The Language of Blood

by Jane Jeong Trenka

Book Overview

"A book that translates, and transcends, the eternal question of home, belonging, family, identity." --Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

My name is Jeong Kyong-Ah. My ancestry includes landowners, scholars, and government officials. I have six siblings. I am a citizen of the Republic of Korea. I come from a land of pear fields and streams, where people laugh loudly and honor their dead. Halfway around the world, I am someone else....

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555974260
• ISBN13: 9781555974268
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Amazing

I first became aware of this book after I began researching my own adoption.I grew up in a very white suburban area, and was one if not the only minority in the area. I found this book extremely helpful in helping me come to terms with my own adoption and identity. An Asian American adoptees' voice is rare in the literary world, but Trenka does a beautiful job in describing and retelling the life of an adoptee.

MEMOIR OF ADOPTION

I really liked this memoir. It is about the adoption of a Korean baby by a Minnesota family and that adoption's consequences. I liked the juxtaposition of Jane going back and forth, in her mind and heart as well as in reality, between the U.S. and Korea. I have often wondered about the international adoptions of Asian children, and the practice continues unabated today with Russian children being adopted in America. I don't think anyone who hasn't been through the experience could possibly relate to the horror of being taken from your mother, and then from your homeland. How terrible it must be, even for those who appear to have made the adjustment perhaps better than Jane. It appears that Jane's Minnesota family had no instruction, or even interest, in learning about Jane and her sister's background, either prior to the adoption or in the many years following, and unfortunately I think Jane is correct in her final conclusion that the American mother can't love her beyond a certain point because she just simply is not the child that the American mother wanted. Very sad. The book has moments of history and of humor in a book whose structure goes beyond the typical memoir. I finished the book wishing that I personally knew Jane, because she sounds very human and wise and open-minded and loyal and appears to have all those traits that draw people to her. I will be interested to learn if she has children of her own......

Modern Twist on Memoir Proves Successful

Jeong Trenka's memoir succeeded in being everything but a typical memoir. These are no mere stories. Her life is no mere series of events. By mixing her prose with drama, poetry, and imagined interactions, Jeong Trenka creates a journey much like that of Maxine Hong Kingston's "Warrior Woman": a blend of legend, history, and true life. Emotionally genuine, spiritually alive, fresh and new. A great read.

An honest and moving story

Having lived in Korea for 7 years, having close ties to rural MN and being the white mother of two half-Korean children, this story resonates deeply for me. Racism is part of the everyday life of Asians in the US and it is hard for white people to understand this, especially when our children are the victims. Trenka illuminates what it is like to grow up when even your parents do not understand an important aspect of your life. They did their best, not knowing what their daughter needed. Trenka shares how she is able to makes sense of her story and come to appreciate and accept herself.

To An Adult Adoptee, this book is like a bible.

I actually met Jane Jeong Trenka before reading her book. She's one of the nicest, most understanding people I've ever met and reading her book only makes her more human and therefore more lovable. As a Korean Adult Adoptee trying to break new ground with support groups and helping adopted childrens' programs in the North East, I find this book to be a wonderful escape from the "sugar-coated" world I present adoption through to the kids I work with, because I can so closely relate to it.It is for this reason that I recommend this book to any adult adoptee or any person who is a relative or close friend of any adult adoptee. It gives us a glimpse of what we feel: longing, sadness, loss, curiosity, anger, resentment, and many more feelings beyond those that words can describe. This book is an important milestone in the journey of our development for adult adoptee support groups and should be regarded as such. There are no words to describe how much this book will mean to some of us.