Welcome to Chinatown, Chinese New Year in San Francisco. Everybody's birthday. The lantern festival of the fifteenth day. Welcome home. Crashing Cantonese opera, dancing lions, comic book heroes, and a childhood among partying pagans. Donald Duk is a twelve-year-old kid with a name he doesn't like and a family that doesn't deserve him. As this novel opens, Donald would rather be Fred Astaire than the son of a Chinatown restaurateur. In this robust and vigorous work, Donald learns to see himself more clearly as he, and we, see his culture free of distorting stereotypes.
Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California, but was raised to the age of six by a retired Vaudeville couple in Placerville, California. At six his mother brought him back to the San Francisco Bay Area to live in Oakland Chinatown. He attended college at the University of California, Berkeley. He received an American Book Award in 1989 for a collection of short stories, and another in 2000 for Lifetime Achievement. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Chin is considered to be one of the pioneers in Asian American theatre. He founded the Asian American Theatre Workshop, which became the Asian American Theater Company in 1973. He first gained notoriety as a playwright in the 1970s. His play The Chickencoop Chinaman was the first by an Asian American to be produced on a major New York stage. Stereotypes of Asian Americans, and traditional Chinese folklore are common themes in much of his work. Frank Chin has accused other Asian American writers, particularly Maxine Hong Kingston, of furthering such stereotypes and misrepresenting the traditional stories. Chin, during his professional career, has been highly critical of American writer, Amy Tan, for her telling of Chinese-American stories, indicating that her body of work has furthered and reinforced stereotypical views of this group.
In addition to his work as an author and playwright, Frank Chin has also worked extensively with Japanese American resisters of the draft in WWII. His novel, Born in the U.S.A., is dedicated to this subject.
Chin is also a musician. In the mid-1960s, he taught Robbie Krieger, a member of The Doors how to play the Flamenco guitar.
Though this book was comical at times, it was otherwise a flat read. The message wasn't hard to discern, however in his writing, Chin didn't utilize techniques that had the power to influence my heart. Furthermore, while Chin argues against prejudice by race he includes oppression by class and gender. Overall this novel won't leave a lasting impression. Susan B. Richardson explained in her critique "The Lessons of Donald Duk": “Ironically, the implied author does not learn by his own example, for he ignores King Duk’s effective instructional method of allowing Donald to discover truths for himself. King guides and gently chides, but Donald himself does the research in the library, dreams the dreams of history, and reaches his own conclusions. By contrast, the author allows his audience little scope for the imaginative work of discovering meaning; in his rage for the audience to ‘get it right’, the author imposes control, homogenizes ethnic experience, and banishes ambiguity.”
This is the story of Donald Duk, a twelve-year-old in San Francisco's Chinatown who wants nothing more than to escape the claustrophobia of his family, his neighborhood, and his funny-sounding identity. But when he steals and burns one of his father's model airplanes before the Chinese New Year, he (with his friend Arnold Azalea) begins a journey of discovery that will blend the edges between dreams and reality and the present and the past, and transform his life. Frank Chin's novel is a glorious, rushing, poetic masterpiece that carries the reader along with incredible, noisy, chaotic setpieces and quiet moments of reflection and awakening. Highly recommended, and criminally overlooked.
I am absolutely certain that to a certain demographic, this work is a stroke of genius. The question, as is usual when someone states this, is: How vanishingly small is this demographic?
As a Cantonese American man who’s spent extensive time in San Francisco and once took a course on Asian American literature, I am barely on the fringe of this demographic. I have a fuller appreciation of this book much more than most people; it’s much like how I ‘get’ more out of “Shaolin Soccer” and Hong Kong cinema. But as I merrily traipsed over the contents of this book, I could feel a dark cloud forming. “Oh boy”, I told myself, “I am going to have to write an apologetic, aren’t I?” Well, I don’t want to -- Not today, anyway. Frank Chin probably wouldn’t want that anyway. Four stars to me, sure, but a scathingly critical review for you and the angry horde of readers who feel differently.
If any book could benefit from a foreword, afterword, references, and a gallery, it’s this book. A foreword because Chin narrates with a uniquely fast-paced and jarring voice. He’s a playwright, if that’s any justification for this. An afterword to expand on the book’s atypical themes: Taking pride in being a Chinaman, and on a meta-level, writing or reading about Asian America with authenticity. It needs references to expand on all the foreign words that this book introduced without necessary details. I still don’t know what “Jerng Putt Fong” is, and I’ll probably have to figure it out from my parents when I see them (I can’t google it: Chin doesn’t use standard romanization). And it needs a gallery -- well, it wouldn’t need a gallery if Chin had taken his time to fully describe places like “City Lights Bookstore” and “Russian Hill”, but Chinatown is painted as if we walked its streets daily.
If I had to guess why none of these contextual aids are included, I would guess that it’s fully intentional. No, it’s not fully intended to drive you mad and make you drop your Asian American literature course; It’s intended to put you in awe of a mysterious culture that you can just barely begin to imagine. Much like the excessive use of food pornography, it’s there to make you hungry for more. And then you will want to go seek out more yourself.
My other main point of contention is that the plot is rather predictable and uninteresting. I do share the opinion that plot serves character development, but it should do that by throwing in a few flummoxing challenges in an unstable environment. As you are introduced to Duk’s loving family and friends, you have every bit of confidence that the supporting cast will protect this child from getting shot or institutionalized. And if you have the faintest recollection of American history, you have no doubt that his dreams about the railroad will climax at Promontory Point with the main takeaway being that Chinamen helped build this country. Plots, unlike railroads, are best with a few twists.
Anyway, you might be wondering why I’m personally sold on this book: At the end of the day it offers an unequivocating and independent view of the troubles of growing up in an Asian American culture. It certainly has nothing to do with Chinese school, regular school, or pianos, but it’s the same underlying feelings of being worthless, being an outsider, being misunderstood and being picked on. To me, this book is that friend you’re rooting for because he changes the narrative with his eccentricity. And you secretly hope, perhaps for your sake more than his, that he will eventually be validated and popular.
If General Tso's chicken could dance with Ginger Rogers, the result would be Donald Duk, one of the sweetest and most genuine protagonists I've ever met. This 11 yearold is the Holden Caulfield of 2nd generation Chinese immigrant.
Not always easy to follow, but I liked the style, and enjoyed some of the author's other stuff. I'm glad this was required reading for a class way back in the day, because I probably wouldnt have found this book otherwise. The dreams were fun, and the descriptions were offkey, in a quirky way that maintained the serious tine at times. I talked with people in my class and totally understand why people don't like this book, but I can't fault it for being what it is.
Loved this book. It cracked me up. The voice is great. It was totally satisfying to hear the smart, thoughtful, observant voice of a 12-year-old Chinese American boy growing up in S.F.
The way Chin weaves in history about the building of the transcontinental railroad by Chinese workers is impressive and fantastic, as is the way he weaves in the mythology about the rebel soldiers of the Water Margin and Three Kingdom's Kwan Kun.
I learned so much, and as an ABC myself, the history and insight made me feel even more proud of my heritage. Corny, I know, but true.
Chin segues in and out of dream sequences to tell the history of the railroad workers and the ancient Chinese mythology. Risky. But he pulls it off.
Yes, there are passages and parts that are probably more dense and clunky than necessary, but it didn't take me out of the story.
It just pisses me off that more people don't know about this book. It should be taught in schools. Name a book by an Asian American male that is taught in schools, or colleges, or is known by most well read readers. Exactly.
Having read it and met the author back in college was a privilege. He even read parts of it at a talk at UCR because of my interest, but I was not able to attend - having had to work at my parents' restaurant at the time. I felt so bad. People told me about his reading though. It was an honor he made the effort for me. I should have connected more with the Asian American writing community.
At first, I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this book because of the simplicity of the language, but the further I read, the more I was hooked. Although the main character, Donald Duk, makes me angry for a large part of the story, the story itself is a beautiful representation of the Chinese culture and how someone who grows up in a specific culture has to learn to appreciate it on their own. I love the descriptions of the Chinese New Year traditions and the cultural aspects that are incorporated into everyday life for a Chinese-American family. The author was racially and culturally conscious in a way that does not take away from the narrative. The characters are unique and the story exciting. My one critique is that the book focuses mostly on the historical education at the end where I wish there was more modern narrative.
What a nice surprise. Tim left me this book from one of his college classes. A very warm story about a young Chinese American coming of age in San Francisco. It takes place over Chinese New Years as his father prepares for the celebrations. His father runs a restaurant in chinatown.
Donald was born and raised in San Fran and as most 11-12 year olds is embarrassed by his parents and his heritage. He hates being different from the others in his private school and shows no respect for things Chinese. Over a two week period he comes to see things in a new and more mature light.
Chin has a wonderful way of sounding very real even when being whimsical. Somehow it all works and leaves the reader with a slightly melancholic smile on their face.
Frank Chin is not an easy read. This coming of age novel is a rollercoaster of dream sequences and booming family gatherings and conversations. There were touching parts, devastating parts, hilarious parts, and wtf moments that had me going back two pages to figure out where the hell I got lost. Ultimately, I enjoyed Donald Duk's story and found a lot of his journey recognizable.
I think Chin is an important writer, even if his storytelling can leave you feeling adrift at times. I recommend this if you want a challenge. I think it's worth it.
I am incredibly glad I found this book. It tackles so many topics relevant to my relationship with being Chinese American such as self hatred, being uncomfortable in a space you have ever right to be in, working with allies, and how others interpret people of Asian descent. Chin also presents Chinese American history in America and Chinese literary history in a new, empowering way. I wish I had this book when I was Donald's age (12).
San Francisco's Chinatown is a mystery and it's home to Donald Duk, caught between heritage dreams of glory and might, the unrelenting forced labor of building the railroad and just being a kid trying to keep his head up in the streets. Loved it, and waited way too long to read Frank Chin's Donald Duk.
I liked the idea of it, but I didn't like the execution of it. A Chinese boy hating his family and ethnicity, discovering a part of US history that has been false and incorrect, and which links to his own family. It had some good parts but overall way too confusing and cluttered.
Frank Chin's quirky story centering around "12-yr-old" Donald Duk, and his family in San Francisco's Chinatown on a memorable Chinese New Year, with dreams of the Transcontinental Railroad. Fun stuff, easy to read.
an exploration on masculinity and accepting/understanding your culture, through a set of dreams shown to the main character, donald duk!
don’t be fooled: this is not a quick read. it can get confusing at times with the swift shifts from dreams to reality. definitely had to pay close attention.
Title: Donald Duk Author: Frank Chin Series: n/a Publisher: Coffee House Press Publication Date: January 1991 Genre(s): Fiction, Middle-grade, Asian-American Rating: 1.5 stars
Opening Line:
Who would believe anyone named Donald Duk dances like Fred Astaire?
Donald Duk hates his name. Not only does he hate his name, but he hates his entire culture. The only thing Donald Duk cares about it dancing and becoming as great as Fred Astaire. He lives in Chinatown in San Francisco and goes to school with both white kids and Chinese kids — neither of which particularly like Donald Duk. His only friend is Arnold Azalea, a white boy who is fascinated by Donald’s culture. Donald is about to turn twelve, a very important age in Chinese culture, so this Chinese New Year is very important for him. But Donald is the only one in Chinatown who isn’t excited about the New Year and can’t understand what’s so good about being Chinese until he starts having dreams from the past…
I’m being forced to take an Asian-American literature class this semester. Sadly, it is my only lit class. I’m not very familiar with this genre, so I’m excited to see if this class leaves a good impression on me. We started out with Donald Duk, so, obviously we’re not off to a great start. I was completely underwhelmed by this novel. Donald Duk is told in third-person and focuses on the Duk family. There wasn’t much of a plot. I mean, there was, but it was so poorly executed. Donald hates being Chinese — he totally hates his culture and thinks his family is nuts. Over the course of the novel, Donald has these dreams that slowly change his mind about the Chinese and he discovers himself and completes his character arc and all that jazz. But it’s so hard to follow. I didn’t know what was going on half the time. When his dreams first started, I had no idea why he was in one place and then randomly in another. The story just bounced back and forth really strangely and I kind of hated it. I really just thought the whole thing was boring. I understood the importance of the theme and the realness of Donald’s situation, but Chin did not do a good job of conveying his message. To be honest, I skimmed a good chunk of this novel and I’m not proud of that, but reading 2 pages seemed like reading 20. It was dull.
The Duk family is totally nuts. I mean, who names their character Donald Duk? And his dad is King Duk. His mom? Daisy Duk. So many puns… His sisters, Venus and Penelope, are twins and so obnoxiously similar it’s hard to differentiate. And let’s not forget Uncle Donald Duk, young Donald’s namesake. Basically the characters are really weird. Literally all the characters are weird. I don’t know. I didn’t really connect with anyone. And that’s typically an issue I have with novels about cultures other than mine. This is the same issue I faced with Native-American literature last semester when I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I haven’t experienced these kinds of cultural issues, therefore I find it difficult to relate to the characters. Maybe that makes me a bad person for steering clear of that type of literature, but I enjoy reading something I can relate to. I like to be informed and read outside my comfort zone too, but I’m typically let down. Like with this. Or Sherman Alexie. To each his own.
I’d never heard of Frank Chin before reading this. According to his bio on Goodreads, “Chin is considered to be one of the pioneers in Asian American theatre,” which is really cool. I also find it interesting that he contributed to writing a book called The Big Aiiieeeee!. However, as of right now, I am not a fan. Sorry, Chin. I thought the writing was really disjointed and strange. It just seemed like the story jumped around a lot. I found a lot of grammatical errors as well… I don’t know if that’s just my copy or if Chin didn’t have a very good editor, but it was so distracting. Mainly, I’m just really glad to have finished this thing. I’m hoping that class discussion on Monday will change my mind and maybe I’ll see this novel in a better light, but as of right now, I never want to read it again. The only fun thing about reading this book is getting to tell people, “Yeah, I’m reading Donald Duk” and seeing their reactions.