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 - "Is it possible to forgive ourselves the things we do?"I have mixed feelings about _Midnight athte Dragon Cafe_. I absolutely loved Bates' command of language and her languid, conversational tone as her character, Su-Jen narrates. The moods and emotions were so clearly expressed, I really felt I was with Su-Jen as she wrestled with the challenges and secrets she discovered through the course of the book. While I appreciated the gradual maturation of Su-Jen, her growing awareness of the wider world around her, and the secrets her family held, I really felt that the story didn't hit its stride until the final quarter of the book. Even when the book did hit its stride and plot points began to come together, the resolution to the myriad of conflicts were ultimately unstisfying. I had anticipated a stronger finish, given the repeated references to Su-Jen's fate and the constant tension between family members. I also think the underlying message Bates was suggesting - is it possible to forgive ourselves - could have been much more developed. I enjoyed the writing, but the story itself warrants only 3 stars. Rating:  - Touching "Midnight at the Dragon Cafe"I am a fourth generation Chinese American living in California. I loved this well written, lyrical and engaging book, and recommend it to all. I have not read much about the Chinese-Canadian immigrant experience, and this book was very rewarding in terms of telling the story of the Chinese in Canada in the background of the main story line. The characters are extremely vivid in the book, and one really cares about Su-Jen (aka Annie) right away. The author does a very good job of sketching the lonely life of this isolated Chinese family in this small Canadian town. I particularly felt she handled incidents of racial discrimination experienced by the sensitive Annie during elementary school very poignantly. You really feel for this little Chinese girl, stuck between this lovely unhappy mother, a frustrated and good looking half brother, a traditional but kindly father, and her Canadian white classmates. It is a great read. Rating: - Loved it. Now what?I recently finished this book and loved the way it was written, the use of language, the lessons of enduring truths of humanity, etc. It was very touching and I loved it. I read it aloud to my 16-year-old son. We have read a lot of books but now I'm stuck and need a recommendation on what to read next. Rating:  - Lack of detailWhat can I say, this book lacked all the details I wanted to read, and was pretty darn predictable to boot. I could tell that it was written by a foreigner because it never contained any "advanced" vocabulary. Always just kept mentioning the same food and the same feelings and the same blah blah blah...Enough. I'm done with this thing! Rating:  - The people behind the faces of the local Chinese-Canadian greasy spoonWith a quiet, unassuming elegance, Canadian-Chinese author Judy Fong-Bates sets the scene for her highly applauded debut novel, 'Midnight at the Dragon Cafe'. Perhaps this story touched me more acutely than most of its readers, as it called to mind what my father and his parents must have experienced during and after their immigration from Hong Kong to a little town in Canada in the mid-1950s. Every word to me was genuine, haunting, compelling... Little Su-Jen Chou (at the tender age of six), along with her beautiful yet bitter mother, immigrates to Canada from Communist China, to meet the father she has never known. A father who is the proprietor of the local Canadian-Chinese "greasy spoon". With Su-Jen mother constantly haunted with yearnings for her homeland, unpleasant family secrets uncovered, and the trials and challenges they face in a new and often-times unwelcoming land, Fong-Bates weaves a story full of heartbreak, tribulation and acceptance. Poignant in its simplicity and yet weighty in its inner complexities, 'Midnight at the Dragon Cafe' explores many social issues of the time, along with the disappointments, the pride, the sacrifices, and the triumphs of those who immigrated to Canada in search of something "better". Compelling and well written, Fong-Bates stunning first novel deserves a heaping spoonful of praise.
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