From Publishers Weekly
A resolute yet naïve Chinese girl confronts poverty and culture shock with equal zeal when she and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn in Kwok's affecting coming-of-age debut. Ah-Kim Chang, or Kimberly as she is known in the U.S., had been a promising student in Hong Kong when her father died. Now she and her mother are indebted to Kimberly's Aunt Paula, who funded their trip from Hong Kong, so they dutifully work for her in a Chinatown clothing factory where they earn barely enough to keep them alive. Despite this, and living in a condemned apartment that is without heat and full of roaches, Kimberly excels at school, perfects her English, and is eventually admitted to an elite, private high school. An obvious outsider, without money for new clothes or undergarments, she deals with added social pressures, only to be comforted by an understanding best friend, Annette, who lends her makeup and hands out American advice. A love interest at the factory leads to a surprising plot line, but it is the portrayal of Kimberly's relationship with her mother that makes this more than just another immigrant story. (May)
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Review
"Though the plot may sound mundane - a Chinese girl and her mother immigrate to this country and succeed despite formidable odds - this coming-of-age tale is anything but. Whether Ah-Kim (or Kimberly, as she's called) is doing piecework on the factory floor with her mother, or suffering through a cold New York winter in a condemned, roach-infested apartment, or getting that acceptance letter from Yale, her story seems fresh and new."
-Entertainment Weekly
"The astonishing - and semi-autobiographical - tale of a girl from Hong Kong who, at age eleven, shoulders the weight of her mother's American dream all the way from Chinatown sweatshop to the Ivy League."
-Vogue
"Part fairy tale, part autobiography... what puts this debut novel toward the top of the pile is its buoyant voice and its slightly subversive ending that suggests "happily ever after" may have more to do with love of self and of family than with any old Prince Charming."
-O, The Oprah Magazine
"Dazzling fiction debut."
-Marie Claire
"In Kimberly Chang, Jean Kwok has created a gentle and unassuming character. But Kimberly is also very clever, and as she struggles to escape the brutal trap of poverty she proves indomitable. With her keen intelligence and her reservoir of compassion, she's irresistibly admirable, as is the whole of this gripping, luminous novel."
-Joanna Scott, author of Follow Me
"I love how this book allowed me to see my own country, with all its cruelty and kindness, from a perspective so different from my own. I love how it invited me into the heart and mind of Kimberly Chang, whose hard choices will resonate with anyone who has sacrificed for a dream. Powerful storytelling kept me turning the pages quickly, but Kimberly's voice-so smart and clear-will stay with me for a long time."
-Laura Moriarty, author of While I'm Falling
郭珍芳(Jean Kwok)
最受瞩目的华人作家之一。
5岁移民美国,童年时代在唐人街的制衣厂度过。她被哈佛大学提前录取,大学时期身兼4份工作。在哥伦比亚大学取得小说艺术硕士学位后,她在荷兰莱顿大学教授英文、从事英-荷语翻译,目前全职写作。
郭珍芳花10年时间写就《中国女孩耶鲁梦》,一举登上《纽约时报》畅销书排行榜,已被介绍到17个国家,成为多所学校的必读书目。
A so explicitly written novel about a chinese girl's strugling study and living life in USA. Deep, reasonable and enlightening, making one question American dream worth or not. One unsatisfying elements of the story is the abortion part---since she did have...
评分用这个评论标题似乎有点过火,可是读完这本美籍华人郭珍芳以自己的真实人生而写就的《中国女孩耶鲁梦》,我的感受就是如此。我们很容易羡慕美籍华人的生活,就算已经了解过他们的艰辛奋斗史,这种羡慕也是在所难免。这本自传体的女孩成长史彻底扭转了我的想法,真的是没...
评分Finally, the heat got so bad that Ma bought us a small fan and we set it in front of our mattresses. After work, we both caught our breath in front of that fan, sitting on the mattresses on the floor, our backs resting against the wall. Slowly, two yellowis...
评分《中国女孩耶鲁梦》是中信出版社出版的图书,[美]郭珍芳著,刘爽译。郭珍芳(Jean Kwok),旅美华人女作家,在哈佛大学获得学士学位,在哥伦比亚大学修完小说艺术硕士学位。《中国女孩耶鲁梦》叙述的是一个贫穷女孩的美国奋斗史,是作者根据自己的经历写成的半自传小说。其核心...
评分有时候我们没有为梦想竭尽全力,是因为我们可选择的太多。 当你无从选择,只有实现梦想才能摆脱绝境的时候, 当梦想是人生仅存的希望的时候, 人会被激发出最本能、最大的力量, 梦想就会实现。 阿金渴望友谊,但是又畏怯友谊, 因为友谊意味着将自己不堪的生活暴露在众人眼中...
坦白说,这本书的文学性毋庸置疑,但它更像是一剂强效的“共情药”。它让我以一种全新的视角去审视“沟通”这件看似简单的事情。在不同的文化背景下,同一句话语可能承载着完全不同的意义,而主角必须时刻保持高度的警觉性,去解读那些潜藏在话语之下的潜台词和文化代码。这种持续的精神消耗,是外人难以想象的。作者对角色内心独白的运用极为高明,那种内在世界的喧嚣与外界的沉静之间的巨大反差,构成了故事张力的主要来源。它让人思考,我们每天都在用语言交流,但我们真的“听到”了对方吗?有多少信息在穿越了语言、文化和个人经验的过滤网后,被扭曲或遗失了?这本书提供了一种非常个人化、非常深刻的解答。
评分这是一本结构精巧、情感丰沛的小说,它成功地避免了许多移民题材作品中容易出现的刻板印象和过度煽情。主角的成长线处理得非常成熟,没有一蹴而就的“开挂”,每一步的进步都显得来之不易,充满了现实的重量感。我特别欣赏作者在塑造配角时的笔力,那些同样在夹缝中求生的人们,他们的性格立体,动机复杂,并非简单的工具人。正是这些形形色色的角色,共同织就了主角所处环境的复杂性。书中对于职场政治的描绘,那种微妙的权力游戏和不成文的规则,写得可谓是教科书级别。主角必须学会的,不仅仅是专业技能,更是如何在那个由“正确的人”主导的系统中,找到自己的立足之地。这种学习过程的艰辛和微妙,被作者描绘得淋漓尽致,让人不禁感叹,在任何一个新兴的领域,初来乍到者所面临的挑战都是多维度的。
评分这本书真是让人欲罢不能,它巧妙地将两个看似毫不相关的世界——一个在异国他乡努力生存的移民生活,以及在传统与现代之间挣扎的个人成长——编织在一起,读来让人心生共鸣。作者的笔触细腻而富有张力,尤其是在描绘主角那种“两边都不完全属于”的疏离感时,更是入木三分。那种在双语环境中成长的复杂性,不仅仅是语言上的障碍,更是一种文化身份的重塑过程。我尤其欣赏作者在处理家庭关系时的那种克制与深情,那种无声的爱意和互相理解的渴望,比任何热烈的表白都来得更动人心魄。书中那些关于“翻译”本身的思考,也远超出了字面意义,它关乎自我定位,关乎如何向他人准确地传达内心的真实想法,以及在不同社会语境下,我们如何不断地“翻译”和调整自己的行为模式以求得生存。每一次成功的“翻译”都是一次小小的胜利,而每一次失败的误解,都可能带来沉重的代价。这本书的节奏把握得极好,在紧张的现实压力和细腻的内心独白之间切换自如,让你在为主角捏一把汗的同时,也被她那股坚韧不拔的生命力所深深感染。
评分读完合上书本的那一刻,我感觉仿佛经历了一场漫长而又充实的旅程,那些鲜活的人物形象至今还在脑海中萦绕不去。这本书最令人称道之处,在于它对生活细节的捕捉,那些琐碎却又至关重要的片段,共同构筑了一个真实可信的世界。无论是狭小出租屋里的气味,还是快节奏职场中的尔虞我诈,都写得栩栩如生。作者似乎有着一种魔力,能把我们从日常的麻木中唤醒,让我们重新审视那些我们习以为常的社会结构和人际互动。特别是关于阶层固化和机遇不公的探讨,虽然是以个人的经历为载体,但其背后折射出的社会议题却极其深刻和普遍。它不是一本说教式的作品,而是通过一个鲜活的个体故事,将那些宏大的社会议题温柔而坚定地呈现在我们面前,迫使我们去思考:我们所拥有的“便利”究竟是从何而来?那些努力攀爬的人,付出了多大的代价?我发现自己好几次停下来,不是因为情节复杂,而是因为被某个句子触动太深,需要时间去消化那种强烈的代入感和共情。
评分我很少会为一本书写下如此冗长的感想,但《Girl in Translation》确实值得。它不仅仅记录了一段奋斗史,更像是一份关于“身份重塑”的详尽报告。作者的叙事节奏非常具有感染力,它像一条蜿蜒的河流,时而平静地流淌过主角的日常生活,时而又因为突发的事件而激起巨大的浪花。在读到一些关于家庭牺牲和个人抱负冲突的段落时,我几乎是屏住呼吸读完的,那种两难的困境,那种“鱼和熊掌”难以兼得的痛苦,让文字充满了沉甸甸的质感。这本书的魅力在于其复杂性——它既有大时代的背景,又有小人物的挣扎;既有对现实困境的深刻洞察,又不失对未来希望的微弱坚守。它成功地捕捉到了那种在快速变化的世界中,个体寻求锚点的无助与勇气,绝对是一部值得反复品读的佳作。
评分12years later 有点怪怪的
评分第一代移民的艰辛成长的过程。励志感人。
评分弃
评分Just for being a story
评分中文翻译太媚俗了……不太喜欢结尾
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