Critical Article Summary #2

This is a precis of the second critical article I found on not only Choy's All That Matters, but also his writing style that he implemented into both his novels The Jade Peony and All That Matters. I'm a bit upset that there were a few spoilers in this article. Hopefully it won't affect my reaction to the events when I actually read about them.

There is a strong theme of ghosts and incantations used by Wayson Choy in his recent novel All That Matters. It is not so much an addition or extension to the ending of his novel written in 1995, The Jade Peony, but more so the same story told from a different perspective. The Jade Peony was written from the younger children's point of view (Liang-Liang, Jung-Sum, and Sek-Lung) while All That Matters is told through the eldest son, Kiam-Kim. Most authors don't usually write the same story again in a different novel, but Choy felt like he didn't complete the Chen family's story. It was the character Poh-Poh (the grandmother of the Chen family) who didn't sit well with Choy. He felt that there was much more to explain about her. She is one of the key characters and important role in maintaining the Chinese culture in the family. She 'acts as caregiver, storyteller and guardian of all things traditionally Chinese" (Myers 2004). Choy explains that the two novels may be about the same family but they still stand alone as two different novels. He successfully distinguishes the two by explaining that "The first book dwelled on the maternal side of Chinatown. It is the tale of the clan's elders and how they care for the three younger children. Kiam now offers a window onto the patriarchal side of Chinatown--the world inhabited by the fathers, uncles, sons, nephews and lonely bachelors" (Myers 2004). Choy successfully sustains the balance between heavy issues such as war, cultural differences and interracial relationships with more cheerful, lighter events and family experiences. Choy is absolutely talented in making even the most analytical minded people believe and understand what he is writing. He makes readers want to believe the things he says are filled with magic, ghosts, curses, blessings, and omens. It wasn't his belief in ghosts that influenced him to implement them into his work, oddly, he doesn't even believe in them. He does believe that the people who loved him and he loved back, are dwelling in his life well after they left this world. He avers that it is his old professor, Carol Shields, who is the voice in his head while he is writing; kindly asking him if he used too many adjectives in a sentence. It is Shields that Wayson Choy fans should thank, because it was she who urged him to lengthen his story about a Chinese immigrant family, which sooner turned into The Jade Peony; which eventually would influence the making of All That Matters.

Myers, Rebecca. "The Yin and the Yang: Toronto's Wayson Choy explores the masculine side of Chinatown" Time Canada 25 Oct. 2004 (Web. 28 Oct. 2010). http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A125420752&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=ko_k12hs_d21&version=1.0