The Dim Sum of All Things FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Readers looking for a fresh, contemporary voice will love Kim Wong Keltner's sweet and funny debut novel, the story of a 20-something Chinese-American girl who was brought up on Spaghettios and now is looking for love and a stronger cultural identity. Lindsey Owyang, a third-generation San Franciscan, thinks of herself as a Twinkie -- yellow on the outside, white on the inside. She knows nothing about the Han dynasty but can recite endless dialogue from the The Brady Bunch. As a receptionist at the deeply correct magazine, Vegan Warrior, Lindsey is finding her way in the world. She is suspicious of creepy Caucasian men who show an unnatural interest in Asian women but is intrigued by the "white devil" in her office, who, like her, is a meat eater pretending to be vegan. It's great fun to watch Lindsey come to terms with office politics, her grandmother and her mah-jongg-playing friends, and her own budding romance with the white guy down the hall. Ginger Curwen
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Have you ever wondered:
Why Asians love "Hello Kitty"?
What the tattooed Chinese characters really say?
How to achieve feng shui for optimum make-out sessions?
Where Asian cuties meet the white guys who love them?
Then you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll realize this book is better than a Broadway production of Cats when you read scenes that include:
twenty-something Lindsey Owyang mastering the intricacies of office voicemail and fax dialing
an authentic Chinese banquet where Number One Son shows off his language skills by speaking "Chinglish"
dating disasters with grandsons of Grandma's mahjong partners
the discovery that the real China looks nothing like the pavilion at Disney World
karaoke
And all the while Lindsey is falling in lust with the "white devil" in her politically correct office. But will Grandma's stinky Chinese ointments send him running? Or will Lindsey realize that the path to true love lies somewhere between the dim sum and the pepperoni pizza?
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Wong Keltner's spunky novel about a third-generation Chinese-American in San Francisco delivers a left hook to knee-jerk political correctness and offers a comic, honest take on what it feels like to be part of two cultures. Lindsey Owyang is a modern 20-something, underemployed as a receptionist at Vegan Warrior magazine (she's a "closet meat-eater"), who unexpectedly finds herself falling "in like" with Michael Cartier, the magazine's white travel editor. But dating's tough when you live at home with a traditional Chinese grandmother and even harder when that grandmother is constantly trying to set you up with the children of her mah-jongg partners. Meanwhile, Lindsay's aunt gets colored contacts (" `Don't you think I look at least half-white anyway?' "); a white friend says that Asian girls are stealing all the cute frat boys; and creepy "Hoarders of All Things Asian" accost her on the bus. Lindsey gets a chance to connect with her roots when she finds out that she's expected to accompany her grandmother to China to visit long-lost relatives. Here Lindsey finally gains a grounded sense of her personal and cultural past, while at the same time realizing that as an ABC (American-born Chinese), "every experience, even the unpleasant ones, had helped to slowly build her character, creating a one-of-a-kind Chinese American named Lindsey Owyang." Wong Keltner is unabashedly sassy and biting in her take on race and love, and the result is both refreshing and smart. (Feb.) Forecast: This breezy bicultural novel provides savvier entertainment than much of its more earnest competition. The cute title and nice price should encourage readers to give it a chance. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
First novelist Keltner tells the story of Lindsey Owyang, a 25-year-old receptionist living with her elderly Chinese grandmother in modern-day San Francisco. Growing up, she distanced herself from her Chinese heritage-her parents didn't serve her traditional food, she routinely skipped her after-school Chinese-language class, and she was ashamed of her infatuation with Hello Kitty. In college, she studied European literature, and throughout her life, she has always been attracted to white guys (though she is wary of "Hoarders of All Things Asian," or those with Asian fetishes). Living with her loving grandmother, however, Lindsey can't help but be immersed in Chinese culture. Eventually, the two travel to China, at which point this multicultural chick-lit tale delves deep into Amy Tan territory. Lindsey soon learns that appreciating her Chinese heritage does not make her as uncool as she feared. Peppered with trendy designer names and featuring a good-guy romantic interest, this urban coming-of-age tale is satisfying on many levels. Recommended for all public libraries.-Karen Core, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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