Of Swords and Parasols

This quasi-autobiographical book is about Young Ju Park, a Korean girl who immigrates to the U.S. when she’s 4. Thinking that “Mi Gook,” the Korean term for America, means that America is Heaven, she’s not prepared for the confusion, strangeness, and near-poverty that await her. The book focuses on the difficulties of being an immigrant being raised in two cultures at once, and faced with a parent who cannot adjust to the second culture.

Told in a series of first person, stream of consciousness vignettes, it’s very similar in theme and feel to Sandra Cisneros’s The House of Mango Street, which An Na confirms as an influence, and is the rare (for me) effective use of first person, present tense narration.

I warn, though, for domestic abuse, which is initially vague when Young Ju is too young to understand it, but becomes increasingly clear and explicit as the book continues, coming to a head when she’s in high school. Thankfully, this aspect doesn’t seem to be autobiographical, judging from An Na’s comments. Domestic abuse-both real and fictional-is always horrible, but becomes a little worse when you realize you’re reading someone’s memories.