Lan Samantha Chang

Chinese-American writer, Lan Samantha Chang, beautifully blends two cultures throughout most of her stories in Hunger: A Novella and Stories.  Below are just a few overviews. 

Water Names

In Water Names, Chang uses dialogue to her advantage, blending nicely the Chinese words and phrases of the grandmother character into the story, almost making them unnoticeable.  Her style remains consistent throughout the story and in less than twenty paragraphs, she manages to treat the reader to a sweet, little tale.  Her characters are simple, but not simplistic, they are just not overly complicated and therefore they do not overwhelm her story.  Water Names has a certain quality to it, one “where the ending comes back and kisses the beginning,” (I remember someone smart teaching me that.)   Again, Chang does a fantastic job of blending and creates what are essentially two stories into one.  There is a breathing like quality to the entire story, in and out, in and out…but subtly done.  The tone is casual and relaxed; gradually building up to a high event that does not smack you in the face.  Chang’s description of the quarreling sisters, who sit still just long enough to listen to their grandmother’s story, is charming and sweet. 

Hunger

Wow.  Done from the voice of a narrator that is, how shall I say, going to give a neat perspective on the story that the reader does not really know about until the end.  While the story can linger on in spots, it is worth it, to stay with it.  The devil is in the details and Chang does that here.  Her description of the apartment her characters live in just gets better and better the more one reads.  There were times when I felt like I was really peeping in on this family.  Chang is great at dialogue, she places it in the exact spots needed for Hunger.  Once again, she blends in Chinese so subtly, yet I never forgot I was reading about immigrants and first generation Chinese-Americans.  With a few explosive high events throughout the story, there is one near the end that blows the top off, but it is done in a manner that you don’t even realize it’s a high event until it’s over because Chang carries the rest of the story in that presence.  While Chang does linger on again in the end of the story, it is well worth the effort to stick with it.

The Eve of the Spirit Festival

Chang does a wonderful job of blending Chinese and American culture in most of her stories throughout Hunger: A Novella and Stories, but she falls short in The Eve of the Spirit Festival.  I felt it was a bit flat, and there was no real progression of the story or the characters.   I have seen this story done before: a widowed father raising daughters, with one that rebels and one that does not.  Only at the very end do you see a change occur, but it is not needed, because by that point, you are bored with that character.    Chang does a great job of adding subtly in her dialogue, but in The Eve of the Spirit Festival, it feels forced and overused.  Chang does a beautiful job of blending the two worlds, so it is a bit disappointing that she cannot make that happen here.  

Overall, the entirety of Hunger: A Novella and Stories is wonderfully crafted.  I cannot stress enough how nicely a job Chang does at blending Chinese and American cultures in these stories.  Focusing on culture and family, with a little bit of magic and mystery tossed in, I would highly recommend this book.

 

On Teaching The "Craft"

Her Day Job

An Interview With Bookslut.com

Lan Samantha Chang (http://willowsprings.ewu.edu/interviews/chang.php)

An Older Interview From Way Back In 1998

Obvious Place To Buy Her Books

Or, Find Your Local Independent Bookstore And Help Out A Brick-And-Mortar

If You're In Vermont In December 2013, You Can See Her...In Person