Her Wild American Self: Short Stories

Rating:
Summary: Small glimpse into deep lives of weak characters...
Review: I am very torn on the effectiveness of this novel. Galang's women have so much potential that I left all of the stories frustrated with their inhibitions, lack of insight and self-doubt. For a book that is centered around the lives of women, most male characters play a very dominating and oppressive role that also dampers the lives the women that cannot quite seem to get things right. One part of my mind wants to hail the book as perfectly capturing the lives of women and all of their uncertainties. The other part wants to scorn it as a work that unnecessarily portrays women as indecisive and inferior. I would recommend it as a though provoking collection that presents many relevant issues in the lives of Asian-American women, although it is hardly a emblem of the feminist movement.

Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: I cannot help but marvel at how hastily you dismiss Galang's collection of short stories without grappling with any of the issues this book is meaning to communicate. While certainly there is an element of anger essential to this book as a commentary on the Filipina-American experience, the women of this novel are not so one-dimensional. Can a woman's search for meaning after the death of a child, or the struggle of family acceptance be classified solely as anger? Galang's stories are much more than that. They are a poignant illustration of how one can struggle to find identity, and more importantly, how one can struggle for an identity between cultures. These Filipina-American women are the embodiment of social and individual problems, which are not solved through a simple plot resolution in each story. Rather, the lack of finality in the stories disallows the ability to dismiss the argument Galang is raising with the end of the story. The stories force you to think. In my personal view, these stories are beautifully constructed within the minds of women, imparting the dualistic feeling of making me want to cry and rage against the silence of so many others concurrently.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Reading
Review: This debut collection of short stories from a Fil-Am woman writer was a joy to read. Although some stories were not as well-developed as others, I enjoyed them for the different characters who struggled with the same issues--identity, language, their place in the world, etc.

The most memorable stories for me were the same story she used for the title of the collection, and "Baby Lust". I found "Her Wild American Self" and the character Augustina to be very poignant and tragic--what does this particular story say about the woman's feelings, passions, and her choices? The second story I found myself being drawn to because it is so deeply troubling and disturbing. The images Ms. Galang portrays of the (I believe psychotic, but what woman wouldn't be after a miscarriage?) woman and her desire for cups of soup with little shrimp floating in it is very dramatic, and I found myself shuddering in revulsion.

Certainly some stories could be improved upon, but this debut collection shows a strong emerging voice of a woman writer from the APA community.