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    Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters
    Unavailable
    Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters
    Unavailable
    Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters
    Ebook301 pages3 hours

    Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters

    By Annie Choi

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “Mining the age-old tensions between mothers and daughters, Choi’s strong debut is an uproariously funny memoir of growing up with her Korean American family in Los Angeles.... [T]hese are indelible, poignant, and often riotously funny scenes of a daughter’s frustrations and indestructible love.” — Booklist

    A humorous story about the relationship between a first generation Korean-American and her parents, an alternately funny and poignant narrative showing how it feels to have one foot firmly planted on each side of the Pacific Ocean.

    Annie Choi’s very Korean mother never stopped annoying her thoroughly Americanized daughter. Growing up near Los Angeles, Annie was continually exasperated by both her mother’s typical Korean harangues—you must get all As and attend Harvard—and non-so-typical eccentricities: stuffing the house with tacky Pope paraphernalia.

    But when Annie’s mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, the uneasy relationship between mother and daughter changes. Choi’s witty and accessible prose will appeal to any daughter of immigrants, and to anyone who’s had a challenging relationship with their mother.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061847677
    Unavailable
    Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters

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    Reviews for Happy Birthday or Whatever

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Let me just start out by saying that Happy Birthday or Whatever was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The author, Annie Choi, writes about her family with wit and sarcasm and you just can't help but laugh at her somewhat tense relationship with her mother. The thing that I loved most about this book was that it was heartwarming and humorous. There are a lot of memoirs out there written about a dysfunctional family that are depressing. "My mom was a bitch to me. My dad left and didn't care that we had no income. My brothers and sisters were homeless." Yes some of those types of memoirs tug at my heart strings, but it was refreshing to read one in where the family is dysfunctional but love each other while not really standing one another. Even if you aren't Korean, you'll love this novel. It's relateable to anyone who has felt embarrased or annoyed at their family members or felt that they wouldn't live up to the expectations that were set by them by their family. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a memoir about a slighly dysfunctional family, yet want to laugh out loud. I read this book in about four hours and had to stay up late to finish it. I just couldn't put it down.
    • 3/5
      A short quick read of stories by a Korean-American woman about her family. Mainly her mother and how their relationship is. Quite humorous little tales. Each chapter being a different remembrance. Nothing earth shattering but a decent enough sunny afternoon read.
    • 3/5
      I found this book at my used entertainment store, with a "Employee Recommendation!" bookmark tucked into it, which basically said I'd find the book - and Choi's mother's antics - hilarious, which is why I picked it up. However, I didn't have a "laugh out loud" moment until the very end, but it did keep my interest the entire time. I found the fact the parents' dialog was written in, for lack of a better comparison, stereotypical broken Asian English ("Why you no like? It fun!") slightly jarring, but not enough to pull me out of the book.On the other hand, I loved the descriptions of everything Asian: the traditional Korean clothing, food, traditions. Some of my favorite chapters were set during family visits to Seoul.
    • 5/5
      A funny look at life with a typical Korean family. I found myself chuckling and empathizing completely. Annie's writing style is delightfully light and funny and her portrayal of her family is one I'm sure most of us can relate to, Korean or not!
    • 4/5
      Lovely book of first generation Korean American Annie, and her relationships with her family (especially her mother and father). Full of love, compassion, humor in all their foibles. A really great book. Look forward to more by Ms Choi.
    • 5/5
      Awesome writing, awesome (quick) read. Annie Choi is fantastic and hilarious. You can relate to her experiences with her family, no matter what your background. She is definitely a writer to watch.