If you think that Gish Jen’s novel about her mother will be
a loving homage, guess again. Her mother
endured the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during WWII, then emigrated, by
herself, to the U.S. after college, and obtained her master’s degree. She then got married before completing her
dissertation for her PhD and raised five children, with Gish being the second,
following her brother Reuben. However,
Gish’s memories of her mother, who died in her 90s during Covid, are anything
but fond. While Gish was a child, her
mother beat her regularly. Even as an
adult, Gish was constantly seeking attagirls from her mother, but none were
forthcoming. Gish’s mantra seems to be
“Look what I did for you, and you didn’t even thank me.” Then there’s Gish’s “beloved father,” also
Chinese, who beat her with a metal stake to the point that the injuries kept
her out of gym class for three months. I
cannot fathom why she adored him. There
was one humorous anecdote where Gish and a female classmate lobbied to be
allowed to take shop in school. They
were granted the concession of being able to use the shop after class, and the
shop teacher is a riot. However, this
one incident does not salvage this otherwise very depressing novel. I suppose that writing this novel was cathartic
and validating for the author, but reading it was not a pleasant experience.
