1968: Eye Hotel: A Novella

by Karen Tei Yamashita

"Eye Hotel" is the first novella of I Hotel, a National Book Award finalist and epic of America’s struggle for civil rights as it played out in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Yamashita’s cast of students, laborers, artists, revolutionaries, and provocateurs make their way through the history of the day, caught in riptides of politics and passion, clashing ideologies and personal turmoil.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

123 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2014

About the author

Born January 8, 1951 in Oakland, California, Karen Tei Yamashita is a Japanese American writer and Associate Professor of Literature at University of California, Santa Cruz, where she teaches creative writing and Asian American literature. Her works, several of which contain elements of magic realism, include novels I Hotel (2010), Circle K Cycles (2001), Tropic of Orange (1997), Brazil-Maru (1992), and Through the Arc of the Rain Forest (1990). Tei Yamashita's novels emphasize the absolute necessity of polyglot, multicultural communities in an increasingly globalized age, even as they destabilize orthodox notions of borders and national/ethnic identity.

She has also written a number of plays, including Hannah Kusoh, Noh Bozos and O-Men which was produced by the Asian American theatre group, East West Players.

Yamashita is a finalist for the 2010 National Book Award for I Hotel.

Reviews

[YZ]

There's a chapter written entirely in present tense to evoke certain Asian languages.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novella that makes up the 10 novella novel "Eye Hotel" (I Hotel = the International Hotel in San Francisco's Chinatown, an SRO filled mostly with old bachelors). The publishing history is all rather vague - were all 10 published at once, in one volume (which I just placed an order for the other day), or year by year (this is one of the 3 novellas that are available as stand-alone ebooks)?
1968, and the beginning of "Yellow Power" and the student/faculty uprising at San Fransisco State University, and its clueless University President S. I. Hayakawa.
A fair amount of engagement regarding the enchantment at the time with Mao's theories and practice. At times Yamashita (now in her 70's, so she lived through this) is unclear about her attitude towards this. There is a trip to China by some characters in the book, and it does seem at times she understands that the Cultural Revolution would have had her working in the rice paddies in some rural community. At other times she quotes Mao without criticism or irony.
For a short novel (about 140 pp as an ebook), she fits an awful lot in here. And it is interesting to read about the radicalization of some of SF's Asian community, and the the beginnings of their reclaiming early Asian-American cultural history. I found a few books in here (the "fiction" is partly autobiographical and partly history as well) that I want to read, including a collection of stories by Cultural Revolution writer/hero Lu Hsun.
But it does seem odd that of the 2 main characters who are radicals in here, one lives well off the rental properties that his father left him, and the other lives in a beautiful 3 story home in Marin that his late wife, a Baroness, left him - and races cars for a hobby!
It reads like something from that '60's period - Kesey and Brautigan. Different ways of presenting events within the short text, including quoting larger portions of other authors' texts, and changing narrators.
Informative, interesting, innovative, Leftist. I am looking forward to reading the next (but maybe not all 10) of the novellas.
3 out of 5.

[James Garman · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, let me make two confessions. The first one is that I stopped reading this about 20 pages from the end. The reason for that is that it was too confusing for me. It was apparently, a novelized look at Chinese communism as lived in Chinatown in San Fran over two-three generations. The main characters seemed to be all communists and trying to "get back to their Chinese roots".

But like I said, it was not very easy for me to follow.

I only recommend this work to people who understand the logic behind the Chinese American relationship with communism, with Mao's philosophy etc. I am giving three stars because I realize that most of my confusion is my lack of understanding and that others might find it more logical and understandable.

[J.Istsfor Manity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading, great sense of time and place, and a very engaging look at this cultural milieu. Don’t know if I’ll read all ten, but will definitely read 1970: I Hotel next.

[Robert McTague · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ignore all the One Star reviews

Provocative, disruptive, well- researched and convincing. Only part 1 of 10, but still had a strong ending/worth reading as a stand alone. Made me want to read the rest.

[Khris Sellin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept but I got lost in certain parts of the story.