Title: The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Publication Year: 1976
Plot: A Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity.
The readers were up front with me the second we started: they had a hard time getting into this one. One of them technically finished it, while 3 others read differing amounts. So while our discussion was somewhat shortened, it still proved fruitful. For example, one thing the readers pointed out were the issues socio-economics, gender and race. These issues were often barriers and points of pain for her and her family, just as they are for some immigrants today. They are issues still alive in the immigrant experience, one reader noted.
The readers agreed that the “ghosts” were a confusing term. Sometimes they felt like they were doctors, sometimes they felt like they were white people–it was a little disorienting for the readers. They also were confused with the referential points–how much of the story was just her family’s village and people, and how much of it was representing China as a whole? We all agreed it’s important to recognize this is an individual story. Whether it is positive or negative, it is not representative of an entire population’s experience. It’s important to remember the personal nature of this memoir.
The experience of the readers may have mirrored Kingston’s own–they may have taken things literally that may not have occurred. The readers had a hard time distinguishing the folktales from family history, and perhaps Kingston did as well. Kingston had to be creative to navigate the world she was brought up in. Her parents were trying to make a new life, while also provide a comfortable one for her. Orienting her to their history via folktales may have been a way to provide stability and familiarity. Sometimes, the stories seemed to have more inner-peace than her real life, one reader noted.
As I mentioned, not everyone finished this memoir, and we started to repeat ourselves. So the discussion wasn’t super detailed or in-depth.
Feel free to leave comments below. We’d love to hear what you think.
Until next time,
E.
If you’d like to purchase The Woman Warrior, you may do so here:
