The Fruit 'N Food

by Leonard Chang

When Thomas Pak is hired as a clerk at a Korean grocery, he isn't prepared for the searing racial tensions that threaten to destroy the neighborhood in which he lives and works. His tenuous relationship with the store owners and their young daughter is jeopardized by his own conflicting affiliations of race and class, and these turbulent forces soon converge violently around in the form of a race riot. Thomas Keneally (Schindler's List) wrote of this book: Leonard Chang's vigorous tale is a drama of society's perpetual struggle for renewal and reconciliation. It is an elegant story of the zone of conflict between African and Asian Americans and, in the central character, the poignancy and contradictions of tribalism and fraternity are vividly proved. Library Journal: Chang's gift for unsentimental storytelling is indisputable. The Pacific Reader: The Fruit 'N Food is a thoroughly enjoyable, wonderfully written, socially relevant piece of contemporary fiction. Chang writes with simple elegance that immediately draws the reader in.

Genres: Fiction

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Ji-Yeon Yuh · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book came out in the middle of the so-called "Black-Korean conflict" and as such can seem dated. But it is a luminous gem of a book with spare characters. The author later turns to detective fiction and does very, very well in that genre. He should be given more attention by scholars of Asian American literature, and perhaps the turn to analyzing genre fiction will encourage that. Most of all, though, I love his novels because they have good writing, interesting plot and pacing, engaging characters, and they depict a world that is part real and part just his wonderful imagination.

[Nick Pappas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an enigma. Nothing about it was particulary great, but I couldn't put the damn thing down. Thats not to say it's bad either, everything about it was solid. God stry, writing, etc., but nothing to blow my mind. I can't figure it out. It gets four stars, though it probably deserves three. The ending was a complete rip off of Ellison's "Invisable Man." That was cheap. Also, it kind of villified African Americans with out taking into account the actions of the Korean Americans. Enough of my ramblings.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was Leonard Chang's debut novel. It's short, deals with racism between Korean grocery store owners in a predominantly African-American neighborhood, and the main character is stupid beyond belief. The concept is interesting, but when seeing the world through the eyes of such an obtuse main character, it's impossible to truly explore the complex themes underlying the story.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read type of book. The story is fairly interesting in its own way, but kinda so-so. The story is about racism and about the main protagonist who moves into a new place, finds a job in a Korean-owned grocery store and falls in love with the store owner's daughter.

[Parag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chang's first - it's decent, but his style was more terse in this one than the subsequent novels.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, yet very informative read. I found the first two paragraphs strong enough to suck me in, hook line and sinker.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under-rated book. Wonderfully entertaining and informative in its simplicity.