The Woman Warrior Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston represents the complexities of growing up as a Chinese-American woman through a powerful mixture of mythology and autobiography. In this series of connected vignettes, Kingston tells her story of her childhood in California, her mother's stories of Chinese folklore, and her conflicts between her Chinese heritage and American identity. The book exposes problems of voice and silence, as well as the quest for identity. In her poetic prose and symbolic storytelling, Kingston manages to come up with a moving meditation on the immigrant experience, family expectations, and the search for one's own identity and culture.

Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts is incisive and poignant in its review of cultural identity and psychological development. I was captivated by the brilliance with which Kingston wove her autobiography together with Chinese tradition to weave a tapestry of stories marvelously told, touching me at so many different levels. It is a book that gives insight into the experience of an immigrant who had to adjust between two cultures. It was real and inspiring to witness how Kingston does adjust and struggle with defining her personality and finding her voice amidst the expectations of society and family. Though occasionally bitter, the stories of her mother provided interesting windows on Chinese history and society. All things considered, this book raised my sensitivity to the complex issues of identity and the role that narrative plays in the way we live out our lives.