Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook

by Emmanuel S. Nelson

Overview

As a distinct area of literary study, Asian American literature now enjoys a level of critical recognition that was unimaginable when academic interest in the field began modestly some 25 years ago. Part of this recognition stems from the increasing contributions of Asian American novelists, whose works continue to capture growing levels of popular attention. By the early 1970s, anthologies of creative writing by Asian Americans began to appear, and there are now almost two dozen of them. Since then, numerous Asian American writers, such as Amy Tan, Michael Ondaatje, and Bharati Mukherjee, have gained considerable critical and commercial success.

The publication of this reference work reflects the new academic status of Asian American literature. Included are alphabetically arranged entries for 70 Asian American novelists. Since the historical and current experiences of Asians in Canada and the United States are substantially similar, the volume covers authors from both countries. While the majority of the writers profiled in the volume have East Asian backgrounds, some have South Asian or West Asian origins. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a short biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a summary of the novelist's critical reception, and separate bibliographies of primary and secondary sources. The volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313309113
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/28/2000
Pages:	440
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.12(d)
Lexile:	1370L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

EMMANUEL S. NELSON is Professor of English at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is the author of more than 30 articles, and his previous books include Contemporary African American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook (1999), Contemporary Gay American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook (1993), Writers of the Indian Diaspora: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook (1993), and Reworlding: The Literature of the Indian Diaspora (1992), all available from Greenwood Press.

Table of Contents

Meena Alexander by Brunda Moka-Dias
Himani Banerji by Geoffrey Kain
Susham Bedi by Brunda Moka-Dias
William Peter Blatty by Rhonda Brock-Servais
Vance Bourjaily by Ymitri Jayasundera
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard by Eleanor Ty
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha by Yi-Chun Tricia Lin
Diana Chang by Carol Roh-Spaulding
Evelina Chao by Wentong Ma
Frank Chin by Guiyou Huang
Sook Nyul Choi by Mara Scanlon
Denise Chong by Nikolas Huot
Louis Hing Chu by Shunzhu Wang
Richard Crasta (also Avatar Prabhu) by Barry Fruchter
Kiran Desai by Sarala Krishnamurthy
Chitra Baanerjee Divakaruni by Brunda Moka-Dias
Winnifred Eaton by Lisa Botshon
Indira Ganesan by Harish Chander
Stephen Gill by Anita Mannur
Jessica Tarahata Hegerdorn by Ruby Ramraj
Chuang Hua by Hailing Xiao
Cynthia Kadohata by Su-lin Yu
Younghill Kang by James Lingston
Richard E. Kim by Jae-Nam Han
Maxine Hong Kingston by Guiyou Huang
Bharti Kirchner by Krishna Lewis
Joy Kogawa by Cynthis F. Wong
Alex Kuo by Douglas Sugano
Helena Kuo by Jean Amato
Chang-Rae Lee by Martin Kich
C.Y. Lee Luchen Li
Gus Lee by John C. Hawley
Marie G. Lee by Rhonda Brock-Servais
Sky Lee by Martin Kich
Adet Lin (also Tan Yun) by Jean Amato
Steven C. Lo by Jeff Patridge
Bette Bao Lord by Jean Amato
Anchee Min by Shunzhu Wang
Rohintan Mistry by Bindi Malieckal
Kyoko Mori by Rhonda Brock-Servais
Toshio Mori by Sarah Catlin Barnhart
Bharati Mukherjee by Jespal Kaur Singh
Milton Murayama by Seri L. Luangphinith
Kirin Narayan by Maya M. Sharma
Fae Myenne by Maya M. Sharma
Mei No by Sarah Barnhart
Hualing Nie by Hailing Xiao
Sanjay Nigam by Jaina C. Sanga
John Okada by Fu-jen Chen
Michael Ondaatje by Cynthia F. Wong
Nahid Rachlin by Maya M. Sharma
Balachandra Rajan by Uppinder Mehan
Ninotchka Rosca by Shannon T. Leonard
Patsy Sumie Saiki by Seri L. Luangphinith
Bienvenido N. Santos by Anita Mannur
Lisa Lenine See by Xian Liu
Shyam Selvadurai by Peter G. Christensen
Vikram Seth by Anthony R. Guneratne
Mai-mai Sze by Jean Amato
S. Shankar by Brunda Moka-Dias
Bapsi Sidhwa by Janet M. Powers
Lin Tai-Yi (also Anor Lin or Lin Wu-Shuang) by Jean Amato
Amy Tan by Wenying Xu
Linda Ty-Casper by Shannon T. Leonard
Holly Uyemoto by Suzanne Hotte Massa
Jade Snow Wong by Leela Kapai
Shawn Wong by Chih-Ping Chen
Lois-Ann Yamanaka by Chih-Ping Chen
Karen Tei Yamashita by Douglas Sugano

Editorial Reviews

A reference on the lives and works of 70 Asian American novelists. Each brief chapter begins with biographical information, then offers interpretive commentary on major works, overviews of the critical reception accorded their work, and a list of primary and secondary sources. A majority of writers in this reference have East Asian backgrounds; a few have West Asian origins. The editor teaches English at SUNY-Cortland. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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