Skip to main content

Book Review: The Loneliest Americans

Editor's note: This review was originally published in San Francisco Review of Books



Jay Caspian Kang


Asian American identity is complicated by generational experiences and economic aspirations in a society that primarily views race from the perspectives of Blacks and Whites. This is the thesis that Jay Caspian Kang lays out in The Loneliest Americans, a piercing and thought-provoking read that combines personal accounts and self-scrutiny with a crash history course about the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. Asians are the loneliest Americans because, despite painful attempts at assimilation, society is indifferent to invisibility and racial violence endured by the vast diasporic community, especially the working poor and others who are living in poverty.

This book is a compelling read for Asian Americans of all generations who are navigating current racial dynamics, distinct from the immigrant’s optimism toward America’s promises of freedom, democracy, and capitalism. His appeal to Asians about forging a social identity informed by race and class consciousness is prudent. Reading Kang’s text from the lens of a Filipino immigrant who has been a part of pan-Asian solidarity movements, I understand the melancholy of finding a place in America’s complex racial stratification. By sharing many personal anecdotes, Kang gives the reader a palpable way to empathize with all-too-common Asian American experiences of being perceived as a high-achieving model minority, while also being held back because of racism.

 

Buy from Bookshop.org

 

Popular posts from this blog

Lucky Tomorrow: Stories

Deborah Jiang-Stein's debut collection of short stories explores the lives of people who are often overlooked. From flower street vendors to families torn apart by ambition, to a woman on death row awaiting redemption amidst a tumult of memories, Jiang-Stein vividly depicts their struggles. Each story is set in various cities where she has lived: Seattle, Minneapolis, and Tokyo. While these settings differ, they share a common indifference toward human suffering. In "Lucky Tomorrow, " each vignette offers a glimpse into harsh realities that are often difficult to confront, yet are grounded in the lived experiences of those frequently unseen and cast aside. The stories convey powerful themes of longing and fleeting hopes for fresh starts that may never arrive. Although the themes are specific to the characters, they resonate with the universal human experience. As an activist and advocate, Jiang-Stein has made a significant impact through her extensive work with women...

Memento - Embracing the Darkness

Dennis "Dizzy" Doan Stories about overcoming and persevering through family dysfunction, poverty, and mental health challenges offer hope and the promise of better days. Dennis “Dizzy” Doan’s memoir Memento: Embracing the Darkness is one such story, with the added complexity of being raised in an immigrant Vietnamese family. Doan’s parents dealt with the mental and emotional aftermath of war, which forcibly uprooted them from their homeland. In the United States, they struggled to create a safe and stable life for their two sons. Doan shares his journey of finding himself, his craft, and eventually a successful tattoo business in Southern California despite personal strife and run-ins with the law. Doan is best known for developing the aesthetic language to combat anti-Asian hate that erupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His art series titled “Model Minority” went viral, sparking conversation about Asian American identities and harmful stereotypes. In Memento, Doan showcase...

Medicine Wheel for the Planet

Jennifer Grenz, PhD       Working toward ecological healing requires awareness of how Indigenous ancestral knowledge and living ways can complement Western scientific approaches to environmental restoration and protection practices. Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaxa’pamux mixed ancestry) worked for more than two decades as a field researcher and practitioner for environmental nonprofit organizations, where she worked with different levels of government, including First Nations in Canada. "Medicine Wheel for the Planet" compiles Grenz’s most potent realizations about the lack of forward movement in addressing an impending ecological catastrophe.  A warming climate impacts not only human lives but also the natural balance that relies on reciprocal relationships rooted in deep connections to the land. She uses the metaphor of the four directions of the Indigenous “medicine wheel” to invite openness to Indigenous teachings, letting go of colonial narratives, merging lessons f...