The Woman Warrior :

Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
by Maxine Hong Kingston

Paperback
Published by Vintage Books
Publication date: May 1989
ISBN: 0679721886

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Reviews:

Abigail Lane, WA, Australia, June 7, 2000 Literature Waffles

I have not read any negative review of this novel,and yet found it unbearably tedious. I'm not saying that it's bad prose though- just very mediocre and the method in which the issues within are dealt with both cliched and superficial. The paradox that is at the heart of the story is fascinating and deserving of more than just literary waffle.

A reader from Hanover , PA , 04/01/98, Simply Marvelous!
The bravery of her mother is almost unimaginable. The story displays the strength of women that most people believe doesn't exist. It also contrasts the difference in roles of women in America to China.

Dana from Kailua, HI , 03/10/98, what is the significance of dragons?
The Woman Warrior encourages women to be leaders even though society reprimands it. This story inspires women to be courageous and display their qualities in covert ways. Woman, like white tigers are rare, beautiful, and valuable. What do the dragons symbolize in this story? Do they have a major significance? Why did Fa Mu Lan have to learn the ways of the dragon beofre returning home?

A reader from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA!!! , 03/09/98, Life and Living
This is the story of one woman's life. That is, in all simplicity, what it is. It is life, albeit a well told, thought-provoking recitation. And unlike I have, Kingston does not go overboard on the vocabulary. The narrative is eloquent. I have found (uh-oh first person) it to be a good book and would recommend it even to my closest of friends. (Just so you know that I'm not just saying that, I'd recommend it to mes amis as well.) Oh, and just to show you that I really did read it, my favorite quote in the whole book goes a little along the lines of this: "I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes"(29). It is strange to learn that someone else has wondered why their last toe nail is split in half, and searched for a personal guru. Geez Louise, I've just about broken every rule in the English book. This is gonna be out in the public forum too. Ah well. I'll sum up now. Story of life, Well told.

A reader from Madison, WI , 03/02/98, Missing Quite a Bit
It has been interesting reading these other reviews about The Woman Warrior. People have no problems in stating the obvious about how beautifully written it is and how it a new and fluid style of prose. However, not a single person has taken the time to talk about the signifigace of the ideographs, or the doubleness that the narrator exists in. She is either writing about being Chinese, or being American, thus eluding to the dichotomous structure of the novel. She is talking or she is silent. One of the most amazing aspects about this book is Kingston's ability to show how silence is a form of communication and how it shaped and molded her being. He rmother tells her to be silent, yet she goes against her cultural standards by talking about her aunt, which is an act of will on Kingston's part by offering us her ancestry. The ideograms that she tells us about are the connection between image and meaning, and the ideogram is a silent token of meaning. The notion of silence can be simplified into a sign of oppression where someone isn't allowed to speak. But silence can also be seen as a sign of respect, such as prayer or rememberance. Kingston mobilizes silence through themetizing subordination, will and semiotic silence. The silent birth from her no-named aunt furthers this idea, in the respect that both Kingston is speaking about her aunt when she is not supposed to, and her aunt is having a child that is banished by society.

A reader from Boston, Massachusetts , 12/22/97, in one word POWERFUL
Maxine Hong Kingston gets to the truth of matter. Her writing is powerful and honest. When I read _Woman Warrior_ six years ago as an adolescent, it changed my life. When I read in less than a year ago after having hear Kingston speak, I understood why. Back then, I had thought her book was about being a woman, being an asian, and being an american but what I found out now was that this book is about having the courage to be a human being. Excellent use of interweaving myth and reality. Non-fiction at its best.

A reader from Boston, MA , 12/19/97, A beautiful book about growing up hyphenated
When I first read Maxine Hong Kingston's WOMAN WARRIOR, I inhaled the pages. I couldn't believe I had actually found someone who took my soul and explained it. WOMAN WARRIOR is a multi-layered and rich story about growing up hyphenated, growing up between worlds. Although some readers may complain about Kingston's innovative use of time (the story doesn't follow chronological order) and style, Kingston's book itself is an experiment in storytelling. As a Chinese-American daughter of two Chinese immigrants, Kingston is exploring what is true and what is myth in a new society where her parents' way of living may be obsolete but where she is also an outsider. Caught between different worlds, Kingston's retelling of ancient Chinese myths and the interspersing of her own story creates a strong, anti-nostalgic piece about her life.

A reader from Worcester, Massachusetts , 11/18/97, The book is a must-read, innovational autobiography.
With all of the literature that has been written, you would be hard-pressed to find many innovations in the past few decades. This book is the exception: a clear innovation of the basic, chronological autobiography and a clever mix of fact and fiction. I recommend that this book be included on the syllabus of any course on autobiography, modern american literature, women's literature, or multi-cultural literature. It is a must-read!

Allegra J. Lingo , 10/10/97, Perfect for Senior Year High School English
I must admit that when I was first handed this book, all I could think was that I wasn't going to like this--there was no way I was going to be able to relate to what Kingston talks about! But as I read, Kingston enveloped me into her world, into her life, and into her stories. I was the little girl who didn't talk in kindergarten. I was the aunt who was forgotten. I was the Woman Warrior on the White Tiger mountain, conversing with the old people, saving my village, and getting my direction from nature. Kingston's ability to tell a great story is something that we don't see often in today's world of self help books and surface novels. Kingston's characters aren't flat--they are the roundest I've ever seen. I read this as a high school senior last year, and most of my friends loved the book. We were on the brink of leaving our childhood and our familiar surroundings, and it was time for us to make sense of the stories that had been passed down to us through our parents. I highly reccommend that any 12th grade English teacher (especially honors courses) put this on their reading list for the year. ----->Allegra J. Lingo

A reader from St. Louis, Missouri , 10/01/97, Brilliant Autobiography in a 3rd Person Way
In this, her autobiography, Kingston uses detailed imagery and rich language to tell her life story without directly telling it at all. Through a series of five distinct "talk-stories," Kingston reveals seemingly fragmented aspects of her life and of the lives of other women. However, an endless number of connections link all five stories and form one coherent text. In the end, Kingston allows the reader to infer her life through the autobiography. On this literary and symbolic level, Kingston's autobiography is a wonderfully impressive display of skill and should be considered by book fans of all backgrounds.

Barbara Haynes, 06/17/97
A bitter and beautiful account of growing up Chinese in America surrounded by the legacies of her motherís ancient folklore of women as warriors in China. As a first generation Chinese American, Hongston discovers between the lines that China was a place where real women were traditionally looked upon as worthless. The author exhorts passionately about her growing up in two worlds, her frustration and anger with her confined role in society, and the paradoxical relationship with her family. - Barbara, multiculturalism, http://multicultural.miningco.com

Cin-Yee Shih , 05/01/97, Rich, diverse simplicity and incredible
Woman Warrior reveals many facets to growing up Chinese American. The author uses imagery and folklore to create spaces outside of her confined role in society. The mother in this story is a paradox, always pushing silence on Maxine, while talking story with her. It explores a lot of basic emotion and human understanding, and gets richer everytime you read it. I enthusiastically recommend this novel to anyone. It appeals to something in everyone, and is something you must read cover to cover time and time again.

A reader , 04/15/97, This book is a combination of a woman warrior.
I have read this book in high school and I find it very amazing and self motivation for Asian American women's reader. As an Chinese American, I find this book have an interesting point the author is trying to make than telling the four stories of the women warrior or adventurous. Personally, I think the author is implying and changing the stereotype of Asian women in America. Instead of using the daily speaking and writing language, she is writng stories and combining the characters (forgot the names)of this book and to form into one new woman warrior. People who have not read this book should think about picking it up in the book store. When reading the book, try thinking of the message the author is implying than her stories.