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Tofu Quilt (2009)

by Ching Yeung Russell(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Lee & Low Books

review 1: Tofu Quilt is a book by Ching Yeung Russell that is written in the perspective of a little girl (the author at a young age) who is going to school in Hong Kong. Although most young girls only go to school through elementary school, she goes through Middle School because her mama believes it is very important for her to get a good education. Her mother and father are not rich, and they both work hard for a living. When she grows up, she hopes to become a writer. Although one of her teachers along the way announced that she was the worst writer in the class, just one year later, another teacher told her that it was the best writing he had ever seen, and told her that she could become a published writer - which is exactly what she does.This book is written through poetry and ... moreis a story of the author. Although it was a very quick and easy read for me, it is 117 pages, I did not really enjoy reading this book. I felt like there was so much more that the author could have put into the book that she has left out.
review 2: Tofu Quilt deals with sexism and gender roles in Hong Kong during the 60’s. The book is written from the perspective of Yeung Ying, a girl raised in a middle class family surrounded by a culture that defined her at birth through stereotypical gender roles. However, her mom was rebellious to these standards and used every bit of savings she could muster to send Yeung Ying through private school. Tofu Quilt, told by Yeung Ying, follows her from Kindergarten to 7th grade where she explains mini-stories and tidbits about her daily life and events that occur during her time in private school. It is clear that within school, there is substantially less gender inequality in comparison to outside of the education sanctuary Yeung Ying found herself in. This, correlated with the fact that the average Chinese citizen was much less educated during the 1960’s also suggests the issue of higher education having a direct correlation to logic and equality. Yeung Ying, at a very early age, is playing with her (boy) cousins and states, “I am not Queen of the Pond. I cannot trap any snakes. But I do not mind being a little duck, always calling ‘Wait for me! Wait for me!’” (pp. 5). This shows that this gender role stereotype is even engraved into young children’s brains. Yeung Ying was a follower, a female, of 1960’s gender unequal Hong Kong. Yeung Ying would fall into the same trap if it weren’t for her mother, who had the ultimate impact on Yeung Ying attending private school. Her mother was no ordinary mother, she went above all odds to send Yeung Ying to private school, “They ask, Why doesn’t she send her daughter to an inexpensive public school why doesn’t she send her to be someone’s babysitter like we do with our girls, so she can help pay for a flat.” (pp. 26). Yeung’s mother didn’t abide to such ordinary customs – she wanted Yeung to be successful, rather than a man’s tool. The issue of gender inequality was especially pertinent in Hong Kong during the 1960’s – however, the gender issues expressed in Tofu Quilt are not meant to be generalized to Yeung Ying or even Hong Kong – rather, it expresses a specific story in order to conceptualize an ongoing problem in many cultures (including the United States). less

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