Transparency: Stories

by Frances Hwang

With a deceptively simple yet graceful style, and in the tradition of Lara Vapnyar, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Gish Jen, Frances Hwang captures the thousand minor battles waged in the homes of immigrants -- struggles to preserve timehonored traditions or break free of them, to maintain authority or challenge it, and to take advantage of modern excesses without diluting one's ethnic identity.

In Garden City, a weary Chinese couple, struggling...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316166936
• ISBN13: 9780316166935
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding book and should be on a "must read" list

Frances Hwang is a very talented author who melds the past with the present in her stories. Her character development and snippets of life capture the reader through the end of the story. This book makes a wonderful gift and is to be enjoyed in front of a fire on a cold day.

Thinking about life

Reviewed by Deb Shunamon for Reader Views (6/07) Frances Hwang's "Transparency" will appeal to anyone who enjoys well-written and thoughtful glimpses of life. This wonderful collection of short stories is promoted as having a focus on the generational and cultural challenges of Chinese immigrants and their American-born children, but I found these insightful tales to be equally about the search for meaning and direction in all people's lives. "Sonata for a Left Hand" was my favorite; a lovely presentation of our innate human need for connection and belonging. Other topics involve women negotiating life as best they can; and the younger generation's lack of idealism and search for meaning in their lives, often times thinking they are (or are trying their best to be) different from their parents, but not realizing that the values they were raised with tie them closer to their families than they realize. It was only when I was reminded that the characters were Chinese-American that I found myself paying attention to this cultural group, and in stories such as "The Modern Age" and "Transparency," the reader learns that cultural changes are not an easy thing for anyone, at any age. However, even these stories still spoke to me of common experiences between people, and families, beyond this one community. Frances Hwang has a very relaxed style of writing. She eases you into her stories and they flow effortlessly along, and before you know it, you find yourself very anxious to learn what will happen next. She also never disappoints in providing realistic endings that encourage the reader to stop and think before continuing on. In "Transparency," Frances Hwang offers readers a diverse array of general, and Chinese-American, experiences as people make their way through modern life. I really enjoyed my time with this book.

Short stories about life

Transparency is Frances Hwang's debut collection of short stories. While her writing is a bit rough around the edges, there is no mistaking that she has a passion, and a talent, for telling the human story. In many of Transparency's stories, the mechanics of writing are not that strong. Word choice is at times awkward, leaving the reader mystified (instead of surprised) by what the characters are doing. In several stories, the protagonist seems to be no different than in the previous story, and the reader wonders if there isn't really a novel lying beneath the surface of the collection. The two notable exceptions to this weakness are the title story, Transparency, and the final story, "The Garden City." Here, the characters leap off the page and sear themselves into the reader's memory. Overall, these two short stories are far superior to the rest of the collection and will surely find their way into anthologies. These two stories are proof that we are being entertained by a writer of enormous talent, and I was left hoping that Hwang will continue writing. Regardless of the mechanical weaknesses, the territory that Hwang covers in each of her stories is deep and rich and worth contemplating. As an entirety, this collection speaks to themes of identity and relationship. The reader ponders the connections between isolation and intimacy, family and friend, lover and stranger. The juxtaposition of generational gaps and generational ties is also beautifully laid out in this collection. Often, the backdrop to these themes is the tension between first- and second-generation immigrants and between Eastern and Western cultures. Hwang's writing shows that she has the courage to write about the human story, even in its naked weakness. She does well writing about how life is instead of how it ought to be. Armchair Interviews says: This book will leave you pondering some of the more meaningful and painful aspects of being a daughter, a friend, a lover, a stranger--of being human.

A Notable Debut

Each story is a delicate collision: between family, friends, cultures, generations. Frances Hwang chronicles believable characters in complex situations; her sly prose weaves turbulent emotions underneath a patina of decorum. Transparency is a remarkable collection that will engage a wide range of discerning readers.

Great collection!

These stories are moving (but not sentimental), deeply revealing, and gorgeously written. I loved the whole batch.