China Boy [Paperback]

“What a knockout. An incredibly rich and new voice or American literature…China Boygrabs the reader’s heart and won’t let go… A wonder of a story.”—Amy Tan, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Joy Luck Club

Kai Ting is the only American-born son of an aristocratic Mandarin family that fled China in the wake of Mao’s revolution. Growing up in San Francisco’s ghetto, Kai is caught between two worlds—embracing neither the Chinese nor the American way of life. After his mother’s death, Kai is suddenly plunged into American culture by his new stepmother, a Philadelphia society woman who tries to erase every vestige of China from the household. Warm, funny, and deeply moving,China Boyis a brilliantly rendered novel of family relationships, culture shock, and the perils of growing up in an America of sharp differences and shared humanity.“What a knockout. An incredibly rich and new voice or American literature…China Boygrabs the reader’s heart and won’t let go… A wonder of a story.”—Amy Tan, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Joy Luck Club
 
“It would be hard to find a more all-American story than the delightfulChina Boy. Lee is a natural storyteller.”—TIME
 
“Marvelous… one small boy’s adjustment to Western culture… a pure delight.”—The Washington Post Book World
 
“A robust, startling book… hilariously poignant… a fascinating, evocative portrait of the Chinese community in California in the 1950s, caught between two complex, demanding cultures.”—The New York Times Book ReviewGus Leeis the only American-born member of a Shanghai family. He grew up in San Francisco and attended West Point fol£­