BONE : A Novel

New York, NY: HarperPerennial, 1993. First Edition, First Printing First Thus. Paperback. NEW - COLLECTIBLE/None as Issued. BRAND NEW Copy w/a whisper of discoloration to margins. 1993 First Edition, First Printing. Debut novel by native born Chinese-American author Fae Ng (1956 -). Set in 1960's through 1990's. Social challenges of 1st & 2nd generation immigrants from rural, Southern China to Chinatown, San Francisco. The story of three American-born sisters, all struggling to find inner peace. The central event is the death of 2nd sister Ona, who on drugs, jumps off the 13th floor. 194 pgs in 14 chapters narrated by the eldest sister Lelia, a restaurant hostess. Told in simple, powerful prose, largely of the present, though not in chronological order. The family, still traditional, is an extended one in structure in which prized expectations of the world left behind are alive, and often collide with those acquired in America to where they wanted to live --- touching is a stepfather who has a paper bag of cash known as his "Going back to China" fund, which all know he will never put to use. A sensitive work when one's view of dreams, hopes & expectations from life are full of contradictions.