| Description |
146 pages ; 21 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Note |
Place of publication from publisher's website. |
| Summary |
In the title story of this timely and innovative collection, a young woman wearing a Prada coat attempts to redeem a coupon for plastic storage bins while her in-laws are at home watching the Chinese news and taking her private phone calls. It is the lively and wise juxtaposition of cultures, generations, and emotions that characterize May-lee Chai's amazing stories. Within them, readers will find a complex blend of cultures spanning China, the Chinese diaspora in America, and finally, the world at large. With luminous prose and sharp-eyed observations, Chai reveals her characters' hopes and fears, and our own: a grieving historian seeking solace from an old lover in Beijing, a young girl discovering her immigrant mother's infidelity, workers constructing a shopping mall in central China who make a shocking discovery. Families struggle with long-held grudges, reinvent traditions, and make mysterious visits to shadowy strangers from their past--all rendered with economy and beauty. With hearts that break and sometimes mend, with families who fight and sometimes forgive, the timely stories in Useful Phrases for Immigrants illuminate complicated lives with empathy and passion. |
| Contents |
Useful phrases for immigrants -- Fish boy -- Ghost festivals -- The body -- Canada -- The lucky day -- First Carvel in Beijing -- Shouting means I love you -- Acknowledgments. |
| Subject |
Short stories, American.
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Chinese Americans -- Fiction.
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Chinese -- Migrations -- Fiction.
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Chinese -- United States -- Fiction.
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Interpersonal realtions -- Fiction.
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Group identity -- Fiction.
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Chinese. (OCoLC)fst00857169
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Chinese Americans. (OCoLC)fst00857249
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Chinese -- Migrations.
(OCoLC)fst01750753
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Group identity. (OCoLC)fst00948442
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Short stories, American. (OCoLC)fst01117064
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United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155 |
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FICTION / Cultural Heritage.
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FICTION / Short Stories (single author).
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FICTION / Asian American.
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| Genre |
Short stories.
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Short stories.
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Fiction. (OCoLC)fst01423787
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Short stories. (OCoLC)fst01726740
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| Added Title |
Short stories. Selections
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| Related To |
Online version: Chai, May-Lee. Useful phrases for immigrants. Durham, NC : Blair, [2018] 9781949467093 (DLC) 2018035306 |
| ISBN |
9780932112767 paperback alkaline paper : $16.95 |
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0932112765 paperback alkaline paper |
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