exotifying Asian-American women -- and our attempts to deal with it. My sisters and cousins that were raised in the Midwest also commented that they recognized, related to and enjoyed the stories. It is nice to see our own experiences reflected in American literature -- finally!

Beautiful collection

Galang's voice is lyrical, poetic. This is a beautiful short story collection. That they are about the Filipino American community adds to its value in literature. Readers hardly hear about Filipinos getting published, so as a Fil-am I am happy to have heard of and read this collection. Many congratulations. Hope to see your next book soon, Miss Galang.

one of those books that you can't put down.

i first heard of this book at a reading she did in new york. my dad made me go but i didn't want to go but when i got there and she started reading i became so involved in the story. i bought the book and read it all in one night. i still cherish the book.

A book like this has been long overdue.

Perceptive and true to her identity, M. Evelina Galang presents various cultural conflicts in simple language and with amazing insight. A book about the Filipino-American female by a Filipino-American woman, this piece of work is one of a kind. Whether you're a Filipino-American woman or a native-born Filipino woman living in America, you'll feel Galang's words firmly ripping your insides open and urging you to look at it, see it, feel it, and eventually cherish it

Her Wild American Self

Finally! A book that covers the duality of living within two vastly different cultures, AND being female. Galang's characters are strong and their dialogue honest. The best of the bunch is "Lessons on How You Never Lived Back Home," which is a self-reflection of a Filipina-American coming to terms with her identity, and the difficulties in accepting completely and equally her two homes -- The Philippines and the U.S. Anyone who's been caught in between two separate "worlds" can relate to the truthfulness and poignancy of Galang's stories