Sun-Town

A tale of diaspora in which the small town gals found their ultimate beat. In this rag-time melody of beat-prose and surreptitious word-play, simplicity bedevils the young Chinese girls of California small-towns, leaving them upbraided by their parents, who can do no more than witness their descent into a netherworld of tattletale games and raffish jealousies. On the beat and path, a carnegie midget named Toomly spies on the children of Sun-town, watching them Zumba-dance behind a tan-bark fence. The town beauty Dora Foo howls for more devastation in the night and prays for poetry to come back to the world. Where there is warmth and familial quirkiness, nothing under the sun can harm the two families of the Lius and the Wongs, who train their spoiled daughters to be uniquely high-minded and free-spirited; gone are the Old Ways of the Old Country and resplendent are the new fairytale customs of this free-spoken America. A sumptuous read for the season of liberty and fast-paced enjoyment.