American Knees is a novel written by Shawn Wong, first published in 1995 by Simon & Schuster. It is currently published by the University of Washington Press (2005). Conceived as a cultural response to Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club, Wong's book shocked and excited readers with its groudbreaking depiction of an unapologetically sexy Asian American man and three complex women.
The book humorously chronicles the romantic chapters in the life of Raymond Ding, a Chinese American university administrator who first marries and divorces the perfect Chinese American wife, dates and breaks up with a Hapa (bi-racial) younger woman, and gets involved with a Vietnamese American co-worker haunted by memories of the war.
Read more about American Knees: About The Author, Movie Version
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“... many American Jews have a morbid tendency to exaggerate their handicaps and difficulties. ... There is no doubt that the Jew ... has to be twice as good as the average non- Jew to succeed in many a field of endeavor. But to dwell upon these injustices to the point of self-pity is to weaken the personality unnecessarily. Every human being has handicaps of one sort or another. The brave individual accepts them and by accepting conquers them.”
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