Pangs of Love

by David Wong Louie

Cultures as well as generations clash in the funny and heartbreaking short stories that mark David Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction and the Ploughshares Award, Pangs of Love explores the bizarre contradictions inherent in assimilation.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

David Wong Louie (雷祖威; pinyin: Léi Zǔwēi) is an American writer of novels and short stories. His works include "Pangs of Love" a collection of short stories, and the novel "The Barbarians are Coming." He co-edited "A Contemporary Asian American Anthology" with Marilyn Chin. He teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He received an M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 1981 and a B.A. from Vassar College in 1977.

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short stories about contemporary life from the perspective of someone who's constantly reconciling his American upbringing with the "other-ness" of his background.

I read a few of these stories back in college, but had not given them much thought since I graduated--too much to read, to little time to actually read. Heard of David Wong Louie's passing just recently and thought I should revisit this collection.

DWL was the second author I read whose prose resonated deeply with me and I could relate to it in a way I rarely did with fiction. The first author who struck me that way was Amy Tan. It's an unusual experience for me too see myself in fiction, and so whenever I come across an author who can do that, I hold onto them tightly.

[Megan Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of post modern short stories that center around a trope in the Asian American experience: characters in conflict with their place in the world.

[Iris Wu · Rating 4 out of 5]

favorite short story anthology ive read. understood more of them than i normally do

[Kathryn Tso]

hard to rate anthologies but displacement, love on the rocks, warming trends, and inheritance are my favorites — very big focus on nuclear bombs for ‘92 publication

[Ashanti Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories are better than others, but like a music album, let them grow on you. The story featuring the purple baby is great enough as a single to entice you to give the rest of the "album" a try :)

[Loreen Niewenhuis · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Birthday' is a great story.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those collections of shorts I come back to over and over again...mainly for Beaujolais. It's a keeper.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were gems. Some were not. Could be wrong, but I kind of got the sense he was trying to emulate Raymond Carver. ..