A collection, by Don Lee, of short stories tied together by the setting in the common fictional community of Rosarita Bay, the intermingling of cultures from various Asian communities emphasizes the cultural divide.
Some of the stories are evocative, some disturbing, some plain meandering, pointless and boring. What compels you to continue, though, is the common thread that makes you revisit the individual story lines in your head as you continue on.
I suppose it bothered me initially that Lee paints all Asians--Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc--with the same broad brushstrokes, thereby confirming the phrase "I cant tell them apart" ringing in my ears from scenes of my childhood. As I mull it over, however, I am left to conclude that it is not Lee's vantage point that is wrong so much as the broad paintbrush of prejudice that colours all Asians the same and the inherent fault then lies with the eye of he beholder, not the perceptive angst of the author.
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