When My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon

by Frances Park

When her brother-in-law dies in a freak accident, Marcy Moon rushes to offer support and solace to her older sister Cleo. Their reunion opens the floodgates of family memory, and Marcy is forced to re-examine her childhood hero-worship for her older, glamorous sister, as well as her relationship with her strange, unassimilated mother, her own emotional affairs, and the cultural conflicts that arise from being first generation children of Korean immigrants. Like Amy Tan, Park conjures up her characters, and the clash of old and new cultures, with a faultless sense for where absurdity shades into heartbreak, and with perfect pitch for a whole range of wonderful voices. And there's a delightfully satisfying twist in the tail of the story, as we discover that our narrator - now running from her past in Indian territory in the Nevada desert - is less than reliable, and that her own weird ideas and easy sentiment are not the author's.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2001

About the author

I grew up in an era when the U.S. Census Bureau need only come to my family's house to get a total head count of Koreans in my ‘burb. That reality is often reflected in fourteen books by publishers big and small for readers young and old.

BLUE RICE (Vine Leaves Press/June 2024) is a timely tale of a young woman from northern Korea who takes what fate deals her following the Korean War, including her acclimation to 1960s America when her husband deserts her.

On the horizon is a children's book SUKA'S FARM (Albert Whitman/March 2025), a testament to a hungry Korean boy's desire to feed his family during the Japanese Occupation.

THE SUMMER MY SISTER WAS CLEOPATRA MOON (Heliotrope NYC/Sept 2023) is a revised and streamlined version of a novel originally published in 2000, long before the era of K-Pop and K-Dramas. A quarter century later, the Oscars have proven that stories about the Asian American experience have certainly come to light, and that audiences are receptive. That said, playing in my mind like vintage footage, I was always hoping that somehow, someday, I could bring the Moon family back to life, sisters Marcy and Cleo cruising around in that yellow Mustang on their way to Taco Town in the summer of '76. And here it is!

Other works include GRANDPA'S SCROLL (Albert Whitman/May 2023), my sixth co-authored children's book with sister Ginger, my includes my memoir THAT LONELY SPELL: STORIES OF FAMILY, FRIENDS & LOVE (Heliotrope NYC/2022) and CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE: THE TRUE STORY OF TWO SISTERS, TONS OF TREATS, AND THE LITTLE SHOP THAT COULD (Thomas Dunne/ 2011), Shorter works - stories and essays - have appeared in O: The Oprah Magazine, The Chicago Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, The London Magazine, Pleaides, Spirituality & Health Magazine, OZY, Slice, Folio, Gulf Coast Journal, and Arts & Letters, to name a few. One work earned a spot on THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2017 Notable List.

More co-authored and highly-praised children's books include MY FREEDOM TRIP: A CHILD'S ESCAPE TO NORTH KOREA (Boyds Mills Press/1998), winner of The International Reading Association Award; THE ROYAL BEE (Boyds Mills Press/2000), winner of The Joan B. Sugarman Award; and GOOD-BYE, 382 SHIN DANG DONG (National Geographic Children’s Books/2002), described by Newsweek magazine as "the perfect all-American story".

I've been interviewed on 'Good Morning America', CNN, the Diane Rehm Show, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and NPR.

When I'm not in writing mode, I'm at Chocolate Chocolate, a sweet boutique in Washington, DC breaking bonbons with customers. Books + Chocolate = A Dream Life!

Visit me at www.parksisters.com.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting story of two Korean-American sisters and their often strained relationship. It switches between present day and 1976, when the protagonist was 14. It is an interesting look at how Asian Americans were viewed in the late 70's and the struggle between sisters and their grief.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tender story from the perspective of the younger sister, in her early adolescence, somewhat awkward, self-described plain jane, who lives in the shadow of her worldly, free spirited older sister. Drifted apart after a tragic loss, their paths intersect in adulthood and both sisters come to a crossroads as they rediscover how they perceived each other in their younger days. Quirky, imperfect, characters whom I enjoyed discovering as pieces of their stories and who they were unfolded…

[Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, I read it back to back multiple times last year. I liked the 70s vibes, but it also hits on grief and sisterhood which I really loved.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole "naive, prudish, younger narrator telling the story of their older, wilder sibling/friend" thing is a trope that's totally overdone in coming-of-age stories, but one I pretty much love every time. But then I'm always disappointed by the "now it's 20 years later and we're Dealing With Our Issues" part of the story. So I loved the 1976 half of this book and was kinda bored with the present-day half.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. A bit too whoodoo and metaphysical nonsense for me, but a decent story of sisters. I really didn't get why Marcy cared so much about Cleo. Cleo seemed to be a selfish jerk and completely unlikeable, and Marcy is milquetoast.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

9 out of 10

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. First read 2/2001.

[Cynthisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for book club. Eh....