First published 1996
These interconnected narratives follow characters whose lives stretch across multiple continents, mapping the complex geography of displacement and homecoming that defines the Asian American experience. Each story centers on individuals caught between worlds, whether they are recent immigrants struggling to establish roots in unfamiliar territory or second-generation Americans seeking connections to ancestral lands they have never seen. The characters navigate the emotional terrain of belonging and alienation as they move between cultures, languages, and identities. Their journeys take them from bustling urban centers to remote villages, from childhood homes left behind to new communities where they must forge fresh beginnings. The stories reveal how migration shapes not just where people live, but how they understand themselves and their place in the world. Each narrative flies directly into the emotional center of these experiences, capturing the particular intensity of lives lived across borders and between cultures.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, asian-american
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, multicultural
Setting: Asia, United States
Period: 21st-century
390 pages · Paperback · Greenfield Review Press