Hua Hsu

Absolutely fantastic memoir about growing up as a child of immigrants in Santa Clara County, going to Cal, friendship, and grief. Hsu narrates and is fantastic. This book was an odd listen for me, as I went from Santa Clara County to Cal less than 10 years before he did--he mentioned places in SCC that I also frequented, he lived in the same dorm complex at Cal as I did, he mentions an event that took place at Cal when I was there. My college roommate and good friend was also from San Diego, and I went and visited. It very close, but also removed--the places at Cal were the same, but we had no email for undergrads.

The tragedy in this book is so sad--here, I feel like the parent I am. As he discusses his time in SCC and at Cal, I relate to him. But when it comes to his friend's death, I relate to the friend's parents. It is so painfully sad for everyone and he has written quite the tribute to his friend.… (more)

as is so often the case, i have a bit of a meh relationship with pulitzer winners. i appreciate the tribute he was paying to his friend and his family, and we grew up at the same time so some of the cultural touchpoints were familiar, but i guess i just couldn't relate to this and his writing didn't make me care to try. that said, there were some very poignant parts and i do want to acknowledge how awful losing a friend to violence like that must shake and shape a person.

"The first generation thinks about survival; the ones that follow tell the stories."

"There comes a moment for the immigrant's child when you realize that you and your parents are assimilating at the same time."… (more)