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East Side Voices: Essays Celebrating East and Southeast Asian Identity in Britain
Essays celebrating East and Southeast Asian identity in Britain.
A strong, compelling, and quietly beautiful collection of stories that have gone untold for too long, from voices that have too often been sidelined from the artistic mainstream.' Jonathan Liew
In this bold, first-of-its kind collection, East Side Voices invites us to explore a dazzling spectrum of experience from the East and Southeast Asian diaspora living in Britain today.
Showcasing original essays and poetry from well-known celebrities, prize-winning literary stars and exciting new writers, East Side Voices takes us many places: from the frontlines of the NHS in the midst of the Covid pandemic, to the set of a Harry Potter film, from a bustling London
A strong, compelling, and quietly beautiful collection of stories that have gone untold for too long, from voices that have too often been sidelined from the artistic mainstream.' Jonathan Liew
In this bold, first-of-its kind collection, East Side Voices invites us to explore a dazzling spectrum of experience from the East and Southeast Asian diaspora living in Britain today.
Showcasing original essays and poetry from well-known celebrities, prize-winning literary stars and exciting new writers, East Side Voices takes us many places: from the frontlines of the NHS in the midst of the Covid pandemic, to the set of a Harry Potter film, from a bustling London
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2022
23 people are currently reading
1500 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
February 3, 2022
‘I can eat an entire bag of persimmons in one sitting. They live in the Cotswolds and adore the Queen, rugby, cricket and National trust properties. I wasn’t sure how I fit. He pointed out that I too enjoy National Trust properties.’
Enjoyed reading most of them very much. Fab collection. Very surprised to see Tash Aw in it (pleasantly surprised). 4 and a little more but rounded off to a full 5-star rating. I like how different each story was. This just felt like something that needed to be published. Haven’t read anything quite like this collection before. Very well edited, and for the most part, very well written too. Might write a longer review later. Maybe…
‘Listening to other people debate your origins in your presence is a disconcerting experience, but it’s one that I’ve become accustomed to over nearly three decades of living in Europe. I’ve observed how these discussions have attempted to be more reflective, more self-interrogative, as people travel and read widely, and pride themselves upon being culturally engaged…trying to explain being Chinese-Malaysian to anyone in Europe is a curiously dispiriting experience in which the simplicity of one’s identity – which feels so clear and obvious – suddenly becomes torturously complicated, a source of confusion and even, in these days of cultural sensitivity, a cause of anxiety.’
‘We look around the kopitiam table as we trot out these habitual phrases, noting the variety of friends present, some mixed-race, others in mixed-race relationships, all of us drawn from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Foreigners – the mat saleh, buleh, gweilo, lao wai – they wouldn’t understand this. It is our thing.’
Tash Aw’s probably my favourite one in the collection. He writes so well; I’m ashamed that I’ve still not read his fiction (even though I’ve already got them – all of his books). Might have to get to it quickly now that I’m reminded of them again.
‘I realised that farming was the link to everything. Food and the making and growing of the food were the thread that tied so much together: the rhythms of farming, the myths of farming, the spirits and gods and souls of everything in the jungle. And so I learnt that I am from the jungle, no matter how far I am, the rituals and rhythms of the soil of the jungle sit within me.’
My copy is full of highlights, unsurprisingly. Another favourite of mine from the collection is Anna Sulan Masing’s piece which covers her memories of ‘Iban’ farming and food cultures. Maybe because of how the writer had talked about how she had stuck her finger into the soil of her snake plant while watching the rain in her flat in Hackney. And I could picture that scene so clearly. Shimada, Teo, and Buchanan’s contributions to the collection was particularly brilliant (in my opinion). Mary Jean Chan's poem is fab as well.
‘Even though, to non-Asians, we ‘all looked the same’, a geographic proximity and shared Chinese ancestry was no more a guarantee of mutual understanding and rapport than one’s horoscope or birth chart. Sure, sometimes it worked out, and some people believed in it, but as an abiding social assumption it was dicey.’
July 24, 2022
A first book of its kind: a collection of essays from the perspective of East and South-East Asian voices in Britain, curated and edited by Helena Lee. As I'm a British-born Chinese and rarely come across any books about lives similar to mine, I was so excited to read this book and absolutely delighted when @sceptrebooks offered to send me a copy.
Featuring essays and poetry from new writers, celebrities and authors ranging from the likes of Gemma Chan, Katie Leung, Sharlene Teo and Zing Tsjeng, this collection explores the wide spectrum of experiences from the East and South-East Asian community.
Before reading this book, I knew that amongst these stories, I would find a few that I would really resonate with. I was not mistaken at all, I felt so seen! With some of the essays (namely The Deafening Silence of Divorce by Amy Poon and Getting into Character by Katie Leung), I found myself picking out paragraphs to read out to my boyfriend and excitedly tell him why I resonated with it as well as the similarities with my personal experiences.
If you're a British-born East/South-East Asian like me, I know that you will love this book! 🥰 If you're not, please utilise this book to gain a better understanding of the experiences that our community go through and as a way to educate yourself.
Featuring essays and poetry from new writers, celebrities and authors ranging from the likes of Gemma Chan, Katie Leung, Sharlene Teo and Zing Tsjeng, this collection explores the wide spectrum of experiences from the East and South-East Asian community.
Before reading this book, I knew that amongst these stories, I would find a few that I would really resonate with. I was not mistaken at all, I felt so seen! With some of the essays (namely The Deafening Silence of Divorce by Amy Poon and Getting into Character by Katie Leung), I found myself picking out paragraphs to read out to my boyfriend and excitedly tell him why I resonated with it as well as the similarities with my personal experiences.
If you're a British-born East/South-East Asian like me, I know that you will love this book! 🥰 If you're not, please utilise this book to gain a better understanding of the experiences that our community go through and as a way to educate yourself.
January 31, 2022
East Side Voices is a collection of essays on the experiences of Asians living in Britain. The topics are wide ranging and each author brings their own unique take on the subject. Taken together, these essays paint an empowering, touching and enlightening picture of what it means to be Asian in Britain.
Being European Asian myself, I was delighted to hear that this book would be published this month. Discourse about Asian experiences in the West is currently dominated by Asians in North America and Australia. This book gives a voice to Asians in Britain, and Europe at large, which has been long overdue in my opinion.
Being European Asian myself, I was delighted to hear that this book would be published this month. Discourse about Asian experiences in the West is currently dominated by Asians in North America and Australia. This book gives a voice to Asians in Britain, and Europe at large, which has been long overdue in my opinion.
February 23, 2022
Slowly regretting putting this off for so long because this was amazing and it took me less than a day to finish.
East Side Voices is a collection of essays written by people with East and South East Asian identity that lives in Britain. The themes and topics explored in this were very wide, which i appreciate. Every single essay is different from one another as they are all written by different people so it was refreshing to hear about each of their experiences but at the same time, the heart of the essays are the same which is about their journey of assimilating and accepting their identity and their experiences being Asian in Britain.
I appreciate that this essay collection, not only is wide ranging in their topics and themes but also very much intersectional. My favorite essays are probably by June Bellebono who talked about the trans community in Myanmar; Anna Sulan who wrote about her migration story and her identity of having a white mother and an Iban father; and Helena Lee who talked about her guilt and experiences of wanting to belong that when she was little she distanced herself from her heritage, dismissing her parents' experiences of being immigrants and how she finally came to understand it as she grew older (there was a paragraph where she talked about how she realized how different herself is from her friends by all the enid blyton's books she has read and it reminded me of my sixth grade self). I also really liked the fact that these essays were written by various figures, ranging from journalists, actors, poets, and even chefs.
I also learned A LOT from these essays. There were various infomation that I did not know and were horrified to learn, such as the fact that Filipinos make up the largest ethnic group of nurses in the NHS and in 2020 were the single largest nationality to die from Covid. In another essay, it was informed that Filipino nurses were the ones assigned most to the Covid wards in the UK during the critical times. There were also some essays here that were written during those first critical months and their experiences of racism that they had to endured because of it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!
East Side Voices is a collection of essays written by people with East and South East Asian identity that lives in Britain. The themes and topics explored in this were very wide, which i appreciate. Every single essay is different from one another as they are all written by different people so it was refreshing to hear about each of their experiences but at the same time, the heart of the essays are the same which is about their journey of assimilating and accepting their identity and their experiences being Asian in Britain.
I appreciate that this essay collection, not only is wide ranging in their topics and themes but also very much intersectional. My favorite essays are probably by June Bellebono who talked about the trans community in Myanmar; Anna Sulan who wrote about her migration story and her identity of having a white mother and an Iban father; and Helena Lee who talked about her guilt and experiences of wanting to belong that when she was little she distanced herself from her heritage, dismissing her parents' experiences of being immigrants and how she finally came to understand it as she grew older (there was a paragraph where she talked about how she realized how different herself is from her friends by all the enid blyton's books she has read and it reminded me of my sixth grade self). I also really liked the fact that these essays were written by various figures, ranging from journalists, actors, poets, and even chefs.
I also learned A LOT from these essays. There were various infomation that I did not know and were horrified to learn, such as the fact that Filipinos make up the largest ethnic group of nurses in the NHS and in 2020 were the single largest nationality to die from Covid. In another essay, it was informed that Filipino nurses were the ones assigned most to the Covid wards in the UK during the critical times. There were also some essays here that were written during those first critical months and their experiences of racism that they had to endured because of it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!
October 1, 2023
Couldn’t put this book down! This book has sparked my interest in reading!!!
I continuously resonated with the different authors ‘essays’ and felt as if their anecdotes were about me.
I highly recommend this book, particularly to my fellow South East Asians and those dealing with moving to the west from the east.
I would read it again :)))
I continuously resonated with the different authors ‘essays’ and felt as if their anecdotes were about me.
I highly recommend this book, particularly to my fellow South East Asians and those dealing with moving to the west from the east.
I would read it again :)))
February 18, 2023
one of my new favourite books of all time
June 1, 2022
This series of essays about Asian Identity in Britain, features not just writers, but actors, chefs and individuals in other professions writing about their own personal experience. Edited by Helena Lee, there is the common thread linking the essays, but each stands alone, and can be read in isolation.
Whilst each essay is written by a different individual, whilst differing in gender, age, nationality, culture, religion and privilege…the common thread is a feeling of being misunderstood, restricted and isolated. A sense of being stuck between two cultures, and not knowing what to identify with.
Many of the essays discuss the unseen but inherent racism toward the Asian community in art, and media…which I rarely see discussed but is important that it is. The essays were compiled recently and there were frequent references to covid and the impact that prejudicial misinformation has had on Asian lives.
I did struggle a little with some of the essays feeling a little repetitive, and so short I struggled to really engage with them or the writers. I also felt that some of the essays were written for the purpose of promoting the writers’ non-writing activity rather than an enhancement to the collection of essays as there was little depth or exploration within them.
The essay that I felt resonated and had the biggest impact on me was
Naomi Shimada’s ‘Ode to Obaa-chan’ (her grandmother). I found it incredibly touching, unapologetically honest, emotionally vulnerable and the relationship itself so beautiful.
This book was a surprise arrival in the post a little while ago, from the kind people at Sceptre Books and whilst it has taken me a little while to read it, it has been the ideal book to pick up and put down when I’ve had the time to do so.
Whilst each essay is written by a different individual, whilst differing in gender, age, nationality, culture, religion and privilege…the common thread is a feeling of being misunderstood, restricted and isolated. A sense of being stuck between two cultures, and not knowing what to identify with.
Many of the essays discuss the unseen but inherent racism toward the Asian community in art, and media…which I rarely see discussed but is important that it is. The essays were compiled recently and there were frequent references to covid and the impact that prejudicial misinformation has had on Asian lives.
I did struggle a little with some of the essays feeling a little repetitive, and so short I struggled to really engage with them or the writers. I also felt that some of the essays were written for the purpose of promoting the writers’ non-writing activity rather than an enhancement to the collection of essays as there was little depth or exploration within them.
The essay that I felt resonated and had the biggest impact on me was
Naomi Shimada’s ‘Ode to Obaa-chan’ (her grandmother). I found it incredibly touching, unapologetically honest, emotionally vulnerable and the relationship itself so beautiful.
This book was a surprise arrival in the post a little while ago, from the kind people at Sceptre Books and whilst it has taken me a little while to read it, it has been the ideal book to pick up and put down when I’ve had the time to do so.
August 7, 2022
Really been into short stories lately and as a third culture kid, thoroughly relatable
August 21, 2022
Some interesting insights from unique perspectives eg East Asian trans people. Couldn’t care less for the overdone oxbridge educated writer/actress trapped between two worlds narratives though
February 4, 2022
4.5 ⭐️
This book was a great insight into the lives of individuals in the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) community living in the UK, and some of the difficulties they have faced as a result of being from this community. Most poignant to me were the stories of the desire to assimilate and be accepted, and the associated hardships. As someone from the ESEA community who lives in England, I truly resonated with many of these accounts. I wish that I had read this book much earlier in life.
I have not rated this 5 stars because, whilst I found myself connecting with the authors and their stories, I wanted - if not needed - more every time each story ended. Although upon reflection this may be unfair, given that the book purports to be, and is, a collection of short stories. Despite this, I just can’t help wishing there was more.
It is a testament to the quality of each author’s writing that despite the brevity of each account, I became deeply invested in their stories. I also found myself reflecting on my own experiences and difficulties as an Asian immigrant with greater clarity and understanding.
I highly, highly recommend this book. Whether you are from the ESEA community or not, I am certain that everyone will be able to take away something from this book.
This book was a great insight into the lives of individuals in the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) community living in the UK, and some of the difficulties they have faced as a result of being from this community. Most poignant to me were the stories of the desire to assimilate and be accepted, and the associated hardships. As someone from the ESEA community who lives in England, I truly resonated with many of these accounts. I wish that I had read this book much earlier in life.
I have not rated this 5 stars because, whilst I found myself connecting with the authors and their stories, I wanted - if not needed - more every time each story ended. Although upon reflection this may be unfair, given that the book purports to be, and is, a collection of short stories. Despite this, I just can’t help wishing there was more.
It is a testament to the quality of each author’s writing that despite the brevity of each account, I became deeply invested in their stories. I also found myself reflecting on my own experiences and difficulties as an Asian immigrant with greater clarity and understanding.
I highly, highly recommend this book. Whether you are from the ESEA community or not, I am certain that everyone will be able to take away something from this book.
February 15, 2023
The writing is accessible and easy to read, though the feeling the writing evokes are harder to navigate. I read this with a notebook to hand because it’s one of the first books in a while to actively make me think, while also allowing me to make connections through my own experience and memories that I may not have otherwise. I look forward to rereading this book in a few years and seeing how the new perspective changes the insights and conclusions I draw.
November 6, 2022
A beautiful, and incredibly moving collection of East Asian Brits. I was struck by how similar and paradoxically different their experiences were to my own as a half-East Asian child of immigrants born in the US.
December 30, 2022
Some excellent reflections on the east Asian experience as told from a UK perspective, but also some average written pieces averaging out to 3.5 stars, but I will round it up to 4. I enjoyed reading something of this type without such a strong American voice, which admittedly dominates the market in this sphere. Highly recommend!
March 2, 2022
A thought-provoking series of essays and poems, with some stronger, focused entries than others which felt a little rambling. Will Harris’ beautifully layered poem in particular stood out to me.
June 20, 2022
Needed this. How to Name Yourself was my favorite.
May 14, 2022
3.5*
April 4, 2024
This is the first ever collection of essays focusing solely on British East and Southeast Asian experiences. I saw it in @juniperseabooks' recommendations video and immediately checked it out of my local library.
I enjoyed the essays a lot. They explore different aspects of identity, including family relationships, queerness, the workplace, and many others. A plethora of experiences are represented (although it would have been great to hear more Korean voices!). I read a couple of similar identity focused essay collections before (eg, The Good Immigrant), and I enjoyed East Side Voices more than most because of the diversity of experiences represented here. Although there is an overemphasis on the experiences of professional writers, there is quite a lot of diversity of different occupations included. I especially loved the essay written by a professional chief focusing on his journey. The essay about ladyboy identity and the one about the grandmother painting her mixed race granddaughter as a white girl really stayed on my mind.
Most stories are written by people of roughly the same generation. It is a very Millennial book. It also primarily focuses on second-generation immigrants, I wish more voices of older first-generation migrants were represented. Many of these types of books include musing about identity from second gen migrants, which is great, but which also perpetuates this idea that only second gen people can have identity crises, first gen don't get to think about identity, its all about Hard Work and Putting Bread on the Table for them. Of course, this is not the case. Most migrants grapple with identity issues. On top of that, the experiences of first-generation migrants are much more diverse, especially in younger generations. To its credit, East Side Voices includes a couple of perspectives from first-generation younger migrants, especially of student migrant origin like myself, but I wish there were even more.
I enjoyed the essays a lot. They explore different aspects of identity, including family relationships, queerness, the workplace, and many others. A plethora of experiences are represented (although it would have been great to hear more Korean voices!). I read a couple of similar identity focused essay collections before (eg, The Good Immigrant), and I enjoyed East Side Voices more than most because of the diversity of experiences represented here. Although there is an overemphasis on the experiences of professional writers, there is quite a lot of diversity of different occupations included. I especially loved the essay written by a professional chief focusing on his journey. The essay about ladyboy identity and the one about the grandmother painting her mixed race granddaughter as a white girl really stayed on my mind.
Most stories are written by people of roughly the same generation. It is a very Millennial book. It also primarily focuses on second-generation immigrants, I wish more voices of older first-generation migrants were represented. Many of these types of books include musing about identity from second gen migrants, which is great, but which also perpetuates this idea that only second gen people can have identity crises, first gen don't get to think about identity, its all about Hard Work and Putting Bread on the Table for them. Of course, this is not the case. Most migrants grapple with identity issues. On top of that, the experiences of first-generation migrants are much more diverse, especially in younger generations. To its credit, East Side Voices includes a couple of perspectives from first-generation younger migrants, especially of student migrant origin like myself, but I wish there were even more.
September 24, 2022
Too much social comment for me, which didn't hold my interest much.
October 11, 2022
this would've been better if more of the people involved were actually writers lol
April 6, 2022
I usually don't write Goodreads reviews longer than a few words, but this is an absolutely stunning volume! Reading these essays felt like a breath of fresh air in that they put a lot of things I have thought myself or which I have discussed in conversations with my friends on paper, but also allowed me to learn many new things which have refreshed my views. In general, I loved how almost every essay touched on delicate, underappreciated topics with a great sense of nuance and rhetorical poise, something which I feel is lacking from a lot of writing focused on Asian identity which sets out to attack certain tropes and cliches but risks falling into others. Maybe it's because this was published this year, but the collection felt really cutting-edge, in that something like this has really not been done before. I think there needs to be more work out there about East Asian identity which is specifically rooted in the UK and its own cultural environment, and also which is aimed at a readership aware of its particular contours. This collection had that effect; it felt like I was digging into something personal within myself too.
It was really nice to see work by people whose works I am very familiar with like Mary Jean Chan, Zing Tsjeng, and (surprisingly) Gemma Chan, also names I recognised but whose works I hadn't properly engaged with yet, like Will Harris, Sharlene Teo, and Tash Aw - whose essays have made me place their writing higher on my to-read list! I felt the decision to anthologise work by poets, journalists, novelists, actors, researchers, nurses, and more was really quite innovative and new, and I thought it was even more interesting when some of the essays humbly discussed more personal things than these occupations would evoke. I also especially appreciated the volume of work by mixed-race Asian writers in the collection; it felt good seeing them seamlessly included without fanfare in a collection of Asian writing, without any of the angst or defensiveness I'm used to seeing in writing about mixed people's "place" in Asian society. I feel like I've written so much but the collection is really that good. Please read this!
It was really nice to see work by people whose works I am very familiar with like Mary Jean Chan, Zing Tsjeng, and (surprisingly) Gemma Chan, also names I recognised but whose works I hadn't properly engaged with yet, like Will Harris, Sharlene Teo, and Tash Aw - whose essays have made me place their writing higher on my to-read list! I felt the decision to anthologise work by poets, journalists, novelists, actors, researchers, nurses, and more was really quite innovative and new, and I thought it was even more interesting when some of the essays humbly discussed more personal things than these occupations would evoke. I also especially appreciated the volume of work by mixed-race Asian writers in the collection; it felt good seeing them seamlessly included without fanfare in a collection of Asian writing, without any of the angst or defensiveness I'm used to seeing in writing about mixed people's "place" in Asian society. I feel like I've written so much but the collection is really that good. Please read this!
February 10, 2022
Reading this book was so therapeutic. I often feel like I'm in between cultures, not Chinese or Malaysian enough to be either, but also not fully British or English. Reading essays from people who have also experienced life like this was very enriching and validated a lot of feelings I've had while growing up.
It's astonishing that I'm 26 now and I've never read a book like this before. I've read books like The Good Immigrant, but never one that's focussed entirely on the experiences of east Asians in Britain. I'm so glad this book exists.
I genuinely enjoyed every single essay, so I'm just going to list some standout moments for me:
- Once Upon a Time in... Middlesex when Helena Lee describes how upset she'd get doing her Chinese school homework and feeling like the language didn't belong to her anyway.
- Mistaken for Strangers, where Sharlene Teo unpicks the stereotypical types/cliques of Asians (a la Mean Girls) and being fetishised.
- Ladyboy by June Bellebono was a beautiful essay and really highlighted the importance of the intersectionality with race when it comes to talking about LGBT+ issues.
- Fluidity and Resistance - Ideas of Belonging in a Fractured World by Tash Aw was SO vindicating! They talked about British people's obsession with family trees and ancestry and how it's a way of reaffirming their sense of belonging more than any desire to celebrate differences. This articulated a thought I've always had so well.
So many small things were so relatable to me in this: the non-verbal ways Asian parents express their love, the unspoken shame of divorce for east Asian people, the embarrassment over things your parents do (like collecting pee in a bucket in the bathroom for fertilising plants), name pronunciation, the list goes on.
It's astonishing that I'm 26 now and I've never read a book like this before. I've read books like The Good Immigrant, but never one that's focussed entirely on the experiences of east Asians in Britain. I'm so glad this book exists.
I genuinely enjoyed every single essay, so I'm just going to list some standout moments for me:
- Once Upon a Time in... Middlesex when Helena Lee describes how upset she'd get doing her Chinese school homework and feeling like the language didn't belong to her anyway.
- Mistaken for Strangers, where Sharlene Teo unpicks the stereotypical types/cliques of Asians (a la Mean Girls) and being fetishised.
- Ladyboy by June Bellebono was a beautiful essay and really highlighted the importance of the intersectionality with race when it comes to talking about LGBT+ issues.
- Fluidity and Resistance - Ideas of Belonging in a Fractured World by Tash Aw was SO vindicating! They talked about British people's obsession with family trees and ancestry and how it's a way of reaffirming their sense of belonging more than any desire to celebrate differences. This articulated a thought I've always had so well.
So many small things were so relatable to me in this: the non-verbal ways Asian parents express their love, the unspoken shame of divorce for east Asian people, the embarrassment over things your parents do (like collecting pee in a bucket in the bathroom for fertilising plants), name pronunciation, the list goes on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2023
Although this is not my typical genre of reading, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I adored this essay collection. A teacher of mine recommended this book to me and I debated on reading it at first, but now I'm so glad that I gave it a try. The book is a collection of essays written by figures with East and Southeast Asian identities residing in Britain. There were essays written by journalists, poets, actresses, and even chefs, so I learned so much from them. The themes and topics explored in this were very wide. Every single essay is different from one another since they are all written by different people, so it was refreshing to hear about each of their experiences. But at the same time, the heart of the essays is the same, which is about their journey of assimilating and accepting their identity and their experiences of being Asian in a predominantly white country. The essays discussed sexuality, gender, and class, which are all very important topics that are still problems today. As this book was also written during the Covid-19 pandemic, it also talked about their experiences with racism during COVID, which was mass Asian hate crimes. This made me connect with the book even more. I would highly recommend this if you're interested in reading personal essays or thinking about reading some light nonfiction!
July 17, 2022
FR
J'ai découvert ce livre grâce à l'actrice Gemma Chan que j'adore énormément. Elle a également écrit un "essay" pour ce livre, alors je l'ai acheté haha.
Et je dois dire que c'était une terriblement bonne idée !
J'ai beaucoup appris en le lisant, il y a des choses que j'ignorais complètement. Il y a des choses qui s'appliquent à toutes les femmes malheureusement.
On ne parle pas assez de tout ce que les Asiatiques (TOUS !) subissent tous les jours.
Je suis vraiment contente de l'avoir vu "parce qu'une actrice que j'aime en parlait" et qu'au final, c'était instructif et très important.
Je le recommande largement !
ENG
I discovered this book thanks to the actress Gemma Chan whom I adore enormously. She also wrote an essay for this book, so I bought it haha.
And I must say that it was a terribly good idea !
I learned a lot by reading it, there are things that I didn't know completely. There are things that apply to all women unfortunately.
We don't talk enough about everything that Asians (ALL OF THEM !) go through every day.
I'm really happy to have seen it "because an actress I like was talking about it" and that in the end, it was instructive and very important.
I highly recommend it !
J'ai découvert ce livre grâce à l'actrice Gemma Chan que j'adore énormément. Elle a également écrit un "essay" pour ce livre, alors je l'ai acheté haha.
Et je dois dire que c'était une terriblement bonne idée !
J'ai beaucoup appris en le lisant, il y a des choses que j'ignorais complètement. Il y a des choses qui s'appliquent à toutes les femmes malheureusement.
On ne parle pas assez de tout ce que les Asiatiques (TOUS !) subissent tous les jours.
Je suis vraiment contente de l'avoir vu "parce qu'une actrice que j'aime en parlait" et qu'au final, c'était instructif et très important.
Je le recommande largement !
ENG
I discovered this book thanks to the actress Gemma Chan whom I adore enormously. She also wrote an essay for this book, so I bought it haha.
And I must say that it was a terribly good idea !
I learned a lot by reading it, there are things that I didn't know completely. There are things that apply to all women unfortunately.
We don't talk enough about everything that Asians (ALL OF THEM !) go through every day.
I'm really happy to have seen it "because an actress I like was talking about it" and that in the end, it was instructive and very important.
I highly recommend it !
January 26, 2022
East Side Voices is a collection of essays by people with East and Southeast Asian identity living in Britain, exploring culture, self, family, race and fitting in or standing out. The authors range from well-known writers to others from a variety of backgrounds, and the essays range in styles too, making this a multifaceted collection that brings together many voices.
I found it insightful and interesting, with the essays 'celebrating' as the title says, but also delving deeper into issues at times, including legacies of colonialism and the realities of racism and xenophobia in Britain. There's a lot of authors and poets I've read with essays in the collection, which was exciting, but also other perspectives, like being a frontline nurse in the NHS.
It's quite difficult to review essay collections as a whole, but this one showcases a range of perspectives and experiences and is well worth reading, full of nuance and essays exploring complex senses of self.
I found it insightful and interesting, with the essays 'celebrating' as the title says, but also delving deeper into issues at times, including legacies of colonialism and the realities of racism and xenophobia in Britain. There's a lot of authors and poets I've read with essays in the collection, which was exciting, but also other perspectives, like being a frontline nurse in the NHS.
It's quite difficult to review essay collections as a whole, but this one showcases a range of perspectives and experiences and is well worth reading, full of nuance and essays exploring complex senses of self.
August 30, 2022
Meeting Helena Lee and Sharlene Teo at the Brockley Literary Festival was such a privilege, and now finally reading the collection of essays - wow!
I am a huge lover of reading essay collections when it's about race, gender, and inequalities individuals face every day. And this book seriously did not disappoint. The curation of voices Helena was able to get for this book is amazing and I so hope another book is in the works.
The raw and realness each writer brings to their chapter is incredible and truly inspiring.
These stories and poems of culture and history continues to make me feel so special in me being mixed race and encourages me to continue to embrace it, learn about both sides of my history, and celebrate both sides in new ways.
I am a huge lover of reading essay collections when it's about race, gender, and inequalities individuals face every day. And this book seriously did not disappoint. The curation of voices Helena was able to get for this book is amazing and I so hope another book is in the works.
The raw and realness each writer brings to their chapter is incredible and truly inspiring.
These stories and poems of culture and history continues to make me feel so special in me being mixed race and encourages me to continue to embrace it, learn about both sides of my history, and celebrate both sides in new ways.
February 13, 2024
Insightful and interesting set of essays which were full of reflection, humour, pangs of regret at times, and all of these emotions woven together by history. History which for the authors can be found in food, cultural traditions, language, name, memories of conversations with elders that start to fade, or the different ways people hold on to their heritage or are reminded of it.
There were some essay writing styles that I preferred to others and I personally would have liked it if a couple of the essays could have expanded a bit more on what they were sharing but overall a good read. My favourite essays were ‘Ode to Obaa-chan’ by Naomi Shimada and ‘How to Name Yourself’ by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan.
There were some essay writing styles that I preferred to others and I personally would have liked it if a couple of the essays could have expanded a bit more on what they were sharing but overall a good read. My favourite essays were ‘Ode to Obaa-chan’ by Naomi Shimada and ‘How to Name Yourself’ by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan.
November 30, 2024
A wonderful collection of essays from some very talented writers that capture so many aspects of identity from the Asian community. A lot of the stories told in this book spoke to experiences in my own life, with a couple moving me to tears as I think about my family. The book makes me feel a great deal of things, some happy, some sad.
The only criticism I have is that, given the name of the book, some of the entries could have been more closely tied to the Asian experience specifically in Britain (and this is sort of the same case in terms of each authors' recommendations at the end of the book).
Overall, would rate 4.5 (rounded up to 5) out of 5.
The only criticism I have is that, given the name of the book, some of the entries could have been more closely tied to the Asian experience specifically in Britain (and this is sort of the same case in terms of each authors' recommendations at the end of the book).
Overall, would rate 4.5 (rounded up to 5) out of 5.
December 28, 2024
I appreciated the diversity of the contributing authors. I liked the variety of their backgrounds in terms of professions and despite all speaking about their identity and heritage, it felt different enough that I wasn’t reading the same thing said in different ways. I do feel like there was more East Asian voices represented and I feel like more Southeast Asian voices could have been represented. (I only remember Vietnamese and Burmese perspectives.) As an Asian American, I enjoyed finding similarities and pondering the differences in the experiences with those of these Asian Brit authors.
April 30, 2022
Such an insightful book on a perspective that I don’t regularly hear about. Each essay had a distinct focus, and it was really refreshing to hear from people of mixed heritage that were not mixed with black and white. An essay that stuck with me was the one written by Claire Kohda titled portraits. I would strongly encourage everyone to give the book a read if you are trying to gain an understanding of East and Southeast Asian lived experiences in London.
June 23, 2022
This is a wonderful collection of essays, stories, memories, poems describing what it's like to be East and/or South East Asian (ESEA) in Britain today although I feel it does have an even wider reach.
As a non-ESEA person, but someone who is fascinated by Asia, it was a delight to read and I found many similarities to my own life despite the obvious differences. It also brought up many questions that I will think about seriously and no doubt cause me to read this again quite soon.
As a non-ESEA person, but someone who is fascinated by Asia, it was a delight to read and I found many similarities to my own life despite the obvious differences. It also brought up many questions that I will think about seriously and no doubt cause me to read this again quite soon.
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