The Accidental Asian | The Accidental Asian

At a glance:

Author: Eric Liu
First Published: 1998
Type of Work: Essays
Time of Work: 1914-1997
Setting: The East Coast of the United States, mainland China, and Taiwan
Principal Characters: Eric Liu, Chao “Baba” Liu, Julia Liu, Carroll Haymon, Min-yu “Po-Po” Tu, Trinh Duong, Ava and Cordell Haymon, Andrea Liu
Genres: Nonfiction, Essays
Subjects: Culture, Race, Self, Ethnic relations, Immigration or emigration, Intermarriage, Asian Americans, China or Chinese people
Locales: East (U.S.), China, Taiwan

Despite the fact that its subject matter of assimilation and identity relates to the concerns of many people, Eric Liu’s The Accidental Asian is at its heart a deeply personal book. Perhaps fittingly for an author who, in closing, expresses his desire that race may one day become an irrelevant category for all members of American society, the focus of Liu’s interrelated essays is never very far from the personal experience of their narrator.

A goal-driven, well-assimilated, successful young second- generation Chinese American, Eric Liu nevertheless questions the degree...

The Accidental Asian | The Accidental Asian

At a glance:

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