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Crossings

by Leonard Chang (Goodreads Author)

4.00 · rating details · 7 ratings · 2 reviews

i]Crossings /i] takes an unflinching look at the lives of Korean immigrants, legal and illegal, in the San Francisco Bay Area. This novel centers on Sam, a widower, who finds himself in debt to a local gangster and Unha, an illegal immigrant working at a nightclub. Intertwined with their lives are the lives of other characters-family members, other immigrants, gangsters. T...more

Hardcover, 315 pages

Published August 20th 2009 by Black Heron Press

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Jan 06, 2011

Melissa Chadburn rated it

Crossings
by Leonard Chang

He did it again. Three days tops. That’s how long it took me to read this novel. This is not pretty words. It is clear, concise and enrapts the reader. At the end of the day with all the rules and suggestions it is probably most important that the writer knows how to tell a good story. There’s this ongoing MFA debate, aside from people alleging that low residency MFA programs are these cash cows for Universities that at the end of the day deliver l...moreCrossings
by Leonard Chang

He did it again. Three days tops. That’s how long it took me to read this novel. This is not pretty words. It is clear, concise and enrapts the reader. At the end of the day with all the rules and suggestions it is probably most important that the writer knows how to tell a good story. There’s this ongoing MFA debate, aside from people alleging that low residency MFA programs are these cash cows for Universities that at the end of the day deliver little to no promise, there is also the inference as to whether or not an MFA actually can improve or harm someone’s writing. Sometimes even after having an MFA, my uncle’s advice of K.I.S.S. “Keep It Simple Stupid” might come more in handy.
Chang proves this with his steady paced novel that is ripe with conflict. In addition to feeling like a guilty pleasure and being a perfect rainy day book, Leonard tackles some heavy subject matter.
Up until now, when people referred to Chang as a “Korean writer” I was reminded of Basquiat, when they referred to him as a “black painter” and he replied “Oh no I use other colors than just black.” Meaning I’ve read the Allen Choice novels and although Allen Choice was Korean his character was primarily an American that lived in the bay area. That is to say, it appeared that rock climbing and philosophy influenced him more than his Korean culture. In this novel Chang looks at the lives of Korean immigrants and the underground human trafficking and prostitution trade in San Francisco.
Although, Leonard Chang is Korean he still exemplifies the art of writing “the other”. He depicts his female character’s experience of being raped and forced into prostitution so well, catching every detail. I was most impressed with one quiet scared moment when his character Unhe rested her lips on her naked knees. That simple observation was brilliant. I have self-soothed myself like this many times. The rape scenes also reminded me that sometimes I harness too much empathy for “the other” in my work. Chang really went to town on his male characters. He made the bad guys fully bad. Sometimes I reign in my bad guys. But truly in life there is nothing more putrid than the thought of somebody touching me unsolicitly. Let him be all the way putrid. From personal knowledge, it can be unsettling writing about ones own culture and still feel as if you are writing “the other.” Researching your own community. It can be very sensitive. Then you remind yourself you are in the magical world of fiction where nothing exists except for what you put on the page.
When I was in my twenties I decided I wanted to make money. Lots of money. So I began working for a financial firm. I studied with my coworkers and then after a battery of tests those of us that passed were all offered a job. About half of my coworkers were Korean. We worked in Century city and lived in K-town so we would carpool together. On pay day to unwind we would sometimes go to a club called Le Prive. I think it is now called something else. The first time I walked in I discovered a whole new world. My friend whispered, “This place is run by the Korean mafia.” I don’t know if that was true.
The customers paid a flat rate for a table. The table came with a bottle of Crown Royal, a bottle of juice, and anju (food you eat while drinking, usually fruit). Our table was usually about 200 dollars so we went with a crowd of ten people. When you walked in you had to go through a metal detector. The place was clouded with smoke from the smoke machines and the ceiling and banisters were lined with gargoyles that had long sharp laser red eyes that darted across the crowded dance floor. Women and men “freaked” themselves and each other holding glow-in-the dark light sticks. The two things that struck me the most:

the dancing: even though there was a lot of testosterone in the room when people heard a song they liked they danced. and they danced hard and provocatively. the korean men would not hesitate to dance with each other.
booking: if a man wanted company he could raise a lit candle in the air and the waiter would rush the next unaccompanied woman to his table. She was not obliged to do anything but sit and have small talk, perhaps have a drink if she wished.

This novel took me right back to those nights at Prive. It ended in a similar way. If you drank too much at a Kclub you could call a Korean taxi service, usually a large white van. The service would pick you up and take you home free of charge. That is to say, I felt like I went down some scary dark alleys but at the end of the day I was ushered home safely. (less)

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Feb 21, 2010

Patrick O'Neil rated it

Leonard Chang's Crossings has a simple beginning. A premise that has potential, although nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to warn you of things to come. There's characters you care about, there's those you hate. There's tension, there's the making for intrigue, there's definitely things going on - just not all of them have been said, not all of them are clear.

Yet after the first five chapters I knew how it was going to end. Although I don't mean the plot was so obvious I could p...more

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Oct 05, 2011

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