Book Review: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.
Book Summary: A Chinese American woman tells of the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that have shaped her identity.

Liana's summary: Maxine Hong Kingston writes an unforgettable story that American-Born-Chinese people can completely relate to, of mythology and culture, long, long, ago.

Rate(1-10): 8

I don't think that I regret buying this. (It was like, a cent! OH YEAH, AMAZON!) In truth, I saw it mentioned in my SAT Intensive workbook, and I was like, ooh, that sounds good. So I just marked it down, while my dad was buying Pride and Prejudice for me.

Beginning: Uhhuh. Okay.. I don't really see where this is going.
Beginning's End: I LOVE THIS. THIS IS FABULOUS. LIKE OMG, FABULOUS. I LOVE IT.
Middle's Beginning: Whaaa.
Middle's End: Oh, well, how does this have anything to do with the beginning? :c
End's beginning: I'm confused.
End: Oh, okay!

You see, I think the book lost me. One second, it's talking about this awesome mythical Mulan girl, and then the next it's talking about this Asian American that's being made fun in school. And then the next second, it's in third person, and then the next second, it's in first person again. (I think I'm using 'second' too loosely, fine, then, just pretend I put hour. Since I took forever on this book for some reason.)

It was confusing, but, like my summary said, I liked it because ABC's (American Born Chinese) can totally relate. I only read it because I wanted to read more Chinese themed stories. There's too less Asian books out there!

I think that, um, after reading Pride and Prejudice, I swore I was gonna move on to some stuff I liked and then go back to the History-related stuff. Yeah. So I did! I don't know what the point of that statement was, but now you all know. (:

I think the only part I liked was the Beginning's End. ^See that up there? Yeah, FAB. <3 It's because it suit me and my favorite genre more. Something mythical and magical. It was really cool!

I mean, if you're an avid reader, go ahead and read this book! Take a shot at it! If you get irritated at constant POV switching, then..Find another book! Remember, LIANA ALWAYS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU READ!

When I say, 'I can relate to it', it means I can REALLY relate to it. That made no sense. Oh well. Yeah, time for the quotes.(I have a ton!) 

 See. I'm happy because it's been a while a book had this much quotable quotes!







"..one woman swung a chicken.."
 I saw this on a newspaper my mom was reading one day, and I took a picture of it. When I read that line, I just immediately thought of this. LOLOL. Now you all know of my professional editing skillz. (x

"..He used to put his naked penis on the dinner table, laughing.."


"I have not been able to stop my mother's screams in public libraries or over telephones."
omg. That is so MY MOM! After reading this book, I realized that my mom's behavior is not just hers, it's all Asian women. kfjakl;sjd

"Aiaa, we're going to die."
哎呀 (Aiaa) is my favorite word in Chinese. (: This made me laugh for some weirdo reason.

"But don't do it now. You're too young to decide to live forever."
This just reminds me of people going like, "HEY I NEEDA TELL YOU SOMETHING BUT I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU JUST BECAUSE."

"; fat men ate meat; fat men drank wine made from the rice; fat men sat on naked little girls.."
What! WHAT. WHAT. I think I need to gag.

"No. You don't stop shitting and pissing."


"We are going to carve revenge on your back."
This reminds me of this one Chinese myth about a guy who was stuck between fighting for his country and caring for his old mother at home, and his mother carved something on his back, like, uhh, something noble. I forgot. And then she told him to go to war. THIS.

"I took the silver ones because they were lighter."
See, Dad? I learn something from books, gawdammit. I learned that silver is lighter than ivory. Happy?

"He wept when he took off my shirt and saw the scar-words on my back."
... That's not masculine. He's supposed to kiss her and make her feel better, not cry at her back! Or at least..
Tears silently flooded down his cheeks when he saw my scars. I reached out and wiped them away, shaking my head. He grabbed my hand and didn't let go as he stared into my eyes, as if I would be gone forever if he dared loosen his grip...
That would be more romantic! (or a bit too dramatic. omg. I suck at writing romance scenes. Just watch when I get to one of those in Incend.) Wouldn't it?! Yeah, fan of romance, here!

"Let's tie it to the flagpole until it dries."
What do people usually do with umbilical cords? Oh, of course! Tie it to flagpoles! aa;lfsja

"Go now," I said, "before he is old enough to recognize me."
Everyone, you all know what's happening, right? She's giving up her child because she has to fight and lead a war. It's so darn sad. </3

"You've done this," I said, and ripped off my shirt to show him my back. "You are responsible for this." When I saw his startled eyes at my breasts, I slashed him across his face and at the second stroke cut off his head.

...  Seriously, she rips off her shirt too much. Oh yeah, and the cut off his head part reminded me of the part in Kristin Cashore's Graceling! (: Where Katsa just threw that dagger, and BOOM.

"Chang Chung-ching..."
omg. Omg. This just got me really mad, because this isn't even a legitimate Chinese name. Great way to rouse the stereotypes.

"..and there is the Big Six, which is China."
Whoa, whoa! NO! China is Big Road, dude. It's not Big Six. Even if it sounds like it in Cantonese.

"No matter at what point she cut, the point would have been white, the mourning color."
Animal abuse! D:

"They counted fingers and toes by touch, felt for penis or no penis,.."
._. No, no, you don't just feel for people's penises. That's so awkward..

"One child born without an anus.."


"I pictured a naked child sitting on a modern toilet desperately trying to perform until it died of congestion."
Have any of you seen that one Japanese video with the little kid potty training? I couldn't find a gif for it. So, for those people who've seen it, IMAGINE THAT!

"... Wei Pang."

Who in the world is named what they are? Pang just means fat. What a 'coincidence'.

"If it tastes good, it's bad for you," she said. "If it tastes bad, it's good for you."
MY LIFE STORY.

"Somebody held a fragment of glass under her nostrils."
That is BRILLIANT! It's so smart! It's easier to see their breath on glass than feel it on your finger! This is brilliant.

"Nothing!" this girl would yell. "You're breathing on me. Don't breathe on me."
Okay, I thought I had bad temper when people asked too much questions.

"That's an important part."
"Why is it important?"
"Because it tells the main idea here."
"What's the main idea?"
"I don't know Chinese words for it."

Really. If someone shot that much questions at me in a row, I would just quit answering. Like, LEAVE ME TO MY PEACE.

"There is no one after you," said Brave Orchid. "No Mexicans."
"I saw some in the Greyhound station," said Moon Orchid.
"No. No, those were Filipinos."

Why Mexicans though? Are they saying that Mexicans and Filipinos look the same? No! Don't know why, but Moon Orchid's panic of Mexicans is somewhat awkward-amusing.

"I liked the Negro students (Black Ghosts) best..."
黑鬼. If an African American knew Chinese, they would kind of get offended. But I sort of get it now. I think the Chinese, when they first immigrated to CA for the gold rush, called the white people ghosts, and the African Americans would be "black" ghosts. But then, like. It's kind of offensive to me. Even if I'm Chinese. You know. I'm against racism, ya'll.

"My mother said you have to give us candy. She said that is the way the Chinese do it."
I feel so bad for the girl right now. Her mom is forcing her to demand candy!

"It is the way Chinese sounds, chingchong ugly.."
Well, poo you. For you people out there who think Chinese sounds like, CHINGCHONGLINGLONG, it doesn't. Jesus, just because you can't understand what we're saying doesn't mean you have to mock our language.

"I looked into her face so I could hate it close up."
omg. This just made me laugh for some reason. But then I feel bad for the girl who's being hated close up because she didn't do anything and she just let the girl bully her and stuff. (I just realized I don't know the main character's name. ajfs;dl)

"Maggots!" he shouted. "Maggots! Where are my grandsons? I want grandsons! Give me grandsons! Maggots!" he pointed at each one of us, "Maggot! Maggot! Maggot! Maggot! Maggot! Maggot!" Then he dived into his food, eating fast and getting seconds. "Eat, maggots," he said. "Look at the maggots chew."

One thing I don't understand: Why did people treasure boys so much? I know they can carry on the family name, but what is that for anyway? There's no reason. Who cares if your last name is remembered. Pshh. omg, which reminds me. My dad wants a boy. omg.

"..the stupidity that comes from reading too much."
This. Is. My. Life. Story. I cannot. Relate. More. Like. Omg. Her. Parents. Think. Reading. Is. Bad. Just. Like. My. Parents. omg.

"..with pornography.."
That's a word?! omg, so yeah. I learn in books.

"I may be ugly and clumsy, but one thing I'm not, I'm not retarded."
Oh, you tell her, girl! This is my favorite line. Hold up, need a second I'm adding it to Goodreads.
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And that, folks, is the end of my oh-so-much quotes. Thanks for putting up with it!

Now that I did my review, I'm not sure if Maxine Hong Kingston wrote herself an autobiography this way, or is it still a Historical Fiction? Because it seems pretty real.The second part, anyways.

Just so you know, when I have pictures as reactions, the quotes are so fabulous( some are awkward) that there are no words for them!

For a historical fiction, I pictured that it would be kind of boring. But, in fact, there were actually parts that made me laugh. I name Maxine Hong Kingston a FABULOUS author! (And she's so fashionable too. Have you seen her Facebook photos? Yeah, I stalk authors! LOL.) I really liked this book because she didn't use that much hard, hard, vocab words and she didn't bore me to death like Jane Austen did. That's just my opinion though. And, throughout the book, she had a lot of techniques and stuff for everyday life that I've never used. So it was quite enjoyable!

Yep, everyone, ye should all read this book!

And, please comment what you think about this review.

That will be all!