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    Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel
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    Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel
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    Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel

    Written by Jean Kwok

    Narrated by Angela Lin

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the bestselling author of Girl in Translation, a novel about a young woman torn between her family duties in Chinatown and her escape into the world of ballroom dancing.

    Twenty-two-year-old Charlie Wong grew up in New York's Chinatown, the older daughter of a Beijing ballerina and a noodle maker. Though an ABC (America-born Chinese), Charlie's entire world has been limited to this small area. Now grown, she lives in the same tiny apartment with her widower father and her eleven-year-old sister, and works--miserably--as a dishwasher.

    But when she lands a job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio, Charlie gains access to a world she hardly knew existed, and everything she once took to be certain turns upside down. Gradually, at the dance studio, awkward Charlie's natural talents begin to emerge. With them, her perspective, expectations, and sense of self are transformed--something she must take great pains to hide from her father and his suspicion of all things Western. As Charlie blossoms, though, her sister becomes chronically ill. As Pa insists on treating his ailing child exclusively with Eastern practices to no avail, Charlie is forced to try to reconcile her two selves and her two worlds--Eastern and Western, old world and new--to rescue her little sister without sacrificing her newfound confidence and identity.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 24, 2014
    ISBN9780698153820
    Unavailable
    Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel
    Author

    Jean Kwok

    Jean Kwok is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee, Girl in Translation, and Mambo in Chinatown. Her work has been published in twenty countries and is taught in universities, colleges, and high schools across the world. She has been selected for numerous honors, including the American Library Association Alex Award, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award, and the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award international shortlist. She received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and earned an MFA from Columbia University. She is fluent in Chinese, Dutch, and English, and divides her time between the Netherlands and New York City.

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    Reviews for Mambo in Chinatown

    4/5

    99 ratings25 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Too predictable. Romance novel.
    • 5/5
      I received a free ARC of this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. Charlie Wong is a twenty-two-year-old, living in a tiny apartment in Chinatown with her father and sister, her mother having died years earlier. She works as a dishwasher at the same restaurant where her father is a noodle-maker and she's miserable. Then she lands a job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio and discovers a side of herself she never knew; yet she must hide her new job and emerging talents as a dancer from her father. Then her sister starts to become ill and Charlie must try to help her as best she can, while Charlie's father shuns Western medicine.I just don't have much to say about this book - not every book gives me deep thoughts, or lots of talking points when I read it. Yet, I was interested from page one and ended up absolutely loving this book. Charlie is a very likeable character - she's strong and smart, but stubborn and she can be self-centered too. She, and the rest of the cast, felt very human. I became emotionally invested in her and her sister's story and I shared Charlie's hopes for her future. Overall, the story felt real to me. I wish I had more to say - but I just find myself wanting to say over and over again, "I loved it!" I read it in just a couple of days and often told myself "just one more chapter" whenever I was trying to put it down. I haven't read Kwok's other book, but after finishing Mambo in Chinatown I immediately ordered it from Amazon. The back of the book says the hardcover will be on sale June 24 - so check it out!
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable book.
    • 4/5
      A delightful tale of growing up and becoming your own person, mixed with a healthy dose of ballroom dancing. Charlie Wong is a thoroughly enjoyable protagonist. I've read Girl in Translation, and I like Kwok's sophomore effort even more.
    • 3/5
      I found this book to be OK. It was overly long and tended to plod along. The characters were well drawn. There essentially was not enough happening to keep my interest easily. I'm afraid I would not feel comfortable recommending this book to others.
    • 4/5
      I had high hopes for this book after enjoying the author's first, and was left a little disappointed. This is sort of a fairy tale story, Chinese girl becomes dancing star. I was frustrated throughout this book, by the implausible story line, and and especially by the lack of medical treatment for an 11 year old child with increasingly worrying symptoms. Learning about Chinese culture was interesting, but I was frustrated with aspects of it. Overall, this was an ok read that I would not recommend.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed every page of this book. The characters were authentic, engaging, and charming. I felt I was right there with every description and page. I couldn't put it down and am looking forward to reading more from the author. A definite favorite and will remain in my library to read again.
    • 4/5
      Picked this up because I really liked Kwok's debut (Girl in Translation) and I believe I enjoyed this one even more. Chinatown and the traditions and beliefs explored here show a clash between the immigrant generation and their American born (or culturally assimilated) children. What happens when the dreams of youth clash with the traditions of family? What about Eastern vs Western medicine? Curses? Kwok does a lovely job of showing the emotions and conflict within the main character as she pursues a dream job she never thought possible and that her father would not approve of. As Charlie's dreams of dancing come true, her little sister becomes sick and while their uncle is a practitioner of traditional Eastern medicine, Charlie believes Lisa should see a neurologist. As she begins to build a secret life outside of Chinatown, Charlie must decide how far she is willing to go in deceiving her father.
    • 5/5
      Charlie is the oldest daughter of a ballerina and a noodle maker. An American-born Chinese, Charlie has grown up in New York's Chinatown. Her limited experiences quickly show when she lands a job as a receptionist at a dance study. Clumsy and dyslexic, Charlie struggles at her job and constantly makes mistakes. When she overbooks, she is forced to teach a beginner's dance class, with only a few days training. The owner and other dancers are quickly impressed with how quickly she picks up the moves and soon she is promoted to dancer.Overall, this book was extremely well written and engaging. I absolutely loved Charlie and the other characters around her. This was a fascinating blend of eastern and western cultures. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I read this book because I am learning to ballroom dance, and I will read anything that is about ballroom dancing. On that count, I loved it. It did ring true, although it was amazing that the main character, Charlie, learned so quickly... wish I could learn that fast. I enjoyed watching her grow and find herself and also enjoyed reading about Chinese rituals which I had known nothing about. However, I did not buy into the romantic aspect, and I thought ending was somewhat abrupt. It was a quick, easy read, though, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in ballroom dancing.
    • 4/5
      A nice but somewhat predictable story about a young Chinese-American woman trying to gain some independence for herself and her sister from her over protective father and family. She finds her path out through the world of dance. Like many Asian themed books about young women the principle character has a total lack of confidence that she must overcome. Her sister suffers from a mysterious disease that has a surprising cause that you don't find till the end of the book but not before she has to undergo all sorts of unusual traditional Chinese medical treatments. Easy to read but has a well used plot in Asian based fiction.
    • 3/5
      I was rather disappointed with this book. There was no sense of time or place: it could have been set in any US city, with any insular ethnic group, in any time period from now back to the 50's. The romance was predictable.
    • 5/5
      One of my special loves is dancing. It's a love I got from my mother, just like Charlie did. Though, in the case of my family, it's more about watching dancing than actually doing it, which I'm simply hopeless at. But, seriously, I don't care how terrible a movie is: if it's about dancing, I will watch it and probably like it a good deal more than I should. I hoped Mambo in Chinatown would be the book equivalent of movies like Strictly Ballroom and Shall We Dance?, and oh how right I was. Mambo in Chinatown is an adorable dancing movie about going for your dreams, as well as a touching story of family and culture.The novel's heroine Charlie (yes, she's a girl and, no, it's not short for anything) works as a dishwasher. She'd like to do something better, but doesn't really aspire because she doesn't think she's good enough. Charlie's never excelled at anything. Instead, she funnels her dreams into her gifted younger sister, Lisa, and works hard to earn money to help out her Pa. Family is very important in Chinese culture, but for Charlie it's clearly more than duty that keeps her at home at age 22. She loves her family, even when they frustrate her, which they often do.At someone's suggestion, Charlie goes to interview for a receptionist job at a dance studio. Her mother was a renowned ballerina and Charlie hopes this will help her feel closer to her mother. They take a chance on Charlie, in her outsize matron's clothing and with her lack of skills. She turns out to be a terrible receptionist, but they end up seeing promise in her as a dancer. Charlie really takes to dancing, due to innate talent. This might seem like a chosen one sort of thing, but she was already highly skilled at tai chi with some natural sports ability and strength from dishwashing. She works intensely for months and doesn't become magically amazing overnight. Kwok shows how much effort she puts in to get good at dancing so quickly and makes the whole thing very believable.Watching Charlie discover who she is free from the constraints of her family is wonderful. Much as she loves them and they her, her family doesn't always have the best ideas for her. They try to force romance on her with specifically chosen men and shame her if she wears even slightly revealing clothing. Though the goal is protection, the end result is squelching her personality and creativity. The story is all about finding the balance between her dreams and her family's hopes for her.There's a plot surrounding Charlie's little sister, which makes the book really dark at times. Overall, it's a really adorable sweet romance. I won't get into details here, but Lisa has some serious problems that have to be resolved. I saw the ending coming, but I think it resolved well enough. The relationships between Charlie, Pa, and Lisa are so sweet. They all care for one another, but they're all so bad at showing that or really knowing how to help.Actually, the one aspect I'm not really into is the romance. Charlie deserves some romance for sure, and I don't hate the guy, but the timing of everything really bothered me. It's borderline not shippable for me, personally. Kwok did a good job setting everything up, but I didn't like the way things actually happened. Also, the really annoying thing is that the book ends before the reader finds out if [spoiler]the dance studio found out she was dating a student and fired her[/spoiler]. I'm assuming not, but I'd really like to know that sort of thing for sure.Despite the lack of SHIP, I wholeheartedly recommend Mambo in Chinatown to all of my kindred spirits who cannot watch Strictly Ballroom enough times. Pretty sure you'll all have as much fun as I did.
    • 3/5
      I won this arc from library thing. I was disappointed in this book, my expectations were much higher. Wasn't that exciting and I predicted everything that happened, no surprises or twists.
    • 3/5
      Manhattan's Chinatown and two girls, now motherless but living with their father in a very limited area. For me, the most interesting part of this book was the adjustment that the girls had to make in staying true to their culture while harboring dreams that would take them out of it. This happens with the oldest girl, when she gets a job as a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio. Her deceased mother had been a ballerina in Beijing and this job makes her fell closer to her mother. Her father, though, is suspicious of anything considered Western.I enjoyed reading about their traditional medicine at odds with the Western view and ways of the same. Their uncle is a highly thought of doctor of the traditional or Eastern medicine and the younger sister, who is only eleven, works in his shop. I don't think I will ever forget the part of the snake pansies, or rat fetuses.There were a few parts and a few circumstances that just did not ring true for me, but on the whole a good read.
    • 4/5
      I really loved this book. Charlie's feelings of being invisible and talentless are, I believe, much more universal than most people realize. I think it is because of this, that this book was so easy to fall in love with, and so relatable. I about as far as you can get from being like Charlie on the surface, but even so, I felt as though I knew her, and understood her. I had a really hard time putting this book down. I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I received an advanced copy of Mambo in Chinatown from Libraything .com in exchange for my honest review.I was very excited when I won an advanced copy of this novel; I so wanted to love it, but unfortunately I found it too unbelievable and predictable. It is a nice story, but it fell flat for me. Charlie is a twenty-two year old, well-intentioned, kindhearted Chinese American girl who is devoted to her family. She struggles with the direction her life is going. She suffers academically; she clearly has learning disabilities which affect her reading. Charlie has failed at numerous jobs, not for the lack of trying, but for her inability to excel in the positions. When the novel opens, Charlie is a dishwasher in an Asian restaurant where her father is recognized as an amazing noodle-maker. Her eleven year old sister, Lisa, has been offered the opportunity to test for admission to a prestigious high school where all expenses are covered, and then there is Charlie. Despite her sweet nature, she is floundering. But, miraculously Charlie is transformed, almost overnight, into a professional ballroom dancer. Despite all of her difficulties, the reader is expected to believe that Charlie is able to excel as a professional dancer to the point where she is teaching beginning classes after a few lessons of her own. I liked Charlie, you can't help but like her, but I didn't like her enough to overcome the shortfalls in the story.The most interesting parts of the novel for me were the ones that gave the reader a glimpse into the Chinese culture, superstitions and beliefs. I did not know that in the Asian culture white clothing symbolized mourning while red and gold brought good luck. I also learned that the improper use of chopsticks can bring bad luck because it resembles grave digging. Their unusual medical concoctions, reliance upon psychics, and methodology of healing the body and the soul, as one, holistically, offered a peak into the Asian community and was very engaging. These revelations made the work unique, but I would have liked there to have been more of them.Mambo in Chinatown is not a bad book; it is an enjoyable read, just not memorable.
    • 4/5
      I received an advance copy of Jean Kwok's 'Mambo in Chinatown' as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers' program.I really loved reading about Charlie, the dishwasher-turned dance instructor in 'Mambo in Chinatown' because her upbringing is very disconnected from that of most US young adults and closer to that of a traditional Chinese girl. It wasn't until she mentioned computers and cell phones that I realized that Charlie is in her 20s in the present, and then I became more interested in watching her grow from a clumsy girl who hasn't had a mother figure - her late mother was a famous dancer in China before she and Charlie's father emigrated - into a chic dance instructor who learns how to be less shy and make the most of her previously unknown gifts. I worried about her, wondering if Charlie could keep her work and home life separate, and whether she could successfully navigate the pitfalls of family, work, and romance. I often get emotionally involved with fictional characters but during parts of 'Mambo in Chinatown' my stomach was clenched for Charlie.This was a wonderful novel and I look forward to reading more by Ms. Kwok.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book! It would be the perfect summer read since it reads smoothly and keeps you engaged. Charlie is a Chinese American woman who neatly handles a number of challenges thrown her way. You can't help but cheer for her and be happy as her life improves.The other characters are interesting, though you end up wanting to know more about them. I thought I knew where the book was going with Charlie's sister and kept thinking that it was too cliche. However, I was proven wrong by the ending which I did not see coming at all. As a tai chi player, I appreciated the references. You could read this book as a summer read, but there's more meat there if you look for it. I'm really looking forward to future books from this author.
    • 4/5
      *I received this book as part of the First-reads giveaways*

      My mother-in-law and I had a conversation not too long ago about what constitutes a 5-star rating for a book. Is it a good story? Is it fabulous writing? Is it the perfect mixture of both? Is it something else? Up until this reading this book, I was a 'perfect mixture' kind of girl. This story, however, was so entertaining and sentimental that I just couldn't stop reading! The writing was relatively straightforward, not a whole lot of symbolism going on, but I felt deeply connected to Charlie, and thought that she was a very well developed, thought out character. Both of her worlds (her home life and the dancing studio) brought out different parts of her personality, and I thought Kwon did an excellent job portraying the struggle Charlie felt in being accepted for who she was in general. I will say, however, that some of the phrases used were a little corny, and somewhat out of place. Like a professional dance teacher telling her students that there is a strict 'no hanky-panky' policy. Seriously, who says hanky-panky anymore? All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I have a feeling this copy will be one that is passed around and greatly loved by all. Oh, and has this been optioned for a movie yet? Because it would be a great one. :)
    • 4/5
      Charlie (an anglicization of Cha Lan, or beautiful orchid, a name which takes on significance in the story) is 22, and still living at home. She helps her father take care of her 11-year-old sister Lisa; their mother died of a stroke eight years previously. Charlie works as a dishwasher at the same restaurant in New York’s Chinatown in which her father serves as “noodle master.” Charlie, an “ABC” (American-born Chinese), has always felt unattractive, especially as compared to her late mother, once a star ballerina in Beijing, who was “poised, elegant and beautiful.” Charlie dreams of being more like her Ma in her next life. But her Godmother Yuan tells her that even this life can be different; as she quotes from Lao Tzu: “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”Charlie would love to let go - at least of dishwashing, and she responds to an ad for a receptionist at a ballroom dance studio. To her surprise, she gets the job. She tells her Pa, however, that she got a job doing data entry at a computer company; he is extremely protective and old-fashioned and she fears he would not approve.Charlie isn’t very good as a receptionist though; she might have some type of dyslexia. But one day when the studio is short a new instructor for beginners, they ask Charlie to fill in for the day. Charlie helps her godmother teach tai chi so it isn’t such a stretch, and to everyone’s surprise, she does a great job. They decide to let her continue in the position, and help her by teaching her all the dance moves. She loves it.At the dance studio she also picks up more than dance; she comes to learn something about beauty:“Their attractiveness had more to do with how they moved, how they held themselves, than how they looked. . . I began to see beauty as something that could be unleashed from within a person rather than a set of physical features . . . "Dancing made Charlie feel “free and strong, beautiful and courageous, capable of anything.” She was astounded to find that “for the first time, I felt as if I might have a chance to actually be good at something. Like Godmother said, nothingness was the beginning of the universe.”Then Charlie falls for one of her students, Ryan, but he is white, and in any event he has a girlfriend already.Charlie has troubles at home as well; something bad is happening to Lisa, who is losing her ability to walk. Their father won’t let them seek out Western Medicine to help Lisa, because it would cost too much money. Chinese medicine also has the advantage of emphasizing healing of both the body and soul. Unfortunately, not all of the practitioners of Chinese medicine are authentic. Losing money to charlatans is just as bad as losing money to western doctors.Eventually, all the characters learn the lesson Ryan (seeming channeling Godmother Yuan) shared with Charlie: “Every change has a hello and a goodbye in it, you know? You always have to leave in order to go on to something new.”Evaluation: This author is just lovely. She writes stories full of humor, wisdom, and creates strong females determined to overcome adversity. I didn't think this book was quite as good as her first book, Girl in Translation, but it was enjoyable nevertheless. And like that other book, this one would also make a great movie.
    • 4/5
      Many may look at this as a fairy tale, clumsy 22 year old Charlie, the daughter of a NYC Chinatown noodlemaker and a Chinese ballerina spends her days as a dishwasher in the restaurant where her father works. She wears clothes given to her by her aunt, and she’s given up trying to find a new job since she always screws it up. Between her job and trying to mother her younger sister (their mother died soon after Lisa was born) she doesn’t do much. She is exhausted from the days on her feet and hands stuck in dishwasher. When sister Lisa convinces her to apply for a job as a receptionist in a dance studio. Of course, she fails at that but the director sees possibilities under the ugly clothes and terrible haircut and invites Charlie to become an instructor. With their help Charlie is slowly transformed into a beautiful, talented dancer. When she and one of her students participate in a dance contest, she finds more than dance she finds love. Great details about growing up with an immigrant father and living in a community where everyone knows what you are up to is interesting
    • 4/5
      Charlie, a young Chinese woman living in New York, rebels against the wishes of her very conservative father and goes to work as a receptionist in a dance studio. She’s a lousy receptionist but, when given the opportunity, shows promise as a professional dancer. As she matures as a dancer, her young sister becomes quite ill and Eastern and Western cultures collide as Charlie and her father try to find a cure.Like a dance, the story has an enjoyable rhythm while portraying the details of life in the Chinese immigrant community. A satisfying read with a predictable ending.
    • 5/5
      It’s been many years since I was twenty-two, and I’m not ABC (American-born Chinese), and I’ve never had to choke down a traditional medicine brewed from the intimate body parts of strange animals to please a parent, but Charlie Wong is the kind of character it’s easy to relate to. Clumsy, imperfect, and devoted to her father and brilliant but troubled younger sister Lisa, Charlie has been working long hours as a dishwasher when Mambo in Chinatown opens, hoping for a chance at a better life. That opportunity comes when Lisa shows Charlie a want ad posted by a dance studio looking for a receptionist. It’s the kind of job Charlie has failed at before, organization and reading are big challenges for her, but she is determined to try even harder to succeed this time. Her mother, who died several years before, had been a star soloist with the Beijing Ballet back in China and Charlie is hoping that being around dancers will ease the pain of missing her. Charlie has to hide most details about her new job from her gentle, protective father, a man not comfortable with American ways, and things don’t exactly go as planned at the studio, but just as Charlie starts spreading her wings her sister Lisa begins having some frightening and confusing health problems. Charlie struggles to balance respect for her father’s Chinese values with her rapidly changing life and perspectives, and Lisa’s illness brings that conflict out in the open. The pleasures of this novel include a little romance, a lot of dance--the author knows her way around a dance floor and that adds fun to the story--and the dual Chinatown and dance studio settings, with richly detailed cultures and a full range of characters for both worlds. Even secondary characters are given motivations, back stories, and personalities that tug at the heart.
    • 4/5
      This book is an interesting study in culture clash. Charlie, an ABC (American Born Chinese) young woman, is torn between pleasing her father and pursuing her dream. Finally she pursues her dream, all the while keeping her true life secret from her father.Her little sister gradually becomes very ill, and here the culture clash becomes even greater because Pa wants to rely solely on Eastern medicine, but Charlie wants to bring in Western medicine. It’s easy to become impatient and irritated with Pa until you realize that the culture in which he was raised is so much different than the culture his daughters live in outside their tiny apartment. Added to his difficulty is that his wife died when the younger daughter was only three.It’s also hard to understand why a grown woman is so subservient to her father until you consider the aforementioned culture clash.The book is easy to read and held my interest. It moves along at a fairly constant pace almost to the very end, at which time there is a mighty emotional explosion. It took me by surprise, but upon reflection, I realized that, given little sister’s symptoms, it wasn’t surprising at all.All in all, this was a good reading experience. I think you’ll enjoy it.