Beijing Bastard // Val Wang

An early adult coming-of-age story, following a second generation Chinese American who moves to China, hoping to find a career in film and journalism.

Why I'm reading
I straight up don't remember requesting this book, but it showed up in my mailbox, and it doesn't look awful, so why not?

Where I got the book
I received an "advance uncorrected proof" copy for review, from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. AWESOME.

Expectations
From reading the back cover, I'm expecting a relaxed coming of age story, a hint of Dragon Mom, a Bostonite view of mainland China, peppered with some edgy not-quite-racist humor.

So how was it? 

For most of the book, Beijing Bastards feels like it's trying very, very hard to get to a point, when I'm not entirely sure there is one. But that's ok; I enjoyed the ride, even if there was no destination.

It's the author's memoir of her early to mid twenties, when she decided to move to Beijing - not to reconnect with her heritage, but to escape her Chinese-American parents and follow her dreams. The title comes from an artsy-edgy movie about Beijing subculture. She's looking to connect, to become part of that subculture, to discover the "real" Beijing.

I liked it. Despite repetitive focus on the author trying to figure herself out, it's really more of an exploration of her experience in China. Her ultimate goal is to film a documentary in China, and the book was written in that same spirit.

It's very much what I expected - maybe a little less humor, but that's a good thing. Sometimes the people she meets come off as caricatures, but sometimes they're surprisingly real. I'm reminded of that time we all have late in our teenage years when we realize our parents (and all adults, and other people, too) have entire lives outside of what we know of them. That goes both for the author's family and for the people she meets along the way.

Recommendation
For fans of quirky memoirs, readers looking for a quick beach read that isn't romance, and anyone interested in a Chinese-American point of view.

Feels
Introspective and colorful.

Favorites
The littlest side characters are somehow the most engaging.

Least favorites
It's a little self-indulgent, but it's aware of its self-indulgence at least.

Writing style
Fun, lots of detail and flair, a typical "memoir" voice. Who couldn't love phrases like "having robbed me of my ancestral rent-controlled birthright" ?! And OH BOY the metaphors and similes. There's at least one every two or three sentences. That usually drives me nuts, but while I was certainly aware of it, it wasn't annoying.

Boyhood // Directed by Richard Linklater {Movie}

A coming-of age drama following a young boy from ages six to eighteen, living in Texas with divorced parents ; filmed in near real-time.

Where I saw the movie
I didn’t drive, so I honestly don’t remember. Oops.

Why I’m watching
Alan's been on about it for years; he's a big fan of the director. And I'll admit, he got me excited for it.

So how was it?

Boyhood was filmed over the course of a decade, using all the same actors. The main character started at about 8 years old, up through 18. It was weird watching everyone age.

I liked it, I thought it was a worthwhile project, but it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. It wasn’t as fun as it could have been. It wasn’t even as “deep” as it could have been. I didn’t love any of the characters, or even like them very much, but I could empathize with them and understand their decisions. It was just sort of… real. In a way, it was a little disappointing; at the same time, life is a little disappointing, and we see most of the characters go through that. You expect these awesome, meaningful things, but life just sort of happens, and you do the best you can.

Alan described it as “looking through a window at a real person.”

Anyway, I feel like this review is overly negative, and I don’t want to end it like that. It was a good movie, and absolutely worth seeing. It’s something that hasn’t been done before, and it’s an extremely realistic portrayal of life and all its little disappointments and challenges. The acting (except a few teen side characters) is fantastic. Each of the characters is a real complex person, not just the main character’s mom/dad/sister/etc. And I bet that those characters will resonate emotionally for a lot of people who have had similar life experiences. For me, only a few things were close enough to my life to really have an emotional impact: the divorced dad sharing music with his kids, the mom making ends meet (thankfully the only thing she had in common with mine), the teenage whatever and I’m bored.

Recommendation
For people who like portrayals of real life (and don’t need closure).

Feels
The movie didn’t hit me in the feels, really. Some of the decisions left me a little unsettled and annoyed at the characters, while still understanding them. 

Favorites
The cognitive dissonance when he walked into his elementary school classroom, and it looked like every elementary school classroom ever. Suddenly my brain is recognizing stupid posters, door art, reading slogans, fonts, etc. that were entirely forgotten back in the 90s.

Least favorites
Several scenes with teenage actors (other than the main characters) were not very good. There was one scene that felt like a horrible cheesy anti-drugs-and-alcohol PSA, complete with stilted conversation, overt peer pressure, and cheesy teen lingo. The whole movie seemed to put too much emphasis on alcohol, which was a little distracting. I get it: alcoholism is bad. Yeah, I guess teen drinking is sort of bad. But there’s no need to focus the camera meaningfully when random adults are pouring a glass of wine at a low-key party.

Related reading (or viewing):

• The decade-long filming has been done before in movies like American Promise, Paradise Lost, and the non-fiction Up series.