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The Woman Warrior: Maxine Hong Kingston's Girlhood Among Ghosts

© Susan Jensen

A few months ago, I asked readers to tell me what their favorite classic books were. I received many recommendations; among them was Maxine Hong Kingston's book, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. The title (actually, the subtitle) intrigued me, so I went in search of the book. I finished it a few days ago and am still in awe of Kingston's ability and the story which she tells so well in this book.

Kingston's story reminded me a great deal of Amy Tan's work and dealt with many similar issues. Perhaps the greatest of these is the relationship between Kingston and her mother. The "mom and me" conflict seems to be almost universal among women and there has been much written on the topic. The most interesting part of this autobiography, however, comes in the form of Kingston's mother's "talk-story." The older woman is constantly telling stories from the Old World and bringing Chinese folklore into her life in America. Thus, she is forever sighting ghosts: taxi ghosts, newspaper boy ghosts, government ghosts, etc. As a child, she seemed to be alternately fascinated by her mother's stories and embarrassed by her ignorance and concrete ties to the traditions of her past. Because of her mother's insistence on Chinese ways, Kingston suffers many a humiliating experience. These are hilarious retellings that made me grateful to have grown up the way I did.

The folklore in the book is fascinating. Although in many instances, I found myself asking, "What in the world?" it is really quite interesting to read about Chinese traditions and superstitions. It is confusing at times (like the chapter about Mulan), but Kingston obviously doesn't feel the need to explain it all to us. Instead, she keeps the mystery surrounding China and allows us to graze our own understanding from its legends and people.

Kingston is a fine storyteller. Her images are so strong that we can see, hear, smell and taste everything she describes. When she describes Mulan with soft, fluttering images, I actually felt like a bird, observing the situation below me while soaring in a calm sky. On the other hand, when she talks of eating the entrails of certain animals, my stomach actually turned. Her description is so powerful that it grabs you and pulls you into her story. She takes you out of your own reality and places you into what was hers. That is how fine a storyteller she is.

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