Mambo in Chinatown
of Jean Kwok (Goodreads Author)
Description
From the bestselling author of Girl in Translation, a novel about a young woman torn between her family duties in Chinatown and her escape into the world of ballroom dancing.Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Wong grew up in New York’s Chinatown, the older daughter of a Beijing ballerina and a noodle maker. Though an ABC (America-born Chinese), Charlie’s entire world has been limited to this small area. Now grown, she lives in the same tiny apartment with her widower father and her eleven-year-old sister, and works—miserably—as a dishwasher.But when she lands a job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio, Charlie gains access to a world she hardly knew existed, and everything she once took to be certain turns upside down. Gradually, at the dance studio, awkward Charlie’s natural talents begin to emerge. With them, her perspective, expectations, and sense of self are transformed—something she must take great pains to hide from her father and his suspicion of all things Western. As Charlie blossoms, though, her sister becomes chronically ill. As Pa insists on treating his ailing child exclusively with Eastern practices to no avail, Charlie is forced to try to reconcile her two selves and her two worlds—Eastern and Western, old world and new—to rescue her little sister without sacrificing her newfound confidence and identity.
Gender
Main Characters
Book Details
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 384 pages
- Publisher Riverhead Books
- Publication Date June 24th 2014
- First Publication 06/01/14
- Language English
- ISBN 9781594632006
- Edition Not informed
- Category Fiction
- Scenario []
Rate this work
🔒 Log in to evaluate this book.
Share your opinion with other readers. Your feedback is very important!
AI-Powered Recommendations
Based on your reading of "Mambo in Chinatown", our dual AI algorithms suggest these titles. ⚡ FAISS Baseline 🧠 PyTorch Enhanced
Top Picks For You
🎯 Smart Selection
How do we choose these recommendations?
Similar Style Recommendations
Books with similar themes, authors, and writing styles to what you're reading now.
Smart AI Matches
Our advanced AI finds books you might love based on deeper patterns and reader preferences.
