Mona in the Promised Land
by Gish Jen
1996. Knopf, $24 (0-679-44589-7); Random/Vintage, paper, $13 (0-679-77650-8). Joanne WilkinsonBooklist, June 1, 2001 p1837
COPYRIGHT 2001 American Library Association
Although decidedly different in tone from Morrison's landmark work, Jen's exuberant comedy also explores the porous nature of cultural identity. It's 1968 and Mona Chang, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, moves with her family to Scarshill, New York. Bright and high spirited, Mona declares that being "American means being whatever you want" and promptly decides to convert to Judaism. For Mona, multiculturalism means being free to borrow from a variety of traditions without being constrained by any of them.
