The Dim Sum of All Things: A Book Review

Kim Wong Keltner's The Dim Sum of All Things tells the humorous story of Lindsey Owyang, a third-generation Chinese-American in her mid-twenties. Throughout the novel, Lindsey battles with defining her identity. When told she is "white, anyway," she feels both insulted and complimented. She considers herself as different from typical Asian-Americans, but there are also many things she loves about her Chinese heritage—Chinatown, Peking duck with hoisin sauce, rice porridge with bits of preserved egg, just to name a few. Having grown up as an "ABC" in San Francisco, I can relate to a lot of the things that Lindsey experiences, such as the smell of Tiger Balm when my grandma is nearby, loathing Chinese school, and the unpleasantness of riding Muni buses.

While I found the novel to be an enjoyable read, there are a few things that irked me. The authors use of Asian puns ("She hurt like H-E-Double-Chopsticks.") disrupted the flow and felt a bit too contrived to me, but luckily there were only a few scattered throughout the book. The thing that got to me the most was Lindsey's theory of "Hoarders of All Things Asian." In the beginning it was amusing and funny, but, as I read on, it became repetitive and seemed as though almost every white male who talked to her was deemed a Hoarder. Her relationship with Michael almost ended because of her extreme dislike of anything that matches her description of a Hoarder.

In the end, Lindsey realizes that "every experience, even the unpleasant ones, had helped to slowly build her character, creating a one-of-a-kind Chinese-American named Lindsey Owyang" and, instead of distancing herself, tries to get closer to her Chinese roots and learn about her family's past. The dinner at the end reflects her acceptance of her cultural identity; she allows Michael to see her with her Chinese family and is not afraid to let her family see her with a white man. The ending subtly shows the embracement of both Asian and American cultures—Brandon, who previously warns her of the Chinese mafia's wrath against people who "give away any Chinese secrets," finds common interests with Michael, and Pau Pau sings the American folk song, "Oh! Susanna."