Synopses & Reviews
A young, American-born child of an aristocratic Mandarin family that has fled China struggles to assimilate in 1950s San Francisco in a novel from "an incredibly rich and new voice." (Amy Tan).
Synopsis
What a knockout. An incredibly rich and new voice or American literature China Boy grabs the reader s heart and won t let go A wonder of a story. Amy Tan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club
Kai Ting is the only American-born son of an aristocratic Mandarin family that fled China in the wake of Mao s revolution. Growing up in San Francisco s ghetto, Kai is caught between two worlds embracing neither the Chinese nor the American way of life. After his mother s death, Kai is suddenly plunged into American culture by his new stepmother, a Philadelphia society woman who tries to erase every vestige of China from the household. Warm, funny, and deeply moving, China Boy is a brilliantly rendered novel of family relationships, culture shock, and the perils of growing up in an America of sharp differences and shared humanity."
Synopsis
A young, American-born child of an aristocratic Mandarin family that has fled China struggles to assimilate in 1950s San Francisco in a novel from "an incredibly rich and new voice." (Amy Tan).
About the Author
Gus Lee is the only American-born member of a Shanghai family. He grew up in San Francisco and attended West Point for three years until his failing performance in then-mandatory electrical engineering gave him the involuntary opportunity to become an enlisted man. After receiving his law degree from the University of California at Davis, he rejoined the army as Captain Lee and served as general counsel. He resumed civilian life to become a deputy district attorney in Sacramento, then served for some years as Director of Attorney Education for the State Bar of California. He is married and lives with his wife and two children in Colorado Springs. China Boy is his first novel.