A new prospect
about China
- Speech at Local
Author’s Day at Princeton Library, NJ
Good
afternoon everyone,
My
name is Lily Wang Hill. It’s a pleasure
to introduce my novel “Laolao’s DragonGate” to you.
So
what’s the book about?
It’s
about the journey of a Chinese immigrant, Pearl ,
struggling to transform herself from a “fish” to a “dragon”.
Why
a “dragon”?
In
Chinese culture, a dragon is the symbol of power and success.
When
Pearl was a little girl, her dear
grandmother, Laolao, told her this “Carp fish jumping over the dragon’s gate”
story”:
“…The Dragon’s Gate
is at the top of a great waterfall in heaven. Many carp fish swim upstream
against the Yellow
River ’s
turbulent current every summer. … Only
the fish that are brave and strong enough can leap over the Dragon’s Gate. The successful fish will be transformed into
a powerful dragon living in heaven ever after…”
So
encouraged by this story, Pearl
struggled all her way from China
up to United States . She gets her master’s degree here, she marries
her American husband here - She has been living her American dram. It seems like she becomes a “dragon” until
she get laid off.
Now Pearl
is struggling with both her job search and marriage. A job opportunity in China
occurs. After a big fight with her American
husband, Pearl jumps at this 3-day
job interview in China .
So,
after 10 years’ absence from her family, Pearl
finally returns to her home country.
However, during the 3 days, intense emotional drama takes place. Pearl
finds herself overwhelmed in the world of feelings and emotions, toward her
late grandmother, her father, her first love, her ex-boyfriend, her ex-husband,
her American boss and her American husband…
Should
she stay in China
or back to America ? In a new changing China ,
she doesn’t feel she belongs to her mother land anymore; in America ,
she is a citizen, but she is always viewed as a Chinese. She can’t find a job either. Where she fits and belongs? She is at the crossroads of her life. Can she jump over the “Dragon’s Gate” this
time? It will be answered in the second
book.
Ok,
this is the basic story in the book. So
what other people say about my book?
One
editor said: “You have a fresh, distinctive voice. You engaged me!”
Another
editor said: “You might be the Amy Tan of our generation!”
Well,
I am flattered to be compared with great author Amy Tan; however, I don’t feel
my book is an Amy Tan type. My book is
set in the current China and America - in the American twilight and a booming
China with a lot history flashback, like “Opium war”, “President Nixon’s China
Visit”, “Cultural Revolution” and “Tiananmen Square Protest of 1989”, and more…
I
encourage you to read my book and get the answer yourself. You tell if my book is an Amy Tan type or
not.
Thank
you very much!