Awards
1976 National Book Critics Award for best work of nonfiction
Synopses & Reviews
A Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity.
Review
"A remarkable book....[I]t is anti-nostalgic; it burns the fat right out of the mind. As a dream of the 'female avenger' it is dizzying, elemental, a poem turned into a sword." The New York Times
Review
"Intense, fierce and disturbing...a strange, sometimes savagely terrifying and, in the literal sense, wonderful story." Washington Post
Review
"A book of fierce clarity and originality." Newsweek
Review
"Triumphant...astonishingly accomplished." Time
Synopsis
In her award-winning book The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston created an entirely new form--an exhilarating blend of autobiography and mythology, of world and self, of hot rage and cool analysis. First published in 1976, it has become a classic in its innovative portrayal of multiple and intersecting identities--immigrant, female, Chinese, American.
As a girl, Kingston lives in two confounding worlds: the California to which her parents have immigrated and the China of her mother's "talk stories." The fierce and wily women warriors of her mother's tales clash jarringly with the harsh reality of female oppression out of which they come. Kingston's sense of self emerges in the mystifying gaps in these stories, which she learns to fill with stories of her own. A warrior of words, she forges fractured myths and memories into an incandescent whole, achieving a new understanding of her family's past and her own present.
Synopsis
"A classic, for a reason" - Celeste Ng via Twitter
In her award-winning book The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston created an entirely new form--an exhilarating blend of autobiography and mythology, of world and self, of hot rage and cool analysis. First published in 1976, it has become a classic in its innovative portrayal of multiple and intersecting identities--immigrant, female, Chinese, American.
As a girl, Kingston lives in two confounding worlds: the California to which her parents have immigrated and the China of her mother's "talk stories." The fierce and wily women warriors of her mother's tales clash jarringly with the harsh reality of female oppression out of which they come. Kingston's sense of self emerges in the mystifying gaps in these stories, which she learns to fill with stories of her own. A warrior of words, she forges fractured myths and memories into an incandescent whole, achieving a new understanding of her family's past and her own present.
About the Author
Maxine Hong Kingston lives in California with her husband, actor Earll Kingston. She is also the author of China Men and Tripmaster Monkey, which are available in Vintage International.