If the title of this book alone won’t get you, then I’m pretty sure that the first chapter will. I just finished reading memoirist Lac Su’s book I Love Yous Are For White People and I have nothing but all stars, positive remarks and a (hopefully) persuasive recommendation to give.
Without trying to give too much away, I want to emphasize that this book rejuvenates a love for reading and it can inspire generations who have ever wondered about their estranged relationships to Asian immigrant relatives (especially parents).
Love persists, throughout Su’s journey from Vietnam to the Southern Californian streets of Los Angeles, despite its presence underlining numerous scornful beatings from his father, in noteworthy and futile runs away from gangsters and busters, and even in advances to steal money his family’s food stamps for the sake of friendship. Su’s narrative reveals the hard knock mentality of a boy enduring pain due to the taboo silencing that seems normative in his family.
His story is telling of the cross-cultural cauldron that exists in California; it is oftentimes quite a shocking sight to see for newly immigrated individuals. Becoming acquainted with the law of the land is a constant theme. I Love Yous Are For White People is an internal exploration for any explanation, or a hint towards understanding the plexus of present space – where one comes from, where they are, how they got there and how to be brave enough to go back.
This book caters to those who identify with the acts of service love language. It recognizes the hardship of various forms of “work” like the daily grind that Su’s father (affectionately characterized by the name ‘Pa’ throughout the story) put in while they lived in a rat-infested cell block-like apartment in the projects, like the mental labor that Su himself put in when accounting for his early educational experience or like his mother’s routinized efforts to appease her family. But just like the things that I am trying to figure out about the way this love language operates, Su leaves the narrative with more lessons to ponder and a desire for the reader to learn more.
A well-written book and definitely one that I just couldn’t put down until I ran out of things to read. I even read the interview information and then friended the man on Facebook. It’s a must-read! Lac Su, a work of art well done!
Oh, and here’s a picture I stole off of Facebook with Lac and his father. Hope that’s not too invasive! =P
janice.
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