Yong (7/26): China Boy by Gus Lee

I read the sequel two years ago, during our first 26-in-52 pass. Finally, I get to the original. Kai Ting is the semi-autobiographical 5 year old incarnation of the author, getting his ass beat every day in the rough-and-tumble Panhandle in 1950s San Francisco, lost between worlds without any sort of anchor, neither Chinese nor American. Where he finally finds ground is in the kindness of strangers, and the YMCA. Really, the best way I can describe this book is the boy's version of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior. The plot ends straightforwardly, but along the way, we share in the experience of a deepened understanding of the old culture, the poignancy of the things lost by the older generation who came here, a guttural love of Chinese food, San Francisco history, male violence, family, loss, kindness... Good stuff. Really good stuff. And all before he even reaches eight years of age.