Oriental Girls Desire Romance
Told through scattered episodes, this meandering first novel by Liu (French, Univ. of Minnesota) is as directionless and open-ended as the life of its Chinese-born, twentysomething narrator, The narrator, who begins recording these life notes upon arriving in New York after a semester of teaching in China, describes her mismatched love relationships, painful childhood memories, teachers, jobs, and travels. She starts graduate school, frequents the seedier night spots, and works at a variety of temporary jobs, from legal secretary to topless go-go dancer. The abrupt ending leaves the book as a work in progress. Sharing her anxiety over her own seemingly meaningless existence and her observations of the equally empty lives of those around her, the narrator is at times funny and insightful and always understated, but the book is ultimately not satisfying reading. Recommended for academic libraries.?Rebecca A. Stuhr, Grinnell Coll. Libs., IowaCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.