 March 1997 Fiction/Ethnic studies 6x9 in, 425 pp 1 b&w illustration Paperback 1-885030-11-8 $16.95 list |
East Goes West: The Making of an Oriental Yankee A novel by Younghill Kang Book Description . About the Author . Excerpt . Reviews . Events . Buy Books Now |
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Originally published in 1937, East Goes West is an extraordinary account of immigrant life in the 1920s written by the first Korean American novelist, Younghill Kang. Part picaresque adventure, part shrewd social commentary, East Goes West casts a sharply satirical eye on the demands and perils of assimilation as it follows the travels of the young, idealistic Chungpa Han through the United States and Canada. In its moving humanization of the often neglected Asian communities on the fringes of industrialization, East Goes West is an American classic. It is an invaluable resource for those interested in immigrant narratives, Asian diasporas, and twentieth-century American literature. Kaya's edition provides never before compiled supplementary materials on Kang's life and work, including a comprehensive bibliography, an annotated chronology, and a critical essay.
"Kang is a born writer, everywhere he is free and vigorous:
he has an original and poetic mind, and he loves life." "The story of Chungpa Han is truly, like the old New York he encounters,
as 'million-hued as a dream.' A wonderfully resplendent evocation of a newcomer's
America, Younghill Kang's classic novel is as vibrant and pointed in its vision today
as it was 60 years ago, and may prove to be one of our most vital documents. East
Goes West deserves rediscovery." "In a welcome new edition of the work of the father of Korean American literature,
Kaya's East Goes West is a stunning testament to Younghill Kang's indomitable
spirit, his perspicacious eye, and his special mirth. The book provides us with a
rare view of how urban American life was experienced--and critiqued--by Korean immigrants
in the 1920s." "Whitmanesque in scope, Younghill Kang's East Goes West attempts both self-realization
and comprehension of all of America. But an undercurrent of sadness haunts this story
of a young man's heroic American odyssey-the sadness of 'exiled' Korean men stranded
between two worlds, living out their lonely lives on the periphery of American society,
working in menial jobs far beneath their education." "Kang is as wide-awake and high-spirited as he is scholarly and thoughtful,
and he writes with a keen sense of character.... East Goes West offers a rich
largesse of color and flavor, personality and impression and event. It is one of
those rare books which will arouse interest, ring changes on laughter and leave its
residue of thought." "East Goes West is certainly destined to become a classic. It is at
once rich in incident and characterization as any picaresque novel, and as acute
in its analysis of the cross currents of Western civilization as if it were the travel
diary of a philosopher. Younghill Kang writes more richly and wisely and delightfully
of America than a great majority of writers who are American born." |
