Chinese Playground : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: How new generation can relate also.
Review: I was born in San Francisco. It isn't like that anymore as you can see, I didn't live in Chinatown but regularly go to my Grandma or grandpa after school in chinatown. I lived in Japantown til I was six years old. I moved to Oakland ever since.

When I brought this book, I didn't know what to expect, but when I read about his life, I could really relate to his childhood. Not as extreme as his was, but I can really relate, and how I would turn out if I was still in San Francisco. Would probably be the same as him with those family issues like that. Can turn a kid to look at their enviroment for support. I too am Toishanese, does that mean most toishanese parents are stubborn and ignorant? I don't know.

And the Enviroment in Oakland is no different. Kids want to be goo wak jais and hard ghetto punks.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: this is a very well-written book for a non-fiction plot. It was recommended to me by a friend and I have to say the plot was not boring, the author was very descriptive in his writing. Don't miss out on this.

Rating:
Summary: HEARTBREAKING, SAD AND COURAGEOUS!
Review: Wow! I read the book 3 times for self-serving reasons. I'm Mary, his biological sister. I never imagine that someone (my brother) would write about our childhood in such a good writing style. It's as good as "The Joy Luck Club" if not better.

William did an excellent job expelling his experiences. He succeeded in capturing the inner feelings of growing up in S.F. Chinatown. It was fast reading and kept my interest. I recall William's cleverness in surviving in our family unit and in S.F. Chinatown's environment. His book reveals experiences about our father that I didn't know. William did position himself to be close to our father, and he applied the same approach for his survival in Chinatown.

His book brought back painful memories, but I appreciate the courage it took him to write this book and understand what he had endured in the underworld of S.F. Chinatown. Yes, it was extremely challenging growing up in Chinatown. We had to equipped ourselves to fight the various temptations thrown at us. It was no easy task.

This book gave me insight about William's choice concerning his relationship with us that I never knew. It also helped me to identify his pains. I am sad that William holds so much hostility. In most Asian cultures the rule of the house is given to the first son. It doesn't make it right, but there's a price and then there are rewards.

My siblings are very proud of what William had accomplished with his book. The one thing that I learned is that each of us can have the same mutual experiences, but can come away with a different perspective and outlook.

It's ashame that his book isn't marketed throughout the country. He has an important message that needs to be shared with a much larger audience.

William is a gifted writer and maybe one day, he can help other Asians tell their story.

I enjoyed the review made by the reader on May 13, 1999. He did an excellent job in summarizing most of our thoughts.

Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: All I needed to know
Review: WOW!!!!! This book was shared with me by my husbands cousin. He knows of my frustrations and my always unanswered questions of my husband and in-laws. You see my husband as well as his family grew up in Chinatown San Francisco in the 60's and 70's and few still remain. I had always questioned my Father in Laws reasons for moving his family out of there as he has made it very clear that he has always wanted his children to marry Chinese and not any others.He also would never answer any questions on or about his childhood etc. My husband has always said its just the way it was and was always telling me please dont ask to many questions (its a respect thing). My husband did read this book also and knows of many of the key characters. When he finished it he said "You get it now?" And yes I do. He was able to share with me all of the family (secrets) history without shame or fear. Thank you Mr. Lee for giving him the courage to release all of this that has been bottled up for so many years. Also Thank you for helping me to better understand and respect my Father-in-law and his past.