Her Wild American Self: Short Stories

by M. Evelina Galang

Filipina American debut author displays the contradictions of Asian American experience with irony & enthusiasm, anger & wit.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Race, Literary Fiction, Asian American, Contemporary

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

Reviews

[Marivic]

The first time I've read a book and thought to myself "I matter."

[Arlene]

My God, you mean I'm not alone??!! This book taught me about me.

[Teena]

I am not a huge fan of short stories, but when they're done right then it's hard not to love them. This book in particular was a good collection of tales told from a female Filipino-American point of view. For that reason alone, I love it. It was great to see our voice being put out there, and the author does a great job representing different generations.

As a whole, I think the collection was lacking. I wish there was more pride woven throughout the stories. It was quite a depressing read, and some of the stories could have been replaced with something lighter and more hopeful. Personally, I could not relate to a lot of the stories; however, I can see what the author was doing and appreciate her work.

My favorite story from this group was Filming Sausages. It was written so well, and it very relatable to all women of any culture. It made me feel very uncomfortable and angry at the same time. 5 out of 5 for that short story.

Overall, I would rate this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

[Amanda]

I rarely enjoy short stories enough to read a whole collection of them, and I rarely keep books after I've read them - but I loved this whole collection and can't bring myself to donate it or trade it for a new book. The story "Rose Colored" was my favorite; it perfectly expressed the sense of competition that exists among women and how that affects women's self-esteem, without ever making the characters seem catty towards each other. The story "Filming Sausages" was also really amazing at expressing subtle types of sexual harassment women face and why we often choose not to report it. I will be rereading this for sure.

[Alisa]

I feel so seen. These stories hold so much truth and pain and rage. What has been the experience of Filipinas and Asian women for decades, if not centuries. The feeling of being suspended in air between every one of your distinct qualities, and the outside world demanding that you cram yourself inside one single tiny box of gender normativity and racial stereotypes and societal expectations. These characters feel like real women, screaming into a void to be seen as full human beings, demanding to be free. Such a great read.

[Sari Fordham]

A stunning short story collection. I frequently teach one or more of these stories in my classes. After reading one of the stories from this collection, a student wrote me: "This story was everything to me."

[Jules]

One of my favorite books by far. So well written and powerful. A really eye opening portrayal of some of the struggles of Philipino American women.

[Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino]

Exceptional writing. Great collection of stories about immigrants' experiences.

[Macy Davis]

I don't read many short story collections, but this one was worth it! Galang tells compelling stories from underrepresented voices.

[Nina San Miguel]

3.5 stars

[Narni]

Captures what it was like to grow up in Chicago and the Midwest as a Filipina American in the 80s-90s.

[Jennifer]

Not very memorable stories. I think if I had read it when it was written in the 90s and would have been more impactful.

[Bonnie Irwin]

A series of portraits of the Filipina-American experience. I particularly liked "Our Fathers," a story of a young girl's fascination with the grandfather she has never met, but whose picture she carries with her always. On one level, the story speaks to any number of daughters and their fathers and grandfathers; I can only imagine the connection to those whose grandfathers live thousands of miles away. Another stand-out story, is "Filming Sausage," about a professional woman trying to make it in the film industry despite the racism and sexism of directors and those on set who tell the protagonist just to put up with the treatment in order to get ahead. The narratives are poignant, interlaced with touches of humor and pathos. A great read overall.

[n]

This book is fantastic. Each story is written in such a beautiful and honest way, and I had a mixture of feelings reading many of them.

One of the stories in particular, while I loved it, was so difficult for me to read: Filming Sausages. It was so uncomfortable, mostly due to similar experiences. I wanted to keep reading it, but I had to put it down to take a breath. I kept feeling like I knew what was going to happen next, reading my own experiences into it. It took me much longer to read that than anything else.

[Devika]

I met this author at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE). She spoke very candidly about the process of writing this book. Even though I am very interested and certainly not naive about race issues, I was genuinely floored by some of the experiences Galang wrote about in this book.

[annakatrina]

it's hard to even explain how important this book is to me--how it's healed my family, my heart.

[Gaytana]

The author, Evelina, is a good friend of mine and also a very talented and passionate writer.

[Melinda Griffith]

This book gave me a view into the inner and outward experiences of Filipino American women.

[Frances]

Short stories. Run together a bit - similar themes and characters - but very good. She does well with children as characters, and everything about these stories felt natural and well done.