When I emigrated from China in my 20s, I was foolishly optimistic, eager to forge my own path in North America. I had no idea what I was stepping into. I didn’t know I’d get tongue-tied in my new language. I didn’t realize how often I’d have to move, chasing opportunities to sustain myself. I didn’t expect that without a long, shared history, people I thought were close friends could easily drift away. I didn’t expect the toll it would take on my self-esteem, the bone-chilling isolation and loneliness, or the social failures that slowly rewired my brain, leading to crippling anxiety and depression. I had no idea that immigration would be a process of breaking myself down to reconstruct something new from the debris.
In my debut novel, The Immortal Woman, I wrote about a young Chinese immigrant who works tirelessly to erase her birth identity and become a “true Westerner.” It wasn’t autofiction, but my years of wild flailing offered much inspiration. I also needed to understand the origin of immigration. The young immigrant’s mother in my novel was a reluctant leader of the student Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, and later a reporter at the state newspaper. Her years steeped in political trauma shaped her conviction about the superiority of the West, a belief that precipitated her daughter’s tumultuous upbringing and eventual emigration. With the generational story of this mother-daughter pair, I hope to shed light on the under-examined source of internalized racism, and the perennial tension Chinese immigrants face – the suspicion of “dual loyalties,” the push and pull between the pressure of assimilation and the allure of Chinese nationalism.
These 9 books offer a diverse range of Chinese immigrant experiences in North America, weaving together tales of aspiration, adaptation, and identity across generations. Each story highlights the tensions that arise between staying true to one’s cultural heritage and the demands of assimilating into an unfamiliar society. From dealing with culture shock to navigating language barriers, and confronting systemic racism, to the deep emotional and psychological toll of intergenerational trauma, these writers offer intimate glimpses into the journey of building a new life abroad, while capturing the complexities and sacrifices that come with the search for a better future.
Denison Avenue by Christina Wong
This one-of-a-kind novel intertwines visual art and prose to portray the life of an elderly Chinese Canadian widow navigating gentrification in Toronto’s Chinatown. After her husband’s death, she takes up collecting bottles and cans, forging new friendships and confronting racism along the way. As she navigates a rapidly changing neighborhood that often neglects its elders, she learns to rebuild her life with resilience and hope.
Who’s Irish? by Gish Jen
This now classic collection features eight stories that delve into the Chinese American experience, capturing the generational tensions and cultural conflicts between immigrant parents and their American-born children. From a grandmother grappling with her mixed-heritage granddaughter’s upbringing, to an American venturing to China to reconnect with his roots, only to face the stark realities of his romanticized expectations, Jen delves into the complexities of identity, family dynamics, and the elusive idea of belonging. With a sharp satirical eye and a perfect blend of humor and wit, Jen exposes the contradictions and challenges of navigating dual cultures, questioning what it truly means to be American.
The Light of Eternal Spring by Angel Di Zhang
Zhang’s debut novel traces the journey of Amy Hilton, a New York City-based photographer from a small Chinese village, as she returns to China to process her mother’s death. Blending magical realism with vivid memories of her childhood, Amy’s quest to heal by confronting her past and rediscovering her roots offers a poignant exploration of family, identity, and the transformative power of art.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
In a small Ohio town during the 1970s, a mixed-race family grapples with unfulfilled ambitions, burdened by the weight of racial discrimination and cultural expectations, setting them on a tragic path in their quest for belonging. The Lee family falls apart after daughter Lydia’s body is discovered in a lake. Navigating chaos and heartbreak, it is the youngest Lee daughter who discovers the true circumstances of her sisters demise. This psychological thriller is contemplative, heartfelt, and haunting.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
In present-day Vancouver, a young woman embarks on a journey to untangle the history of her broken family, guided by her connection with a girl from China. Their fathers, both musicians, shared lives that were deeply entwined during the Cultural Revolution, leaving generational reverberations that shape the present. . This sweeping, politically charged novel, grounded in years of meticulous research, offers a kaleidoscope of insights into the Chinese psyche. Deeply personal yet universally resonant, it vividly captures the minutiae of life within China while transcending cultural and geographic boundaries.
We Two Alone by Jack Wang
Wang’s stunning debut collection captures the diverse trajectories of the Chinese diaspora over many decades and across five continents. The stories span a daring young laundry boy in 1920s Canada who disguises himself as a girl to play organized hockey, a Chinese family in South Africa navigating life in apartheid South Africa, a Canadian couple engulfed by the turmoil of the Second Sino-Japanese War in Shanghai, a Chinese diplomat working to save Austrian Jews from the Nazis, and an actor in New York struggling to revive his flailing career while mending his fractured marriage. With a dazzling ability to bring history to life, Wang weaves narratives of anguish, sacrifice, longing, faltering relationships, and the search for belonging. Written in fluid, precise prose and imbued with deep empathy, these stories illuminate the depths of the immigrant experience.
Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
In a small Chinese village in 1986, ten-year-old Junie wrestles with the idea of leaving her serene life with her grandparents to join her estranged parents in America. As her father, Momo, attempts to reunite the family by Junie’s twelfth birthday, long buried family secrets from China’s decade of political turmoil threaten to surface, jeopardizing their hopes for a fresh start. The novel skillfully weaves elements of Chinese culture and history, including the hardships of the Cultural Revolution, the enduring importance of filial piety, and the interplay of fate, destiny, and chance. Feng narrates this heart-wrenching story with lyrical, melancholic prose and a poet’s sensibility.
That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
Set in a 1970s Scarborough suburb just outside Toronto, this collection reveals the hidden struggles and shattered dreams of a diverse immigrant community living behind the polished facades of a seemingly idyllic new subdivision. From a spate of neighborhood suicides, to a student dealing with a racist teacher, and an elderly Chinese grandma forming an unexpected bond with a queer girl, Leung mines the promises of suburban living to show the cracks in the Canadian immigrant dream and the unspoken divides between neighbors, torn by socioeconomic and racial lines.
Silver Repetition by Lily Wang
This tender and poetic coming-of-age novel follows Yue Yue, a Chinese immigrant girl navigating difficult relationships – with her Canadian-born sister, her moody and unreliable new boyfriend, her sick mother, and her own fractured memories. Halfway through the book, Yue Yue’s inner child comes into focus, offering a source of comfort through revisiting her childhood in her homeland. The narrative is experimental and nonlinear, with repeated loops of loss and recovery; unfolding like a dream and doubling as a potential guide for healing.
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