China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry

by Judy Fong Bates

A chorus of immigrant voices populates Judy Fong Bates's graceful and poignant first collection. Denizens of the ubiquitous small towns around Ontario, as far from their native land as can be imagined yet united by their proximity to the local Chinese laundry, her characters have in common their driving desire to assimilate, to fit in, to belong to a "majority" culture. But they are also people trapped by a certain cultural pride in confronting a world that may feign acceptance while at the same time reminding them that they are "other." In the words of the Toronto Globe and Mail, Judy Fong Bates's "deceptively simple narratives expose the hopes and hardships that define her characters' lives." Her graceful writing is full of compassion, insight, and honesty; it opens our eyes to the commonality of what it is to be human.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Canada, China, Anthologies, Cultural, Adult

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Judy Fong-Bates is a Chinese-Canadian author who was was born in China. She came to Canada in 1955 with her mother after her father was established in Ontario. Her father operated a hand laundry when they came to Canada. She grew up to become an elementary school teacher in the city of Toronto, and has also taught creative writing at the University of Toronto. She currently lives with her husband on a farm in Southern Ontario.

Midnight at the Dragon Cafe was chosen as a notable book in 2006 but the American Library Association; in 2008 it received the Alex Award.

Reviews

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Owning a laundry or restaurant seems to be the fate of Chinese immigrants coming to Canada or America from the late 50's onward. These plot driven stories always had a Chinese restaurant or laundry as a central feature. (Fong also wrote a novel about growing up in a Chinese restaurant in a small town in Ottawa that was chosen as "One Toronto's" book). Strong characters often reappear throughout the collection. Each character is well developed and certainly reflect the experiences, not necessary good, of the Chinese in small town Canada.

[harmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judy Fong Bates delivers eight heartfelt and poignant stories of Chinese immigrants in Canada in this debut collection. Each story includes characters that are linked through businesses in a small Ontario town, with different years and point of views all throughout, usually handled with nuance. Seeing the build-up of the setting along with its protagonists and supporting characters made for a satisfying reading experience, even if the stories sometimes shied away from heavier scenes or more intense subject matter.

On that note, the weakest part of the collection was the author’s penchant to gloss over major scenes that were needed to anchor the emotional weight of the story. “Lucky Wedding,” “The Good Luck Café,” and “The Ghost Wife” were some examples of these. The endings came suddenly and without a clear realization of how plot points were actually resolved for its characters. Skipping over parts of a climax doesn’t make the denouement nearly as enjoyable. Judy Fong Bates could have definitely beefed up each story in that regard, and maybe paid a bit more attention to the eloquence and diction of her prose. Sometimes I found typoes that took me out of the story, though this was not detrimental to her overall narratives. I will be picking up her debut novel, hoping for more breadth and sophistication in a full-length work.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry is an anthology of short stories written by Judy Fong Bates. The main theme of this anthology conveys the immigrant experience, particularly those from East-Asian decent and centered on Laundromats and restaurants and the people that own and use them.

For the most part, I really like these contributions. Having moved to Canada from China as a child, Bates conveys the immigrant experience in generally straightforward terms in this group of eight tales set in rural Ontario, which are centered mainly on Laundromats and restaurants that many East-Asian immigrants opened and owned.

Like most anthologies, there are weaker contributions and China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry is no exception. However, there was a couple of short stories that was mediocrity done in comparison to the rest, but it did not ruin my enjoyment of reading this anthology.

All in all, China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry is a wonderful collection of short stories that captures the immigrant experience in a small town from the East-Asian perspective rather well.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are all well-written, but really depressing. The deal with how bleak life is like for Chinese Canadians, trying to forge a life in small town Ontario. Some deal with the expectations of traditional parents with their non-traditional children. I thought the stories had got a little less full of despair, and then Bates finished off with probably the worst yet.

Well-written stories with a lot of insight into how it is to grow up isolated in a new country, trying to balance the old ways with the new reality, but not a book for those looking for a light read, or a little escape reading.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short stories of this book. However, I felt that from all the other books that I have read about how Chinese people try to adapt and make a living in Canada, this was just the tip of the iceberg. Most books were more in depth of what happens and how superstitious things got. If someone was looking for a quick beginners knowledge of how they lived, this may be the book to read. But definitely not one to bring more knowledge of the culture.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small towns around Ottawa, have a unique story teller in China Dog by Judy Fong Bates. Many different voices of the Chinese immigrant to Canada create communities abroad as if they were at home, especially when it comes to social responsibilities, do and don't and superstitions. Sad, tragic, funny, hopeful and always real, this is a great collection.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was intriguing as it consisted of a variety of stories of Chinese immigrants during their early years in Canada. Each story had a different twist, some of them were hard to see coming, but some of them were a bit predictable. I enjoyed reading about how some of the individuals overcame their obstacles as they became more assimilated into Canadian society. It was truly an eye-opener to read about how others survived when they felt hopeless.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

very nice collection of short stories on chinese immigrant families in small town Ontario. Some of the stories weren't as 'relatable' to me because they were a generation/era prior to my existence lol or I didn't have that personal small town experience. I enjoyed the last few the most, especially the lucky wedding and the good luck café

very happy I stumbled upon it at value village!!

[Rita Van Der Puije · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book… honestly the last two pages added two stars ⭐️ ⭐️
I’m a little skeptical (?) of the complete avoidance on the traumas of suicide and depression in marginalized communities that are key plot lines in the book…

[richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-observed set of stories around the titular theme. The most interesting segments speak to the challenges of being multicultural when each culture is indifferent or hostile toward the other, and the variation in experience depending on the age of the person immigrating.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this slim volume of Chinese/Canadian stories. Always worried about the lo fon (foreigners) stories are filled with tasty food, weddings, bullying, illnesses. I stretched this one out.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is beautiful and heartbreaking in every short story.

[Christy Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are wonderful and absorbing short stories. The characters are fully fleshed out and you end up thinking about them after the story is over.

[Olivia]

for school

[Lucile Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

164. China Dog by Judy Fong Bates
I had read this before, but it is well worth a second reading. The author portrays life in small town Ontario for Chinese immigrants in the fifties and sixties. Two brothers who work in their father’s restaurant have one coat between them. A beautiful sister comes from China and falls in love with the wrong man. A young man comes to work with his uncle in a laundry, is tormented by young toughs in the town, and realizes he may never see his family in China again, even though his mother is dying. A daughter falls in love with the wrong man and tongues wag. Another daughter marries a non-Chinese man and learns how little she knows of real Chinese tradition when she decides to have only a small reception instead of a banquet. In one of the last stories, a daughter moves her mother from a small town to her home in the city to take care of her and the old lady seems very lost and alone. Very well done, although a lot of it saddens me.

[Lisa Llamrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

"China Dog and Other Stories" is a collection of short stories centring on the Chinese immigrant experience in small town Ontario. Among the stories: a young girl anxiously awaits the arrival from China of her sister, a mail-order bride falls in love with the wrong brother, tragic consequences for a woman desperate to deflect her husband's bad luck.

I liked the book, but I didn't love it. I suspect that is largely due to the fact that I am not a fan of the short story genre.

The stories were all well written, and the characters are sympathetic and compelling. Where "China Dog" really stands out is in its portrayal of the lives of immigrants in small towns, in stark contrast to most such stories that are set in San Francisco or Vancouver, where there are large, well-established communities of Chinese immigrants. Seeing the characters struggle in the near isolation of small towns creates a different level of empathy.

[Michiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could put 3 1/2, I would. I liked it, but it didn't quite rank up there with my other 4 star books. Part of the reason I liked it is that I like reading about Chinese immigrant experience, and also I like short stories. And then, it is well-written. That always puts a book on the plus side for me.

The collection reminded me a lot of Amy Tan's books, but the characters seemed a little more sane and civil than Tan's.

I think this collection gave me a whole new outlook on the people, actual people, who run the Chinese restaurants and laundries. It is the kind of book I would like my boys to read someday. This is not to say that the book is preachy in any way, because it isn't, but it just puts faces and personalities to those that we don't see.

[Nicole]

I love this book. The author brought humor and history of the Chinese People who come to the US for a better life but still long to return to their homes in China. The author had me laughing almost througout the book but it also brought tears. It is a reminder of what the difficulties immigrants face when they come to this country for a better life and how they have to struggle not only with a language that is difficult to understand and learn to speak but also in having to deal with the prejudices because they look and dress differently then us.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judy Fong Bate's collection of short stories, 'China Dog: And Other Tales from a Chinese Laundry,' has simmered on my wish list for three years, ever since I read her letter collection: Midnight at the Dragon Cafe. I'm glad I finally found the chance to read it. It consists of eight very readable/enjoyable short stories about immigrant life in small town Canada: An interesting perspective.

Recommendation: Both collections are well worth reading. Enjoy.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful series of narratives that are connected by the threads of many characters. Bates depicts several stories of the Chinese Canadian immigrant experiences and the sorrows, struggles, and successes of each. This is a book that should be taught in schools as part of "Canadian" literature as a narrative that writes against the dominant ideology of what is taught as Canadian works of literature (which largely exclude and ignore the immigrant and POC narrative or voice).

[Tabitha Krug · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of stories about the Cantonese experience immigrating and making a life in small town Canada, set between the 50s and 80s, I believe. A little different from the experiences I'm used to reading about set in San Francisco, but no big surprises. Great story telling, though--I read most of it in one sitting. (It's pretty short)

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book of short stories by Canadian writer, Judy Fong Bates. I love to read about the Chinese immigrant experience, especially altering having lived in China for the last 5 months. The driving desire to assimilate: Bates shows this well. Don't we all have that desire, whether we are immigrants or not?

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by the time spanning all the short stories bound in this book, which document Chinese immigrant experiences in Canada and several areas around the USA. Reading it while in China gave it a whole new meaning that has bored its way into my brain forever.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short stories that definitely gets stronger in the last couple of pieces... I enjoyed the way that all of the stories featured a restaurant or a laundromat and as you went along, there were connections between all of them.

[Margaret Fast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating stories. Writing somewhat uneven; seemed to improve as book progressed. Clear that Chinese immigrant experience mostly excludes lo fan; none ever have any substance. There is also a sameness to many of the stories which is not surprising but they are not "officially" connected.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bee, I'll pass this one on to you!

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

CHINA -

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice compendium of immigrant tales.