An Immigrant’s Eye on Life

Poverty, culture shock and bigotry – thus is the life of a young immigrant, who finds her greatest enemies may not be the strangers in her new world.

Kimberly Chang and her mother have come to America. They’ve arrived from Hong Kong with the aid of Kimberly’s aunt, who runs a sweatshop in Chinatown’s garment district. On the promise of a new life, 11-year-old Kim attends school with little knowledge of English. Her mother is forced to work in the factory for pennies as she pays off her debts to her sister. Kim is a very gifted child, but it seems nearly impossible to nurture her gifts and intelligence with such insurmountable obstacles.

Girl in Translation is an apt title for Jean Kwok’s debut novel. The story unveils the emergence of a confident and determined woman from a frightened school girl. It also relates a touching love story rooted in the many hardships facing immigrants today.  Kim’s story is about those struggles through poverty, racism, culture shock and the double life she is forced to live.

Yet if it were written with such an obvious plotline and tone, no one would read it.

Instead, Kwok’s simple story is laid out elegantly and quietly, with Kim narrating her story rather than simply complaining about her life. In the beginning, her antagonists are strangers who try to take advantage of the immigrants’ naïveté and desperation. As the story progresses, however, we begin to see that perhaps there are closer enemies at hand.

Kwok illustrates Kimberly’s world through a beautiful literary style, melding English with Chinese meaning in her poetic passages. She writes, “If possible, she was even more beautiful than ever in her sorrow, with limpid eyes that looked as if the world had drowned in them. She happened to look up. When she saw us, she seemed heartbroken, her grief so complete that it left no room for anger.”

An inspiring and beautiful novel in any language, Girl in Translation will prove an eye-opening journey into an often unexplored life.

By Tracey Henry

Henry is a published author whose work can be found at www.suburbandiva.com.