Monkey King

by Patricia Chao

Monkey King &nbsp tells the story of 28-year-old Sally Wang, a Chinese-American woman whose mental breakdown and sojourn in a hospital set her firmly on the path of memory. Her recovery takes place against a rich tapestry of culture and personality that unfolds before our eyes under the Monkey King's ghostly shadow. For Sally has been living with a terrible family secret, one that has shattered her life. How she pulls together her Chinese and American identities into a cohesive self and rejoins the land of the living is recounted with a wry and refreshing honesty.

Genres: Fiction, China, Asian American, Contemporary

324 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a perfect book by far, but the timing was perfect. Also, I tried to write this story all semester in my classes but I guess Patricia beat me to it.

[Aleena Schannauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book Monkey King by Patricia Chao, I really enjoyed reading this novel. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about how people from foreign countries integrate into American Society. It was about the life of Sally Wang, a 27 year old Asian-American divorced art director. She has a seemingly normal life until one day, out of the blue she attempts to kill herself. She is sent to multiple mental hospitals to try and “fix” her, the book also shows what her old school Asian family thinks about the way she is living her life.The two topics I will be discussing are how her family feels about her being divorced and in mental hospital. The second topic will be about her struggles with integrating into the american culture with the mental mindset of old school Asian culture.
Sally’s family (especially her mother) have a very strong opinion about the way she is living her life. “She’s the type who needs a husband. It’s so traumatic for her to divorce.” (48) This was her mother, from this quote you can see that she is not very happy about her daughter’s divorce and blames Sally’s suicide attempt on the fact that she lost her husband. “She has natural beauty, like all unmarried chinese girl.” (130) This quote was from her father, it was very subtle but you can clearly see that her parents believe that she should be married and that it is a very, important part of her life.
Sally came from a very old school Asian lifestyle, this created challenges for her as she began her new life in America. “She’s an American girl but she has old-fashioned Chinese mentality.” (48) This was one of her mother’s theories on why Sally had a mental illness, she thinks that Sally wants a husband and the fact that she does not have one has driven her to insanity. “You could do anything. What an education you have. What connection. All this American stuff” (207) This was her uncle, you can see where she gets her old fashioned mindset from. He sees that she is well educated and believes that it will be easier to have a good life in America because of her intelligence. All in all, Sally’s family has had a heavy influence on how she views her American life. It is more difficult for her to live in America because of her old mindset.

[Anita George · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about 2/3's of this then put it aside. It has a good premise, but does nothing at all with it. Ostensibly, it uses Chinese culture and legend to elucidate a fairly generic story about an incest survivor who suffers depression and attempts suicide, but the author really did nothing with the Chinese cultural/mythological element that informs the title. Why does the daughter see the father as "Monkey king" in particular? I could never figure that out (I did flip through the remaining pages to see if it was ever explained and it isn't), and as someone who lives in Asia and is familiar with the culture, I imagine I have a better chance than many other Westerners of doing so. It seems to me that this was added as a superficial "hook" to draw in readers and set the book apart from other books in this genre. Unfortunately, it is standard fare and while it is not poorly written, it is dull.

[Dayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sally Wang is admitted to a psychiatric hospital after making a suicide attempt. The resulting story is part reflection on her life and part journey back into life. There are a lot of heavy themes in here that often did not feel fully developed but also parts that get very genuine and authentic. Overall, this book was fine.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting first person book. The mental illness suffered by Sally was written so well at times i even doubted that her father was the monkey king at times. For a debutante piece. This is a good start.

[Habibah Ugbah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It starts off fairly slow but throughout the book there are these slivers of incredible beauty within every word. It's just beautiful, one of my favorites.

[Whit]

Good, if not somewhat disturbing, read...

[Roni Adair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good character development. Hard to forgive a Monkey King. Sad.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat of an intense read with the heavy subjects it revolves around. It wasn't amazing but not bad; I think it would have been better with more emphasis on the Chinese cultural aspects, considering the title of the book is Monkey King. I think it depicted Sally's (the main character) mental illness well and had interesting and complicated characters and relationships.

[Saski · Rating 4 out of 5]

My notes: Very good read, story line and flashbacks well-woven, good character development, but errors in logic broke the chain -- annoying!

An example, which seems petty now that I look back on it, but has stayed with me as a reminder of what not to let happen in my own writing, is this:

...whip past my father, down the hall, back to my own room and into the closet where I sit hunched on the floor, hands crossed over my chest, willing my heart to stop pounding. Out the window I notice the Cuddy twins, Michael and Shauna, wheeling around the dead-end circle on their battered tricycles.

I get that something horrible has happened. I myself have hid in a closet and rocked with my arms across my chest trying to calm my heart. But...Who puts a window in a closet?! All that gets you matching faded patches on the sleeves or waist bands of the garments hanging there. Furthermore, who puts a window so close to the floor of a second story room that a person sitting on the floor can see out and down onto the street? Picture yourself there. Can you do it what you say?

This is not to say that there is not some wonderful writing in this book. Here are a couple of my favorites:

- In the tortured narcissism of my attempted suicide and its aftermath it had not occurred to me that this tree would bud and bloom, that in fact things would simply continue.

- My mother folded each pair of trousers over her arm, pulling the legs out so that the creases lay perfectly. She handles clothes meticulously. S did Nai-nai. But there was a difference in attitude. To my grandmother, clothes held a kind of magic--they could change your destiny one way or the other. To my mother, they were servile, like farm animals in China. Treat them well and they'll perform their function.

Yes, there are problems that good editing should have caught. But the story is worth reading, even a second time, and that is why it gets a 4 rather than a 3.

[Karo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey King was recommended to me by someone who had noticed that I liked memoir-style writing. Written in the first person, the novel explores the relationships that Sally, the protagonist, has with her mother, sister, grandmother, aunt and uncle, and of course, father. The portions of the book dealing with Sally's mental illness are very real, quite frightening, in fact. For some reason, the detail that Sally's handwriting became illegible as she slipped closer and closer to becoming completely unhinged really stuck with me. The relationships that Sally has with her family members are quite complex, as those things tend to be, I suppose, and the end of the novel offers no resolution, so I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone who likes their ending nicely packaged. This is one of those books, I think, that affects its reader in slight, sneaky ways. Little bits come floating back to you now and then as you make your own way through life. As with any book that deals with difficult topics, it's not as easy to write a review. It wasn't a joyous read, or a "satisfying" one, per se, but compelling and well-crafted.

[Alix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a very good read and well worth the time. In some respects it was a bit disturbing with some very heavy subjects, but the narrative was well done and the characters were well-developed and interesting. I enjoyed the mix of cultures (American and Chinese), although I probably would have gotten more out of it if I had known more about the Chinese culture. Some parts were painful to read, but as the main character reveals more of her history, the story bits fall together into one cohesive unit. I was a little disappointed that the end came without a good resolution - it just sort of leaves off and the reader just has to assume that things will work out... This was definitely a book with more of the 'darkness,' but the characters still seemed real with real issues - even though they were quite difficult to relate to. There certainly wasn't much 'happy' going on... but well worth the read.

[Mia Valdez Quellhorst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engrossing and captivating, up to a certain point. I was there, totally there, but then in went on for 50 more pages.

The story is one of mental illness, of dealing with your issues the best you know how, even if that involves professional help. this book deals with those issues directly, honestly, and with purpose. And I suppose that in real life the healing process goes on for longer than one would want too, so I won't hold those last pages in too much contempt.

Worth the time but it won't change your life - there's no final reward at the end, but the process is still meaningful.

[Sophie Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

My reaction to this book flip flopped from “this feels vulnerable, earnest, and raw, which I appreciate even if it’s not executed a way I would like it to be” to “this feels like a superficial book far too interested in the wrong details” every three pages.

Upon completion, I felt that this book was much longer and went into much more detail than it actually had substance to back up. I would have been much more engaged in this book as a short novel.

I also definitely felt like this book wasn’t for me and that’s alright, and it probably means there are people who this book is for who will connect with it more than I did! (Hopefully much more!!)

[Quinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A drab and boring story about a Chinese woman who suffers from depression because of the sexual molestation by her father. Sally (the Chinese woman) struggles with coming to terms with her poor childhood and the confusion of being raised in a Chinese family living in America.

I thought this book could have been very good and the I thought "Part One" was good but after that the book just spun it's tiny wheels. Read part one and then skip to the last chapter and you will still know what is going on and you will save a bunch of time. This book gets the rare 1 star.

[Tress · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a first novel this was decently written, although still kind of workshoppy. By that I mean a not-entirely-polished story featuring all of the requisite writing class elements: shocking family secrets, mental illness, casual sexual encounters, highly specific references to meaningless geographical reference points (i.e., the chocolate chip cookie stand in Quincy Market). It was passable, but I felt like I'd read it many times before. I've probably even written it a few times. Maybe in the late 90s this was more groundbreaking and I've just found it too late to appreciate it properly.

[Anomy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one of my favorite books (there are a lot of those). The opening is so chilling, the way that American and Chinese culture clashes in this novel is stunning, and I really felt I was right beside Sally the entire time.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this as being a very thoughtful and interesting book about the attitude to suicide and mental health within a Chinese family. The relationships are not simple but the characters are easy to feel sympathy for.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emotional problems seem to abound in my reading lately. In this novel, narrator is a young woman who was sexually abused by her father, who later committed suicide. After several suicidal gestures of her own, she’s being treated in hospital for depression. Not great, not bad.

[angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book floated into my hands at what felt like a perfect time. I never expected the pages to be a reflection of my own life. Witty, off-beat, and sensitive, I will never forget the familiarity etched onto ink so delicately.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, not great, would rather read the Bell Jar, ending kind of a cop out.

[Sian Taylor]

So glad I picked this up again, really enjoyed this book the second time around.

[Adela Carmona · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely honest and intense read about a dark subject of molestation and the affects of it once she grows up.

[Erlend Raanaas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather good.