Eat Everything Before You Die: A Chinaman in the Counterculture (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780295984360)

In this vibrant and original novel, Christopher Columbus Wong, orphan son of a Chinatown bachelor community, is trying to invent a family for himself while all around him American popular culture is reinventing itself with sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Christopher finds himself on a wild journey with his gay older brother, Peter, a pan-Pacific TV chef; the defrocked, deranged, and eroding ex-director of a Chinatown settlement house, Reverend Ted Candlewick; the sharp-eyed, conspiring matriarch Auntie Mary, the bridge between the conflicting values that make up this cultural stew; and Uncle Lincoln, a bachelor, short order cook, and, quite possibly, Christopher and Peter's father. Further complicating Christopher's voyage are his ex-wives: Winnie, a Hong Kong immigrant looking for a green card, and Melba, an American orphan of the counterculture.

Set against the backdrop of America's wars in Asia and the assimilation of that experience--the refugees, the stereotypes, the food--Eat Everything Before You Die is an ironic commentary on the identities the children of Chinese American immigrants concoct from their questionable histories, cultural practices, and survival strategies.

Chan's riotous story will appeal to general readers, particularly those interested in the Asian American experience, and will be of strong, enduring interest to students and scholars in Asian American Studies.

Author: Jeffery Paul Chan
ISBN-10: 0295984368
ISBN-13: 9780295984360
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Language: English
Published: 07/01/2004
Pages: 297
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.20w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2005 pg. 1399
Library Journal 09/01/2004 pg. 136
Publishers Weekly 09/20/2004 pg. 45
Booklist 09/15/2004 pg. 206
Univ PR Books for Public Libry 01/01/2005 pg. 77 - Strongly Recommended