American Knees

In his second novel, Wong (Homebase) discursively traces the course of true love through the rapids of ethnicity, feminism and Asian stereotypes. Second-generation Chinese-American hero Raymond Ding's cultural and amatory uncertainty goes back to a schoolyard taunt, ``Are you Chinese, Japanese, or American knees?'' that he has responded to with overcompensation, particularly in love. As a dutiful firstborn son, he marries a Chinese woman (whose hierarchical family runs a restaurant empire); after getting a divorce as well as a position in Minority Affairs at a California college, he carries on a slightly sententious affair with Aurora Crane, a young half-Japanese Midwesterner. Raymond, Aurora and the other characters spend much of their time talking, whether about relationships or other subjects ranging from interracial dating to Hop Sing, the Chinese cook on Bonanza. This allows Wong plenty of trenchant observation and sardonic commentary, but the dialogue tends to advance the plot without adding much momentum or insight into the characters mouthing it. Though the story winds up reuniting its principals through a deterministic plot twist, its power is dissipated by the disembodied telephone debates over hyphenated identity. Author tour. (Aug.)