American Knees"You won't even be Chinese after your wife's attorney gets through with you", Raymond Ding's attorney tells him after Darleen has filed for divorce. Raymond wonders if you can be a lapsed Chinese the way you can be a lapsed Catholic. After all, divorce is a number one failing for a number one son - who hasn't even gotten around to starting a family after seven years of marriage. What can Raymond say in his own defense - "I used to be Chinese, but my wife got custody of my ethnicity"? But extricating himself from wedlock is only the beginning of Raymond's problems. When he meets beautiful half-Japanese Aurora Crane, he learns that it's impossible to negotiate the shoals of modern romance without banging his shins on questions of race, culture, and identity he thought he'd left behind in the schoolyard ("What are you, Chinese, Japanese, or American knees?"). Equally uncomfortable with the expectations that family and society, Asian and non-Asian alike, have heaped upon them, he and Aurora try desperately - and comically - to fall out of love. |
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American answer apartment Asian asked Aurora beautiful began Betty Bill body boys Brenda called China Chinese close Darleen daughter didn't door dress eyes face father feel felt gave girl give hair hand head heard It's Japanese Jimmy Julia keep kind kiss knew later laughed leave legs letters listened living looked married mean memory mother moved never picked picture play pointed pulled pushed question Raymond remembered separate side silence sleep someone Sometimes sound speak spoke standing stopped sure talk tell There's thing thought told took tried trying turned understand waited walked watched wearing woman women wondered Wood you're young