Books, NonFiction

Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Worth A Read Yes
Length 224
Quick Review Ali Wong writes a series of hilarious and wise-ish letters to her daughters so they can avoid her mistakes, have fun, and live their best life. 

Dear Girls by Ali Wong | Skirt | Sweater | Earrings
Dear Girls by Ali Wong

I instantly fell in love with Ali Wong when she walked onto the screen of my TV with her pregnant belly, dirty mouth, and satire in Baby Cobra. I have definitely paid for an afternoon of her childcare having watched it so many times to make sure other people experience her brilliance. I will consume anything Ali Wong – take that as you will –so obviously I read Dear Girls. I might be biased, but it was great. 

Wong’s voice sings with her unique humor, perspective, story, and more in her first book. The mother of two opens up to the world through letters to her daughters about life, love, sex, marriage, motherhood, traveling, grief, finding oneself, and general human things. It’s a dichotomy of emotions ranging from deep emotional exploration to stupid shit she did as a kid. Wong opens up her life in Dear Girls in a familiar yet fresh way compared to her stand up while remaining true to her voice.  

Comedians are mostly of the male-persuasion. They’re not funnier than women. I’ll let Ali Wong tell you: “Females are just as funny, if not funnier, and definitely quirkier, than men, especially in everyday life.” Yet we’re bombarded with the male perspective and what it means to be a father…. As a lady who will never be a father, the stories I hear from professional male comics on stage are NEVER as funny as the stories told by a random mom literally anywhere. Motherhood is something else. It’s beautiful. It’s also disgusting. Wong never shies away from the gross, and boy does she dive right into the poo-poo of mommydom. It’s disturbing and does not convince me that I want children. That is the beauty of Ali Wong. She loves her daughters, but she’s not going to blow smoke up your pussy and tell you it’s great or easy or magical. It’s hard work. 

Family is another topic she writes about frequently. From her father’s death to her relationship with her siblings and everything in between. She’s the youngest of four kids, but even as the oldest of two kids, I could still relate to, “They had a set of who I was and it affected me. It was limiting. Everything I said generally had no credence because I was at least ten years younger than every single person in my family, so what did I really know?”

Some of my favorite moments are those she speaks about her husband. Their love story is not a fairy tale romance of sparkles and unicorn farts. It’s beautiful in the depth of their love and respect for each other. He wrote the sweetest afterword that is a testament to the foundation of their marriage. I hope if Wong’s daughters take one thing from Dear Girls, it is to find relationships grounded in respect, support, loyalty, and love because it seems to me Wong has surrounded herself with wonderful people. That says a lot about who she is as a person and what she gives to those around her. 

Memorable Quotes
“”You have suffered enough.” That became my mantra for motherhood from there on out.”
“Babies are often born with fingernails so disturbingly long it made me wonder why nobody told me there had been a raccoon living inside my uterus.”
“The answers to making it, to me, are a lot more universal than anyone’s race or gender, and center on having a tolerance for delayed gratification, a passion for the craft, and a willingness to fail.” “And yes, there have been and are still many times these days when I have to check people for defining me via my race and gender.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Dear Girls; Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life
Author: Ali Wong
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780525508830

Books, Fiction

Crazy Rich Asians – Book and Movie

Read Yes
Movie Watch!
Length 527
Quick Review Rachel Chu is completely unprepared to enter her boyfriend’s world of money, drama, and family. Although it comes across as a rom-commy love store, it’s more of a satire.

Screenshot_20190516-192130_Gallery.jpg
Recreating the cover of Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.

I picked up Crazy Rich Asians and its sisters right before the movie came out because I like supporting POC, especially when they’re represented in the media. I power read my way through Crazy Rich Asians in a day, so I could write and publish this the day after seeing the movie, which I saw last night.

Honestly, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is an interesting read. As an American with no depth in Singaporean high-society or any level of Singaporean society, a lot of the satire and poorly veiled pseudonyms were lost on me without digging a little. From the beginning, Kwan has a quirky and funny writing style. The family tree is footnoted with hilarious tidbits.

Rachel Chu is a Chinese-American living in New York as an economics professor at NYU. Her boyfriend Nick Young, a NYU history professor, is the heir apparent to a millions-upon-millions fortune in Singapore, all unbeknownst to Rachel. They take a summer trip to his hometown for his best friend’s wedding, where she is thrown into the viper pit without warning. Ensues is a level of opulence that makes The Great Gatsby look like peanuts, (although, there are a lot of similar elements between the two stories), mystery, privacy, and so much drama you can’t even imagine.

Kwan does a really good job from the very first chapter in setting up the story to demonstrate the ability the Young’s, T’sien’s, and Shang’s have at getting their way because of their money. Kwan does a much better job at crafting intriguing and well-rounded male characters. For the most part, the female characters fall flat. They lack the emotional range a real woman would have in any situation let alone one similar to that of these characters. The female characters become tropes. There is a lot of mystery and drama, which helped make the novel interesting.

I did enjoy the way Kwan wrote the book. The writing style is fun and quirky with really quippy dialogue. The narrative structure really helped the novel. Had it been told from one or two perspectives, it would have been a lot less effective, and the problems with the characters would have shown through much more. The chapters were told from the perspectives of several characters of different genders, families, and backgrounds; this was great for showing several perspectives, story lines, and mystery. The narration was in the third person, but Kwan gave insight into the character’s psyche through italicizing their inner dialogues. There were also flash back moments to fill in about their personal history or adding to the family’s.

Movie
I saw the movie last night. I really, really enjoyed it. I love that it was an all Asian cast. The acting was great. Constance Wu took the character of Rachel – who fell flat in the book – and turned her into a believable, funny, and interesting character to watch and empathize with. The rest of the cast was equally thrilling to watch. Awkwafina was brilliant.

I loved the men in this movie. Asian men are quite literally the least romantically sought after ethnic group in America because they have constantly been feminized and more. It’s a big issue. A complicated issue. We need to start recognizing Asian men as complex fascinating men just like their counter parts. I have never understood this stereotype. I love Asian guys; I have dated Asian guys; I wish they were seen as the sexy beings they truly are. Like Ali Wong says, they’re frickin’ dolphins with no body hair. What’s not to like??? This movie has HOT Asian dudes in it. Hopefully, it’s a step towards having Asian leading men (and ladies). If we’re only going to let beautiful people on screen, can I, at least, look at beautiful people of different colors.

The movie fixed the things I didn’t like in the novel but cut out the things I did like about the book. Unfortunately. I understand why. You can’t fit that kind of family drama into 120 minutes. I did not love the flat characters in the book, but the movie fixed that. I didn’t think Kevin Kwan really understood how bitchy and subversive women can be when they’re torturing other women, but the movie got it! Cut it short but got it. The movie had to reduce about 80% of the drama and mystery that made the book interesting to read, but I forgive them. The movie can stand on its own without it. The movie also gets rid of a bunch of the profanity and crudeness out of the book. It would have very much been rated R if they kept it. I did enjoy reading those bits, though. Hilarious. Debauchery comes in every culture.

Overall, the movie is fabulous. Go watch it. This weekend! Show up for POC!!! We need to support them, so we can continue to have diverse representation in media. When POC win, we all win.

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Memorable Quotes
“NEVER, EVER wear green chiffon unless you want to look like bok choy that got gang-raped.”

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 9780345803788