Book Review: The Dim Sum of all Things

(Photo Credit goes to HarperCollins. http://www.harpercollins.com/)

My Book Rating: A-/B+

If you are Asian American and you're looking for a quick and enjoyable read, Kim Wong Keltner's The Dim Sum of all Things is a great book that will make you think about yourself and your own culture. Even if you're not, this book provides a small glimpse into the life of Asian Americans, primarily Chinese American individuals and actually does it in an entertaining and positive way. To simply put it, think of it as a concotion of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club with crazy and funny twists and turns.

Synopsis: The Dim Sum of all Things is a story about a third generation Chinese American woman named Lindsey Owyang who is trying to find a balance between her Chinese heritage and the American customs she has learned and developed over her life. Lindsey is a twenty-something year old who does not feel as successful as her brother Kevin and cousin Stephanie who are well off into their careers and have families/significant others with them. Lindsey lives rent-free with her Pau Pau (her grandmother) in an apartment in Chinatown and works as a receptionist at a magazine named Vegan Warrior, a politically correct magazine that checks to see if its workers are truly vegans by sniffing and smelling them for possibly meat-like odors. All throughout the entire story Lindsey discusses the ins and outs of her life such as the arranged dates her Pau Pau sets up for her, her theory of white American males (which she refers to as "hoarders") preying on Asian women, her grandmother not understanding American culture and how it works, the troubles of often being compared to her cousins and her brother throughout her childhood even until this day into her adulthood, and finding her Chinese American identity in America. Although she insists that all white men are hoarders who are simply trying to get with Asian women to fulfill their fantasies about Asian women being permissive and sex slaves, she eventually gains interest in a white man who works at Vegan Warrior named Michael Cartier. She makes an effort to not fall in love with Michael because she believes he is a "hoarder" but eventually lets her guard down and listens to what her heart says, not her mind. She also slowly finds out about her family's past in China and how it greatly affects her in her life in America. She comes to the revelation that she should be proud of her Chinese heritage and that it has helped her to be who she is today.

What I Liked About The Book: Kim Wong Keltner took the time to slyly craft this novel into a hilarious piece of work. When Keltner paused moments within Lindsey's daily life for Lindsey to analyze the situation in her head, I thought that was something very unique that other novels have not shown before. One example of the book is when Lindsey is about to go to lunch with Michael and tries to figure out why Michael would put mints in his pocket:

" LET'S PRESS PAUSE FOR A MOMENT.

If Lindsey was going to lunch with Mimi, she probably wouldn't bring mints. When Lindsey ate, in general, she did not carry mints. A person carried mints when he wanted to be minty fresh. Minty fresh for, like, kissing.
This mint thing was a small coup for Lindsey. This mint thing was undeniable proof that Michael like liked her. He cared about his breath around her. Yes. The mint thing was the culmination of her efforts thus far.

PLEASE PRESS PLAY TO RESUME TAPE."

Another thing I liked about this book was how the author addressed common themes that Asian Americans face in our society such as Lindsey working to find her identity in America while trying to retain her Chinese heritage. There were many examples where Lindsey had certain ideas that I too have had before in my head. One example that I could personally relate to was when Lindsey wanted to explain to her Pau Pau that she was feeling sick because she was feeling confused about her feelings towards Michael,

" She couldn't explain her silly office romance to her mahjong-playing, soup-making grandmother. When Lindsey thought of Michael she used a totally different compartment of her brain, separate from any idea of Pay Pay and her old Chinese ways."

I too have felt before that my parents and my grandparents would not understand how I felt about certain issues because their old traditional ways of thinking would be completely different than the way I thought with my ideals.

Another example I could relate to was when Keltner wrote of Lindsey's attempt to connect with her mom but yet Lindsey's mom made fun of her for the idea of going to an antique show:

"Lindsey had asked her mother to attend the Fort Mason show because she figured it would be a good way to share quality time together while simultaneously demonstrating her interest in something Chinese. Although her mother had agreed to go, she didn't seem to notice Lindsey's effort toward cultural betterment. her only comment to her daughter was, 'Why do you want to buy used things?'"

I am always trying to find ways to please my parents but yet I always find that it is not always good enough or up to their standards.

The last example that struck me was when Keltner explained the troubles Lindsey has faced to be accepted in society as a Chinese American:

"As for her, not matter how hard she tried, she could never escape being identifiably Asian; all her life she had had the same jet-black hair and eyes like skinny minnows, which remained unchanged whether she wore preppy Benetton cardigans, ruffled Betsey Johnson frocks, or thrift-store ensembles. When she was a youngster, she had been called names. She had not understood them then, but she'd known they were meant to be hurtful and had everything to do with her being Chinese...She tried to ignore these humiliations, but each incident had stayed with her."

All these examples shown above depict troubles that Asian Americans have faced within their family environment, as well as in society.

Also, Keltner's development of Pau Pau and Michael within the story to shape Lindsey was amazing. Read the book and you'll understand.

What I Didn't Like About The Book: One thing I particularly didn't like about the book was how shallow and permissive Lindsey was depicted to be. Michael took much of Lindsey's attention throughout the entire book and while I was entertained by Lindsey thinking of Michael in different ways, mainly in a sexual or intimate way, I wish they showed Lindsey being more independent on not needing of Michael's love (I was still rooting for them the entire time. Haha, I'm a sucker). At times I felt that Keltner made Lindsey play the permissive Asian woman role when she didn't need to be. She could have stood up for herself at certain times within the book (one example is when her boss asked her to set up a menu of authentic Chinese food where she could have easily said no or said something about it to him). Another thing I didn't like was how quickly the problem between Michael, Lindsey, and the title of the humor column "Slant" he created for Vegan Warrior was solved. Michael's lack of understand of the meaning of "slant" to her caused a lot of distress and anger within herself (I mean, she avoided Michael for weeks on end before thinking about apologizing for her behavior) and then once she received the Hello Kitty toaster from him, she easily came back to him. Where's her inner strength? And also, they didn't even really discuss the problem and they immediately just went back to one another. Where's the communication that people in relationships should have (the stuff we always hear about from doctors and such)?

Overall Thoughts About Book: This book is not incredibly thought provoking, but it will make you think about your own culture, especially if you are Asian American. Lindsey and her way of thinking is hilarious and is pretty true in a blunt way. Themes are easy to understand and aren't under the surface. It's definitely something that can be read while on a bus ride or a long trip (something like that).