[.ca] Yellow Stories (ISBN 0393025624)

captivating and episodic:
Lee's collection of short stories is written in the style of Dubliners, where all of the stories take place the same town and the same characters pop up in several different stories. This method of writing makes for a fantastic read, as you are able to become more familiar with certain characters than a normal short story collection would allow for. In sum, a wonderful debut and I hope to read more of Mr. Lee's work very soon!

I've finally decided to write a review...:
I am proud to choose this book for my first Amazon review. No plot summaries or style examinations here... I picked up this book out a box that my sister was going to bring to Goodwill. I was automatically turned off by the bland cover and book title. Being a well-tanned light brown, I have never thought of myself as yellow, and I often cringe when I hear someone referring to someone else or even himself, as being "yellow." I didn't plan on reading it, so I posted the book for sale on Amazon. To my surprise, it sold right away. I decided to get a taste of Don Lee's writing style while I still had the book, so I chose ONE of the shorter stories to read before I went to bed (about 3 AM at the time). Well, I finally went to bed FOUR short stories later around 5:30 AM. Needless to say, I finished the book the next day and was very impressed. But I still don't like the title of the book. In my mind, it is too racially biased/based, almost implying the "for us, by us" attitude. After all, great fiction is great fiction, regardless of race. Don Lee is not a great Asian-American writer, he is a great writer, PERIOD.

Eight-Legged Perfection:
I don't think I've ever encountered a collection of stories where every single story fulfilled me so thoroughly. There are eight gems in Yellow, seven decent-sized stories and one long one, the titular tale that may be the most accomplished of the lot. That story chronicles the life of Danny Kim, who is doing exactly what FDR told everyone not to: fearing fear itself. The fear in Danny's life is racism, and he's never actually hurt by it in any grand fashion, probably because he heads it off (or at least thinks he heads it off). His character is fascinating and yet very believable: he's the kind of guy who, at the prospect of getting knifed by an assailant, might take out his own knife and slice himself before any damage could be incurred by the other party. "Yellow" is the longest story in the book and the most satisfying. I found "The Price of Eggs in China" to be the most fun story, full of lovely twists and great detail about the making of furniture. "Casual Water" was the most heartbreaking, a sad story about two boys abandoned by both parents. Really, there isn't a weak story in this entire book. It's unfortunate that Yellow probably won't get past the typical Asian-American reader, because this book is quite universal in many respects, much like Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Oh well. Maybe not every Joe and Jane Doe will read it, but here's one reader who's a much happier person for having read this wonderful collection.

Captivating:
This collection of short stories is written about Asian Americans, but is not *for* only Asians. I think anyone of any race can identify with the issues these characters go through. Lee touches on race, but the majority of these stories deal with basic human emotions--jealousy, insecurity, lonliness. Don Lee's writing is subtle, but certainly not boring. He speaks quietly at you, and then there is a sudden moment of clarity that makes your heart ache. It reminds me of James Joyce's "The Dubliners." Do yourself a favor and savor each of these stories. The first and the last are my favorites.

At Last:
Finally an Asian American work that avoids cliches and writes about such things as Asian American men and Asian Hottie fetish mixed with racism and sexual politics to boot--and all with real intelligence. Lee pins everyone to the wall--men and women--explores their issues, their sexuality, their prejudices, and their hang-ups in a subtle, but engaging and realistic way. The prose is top-rate, Lee is a masterful storyteller on par with some of the best fiction writers out there. The stories "Casual Water" and the eponymous "Yellow" are poignant, well-written stnadouts; but check out "Domo Arigato," the story of a Korean American male and his white lover in Japan, and you get the feeling of Finally! Really great writing that has finally broken past the cliched Asian American streotypes of the past!