Gunga Din Highway

Ancient and contemporary myths of China and America propel this provocative, multilayered tale of a willful Chinese American's 50-year odyssey from black sheep to reluctant head of the family. Ulysses Kwan, son of actor Longman Kwan-famous for his roles as Charlie Chan's Number Four Son and as ``the Chinaman Who Dies'' in numerous war films-never accepts his lot in the family or in the San Francisco Bay Chinese community. Nor does he respect the life's work of his ambitious, self-absorbed father. Through the sweeping changes of four decades, from the 1950s to the present, Ulysses, in a kaleidoscope of roles, from artist to revolutionary, from railroadman to writer, confronts various societal presumptions. Chin's forceful, often vitriolic narrative alternates among the points of view of Longman Kwan, of Ulysses's two childhood blood-brothers, and of Ulysses himself. Juxtaposing Hollywood mythology with Chinese legend, Chin (Donald Duk) writes with penetrating insight into the power and persistence of ethnic stereotypes-implicating fellow Chinese American authors and artists in the process. The multiplicity of Chin's narrative agenda does occasion some flaws, however; initially convincing characterizations and plot elements weaken as Chin molds them into targets for ideological or satiric fusillades. Nevertheless, Chin's strong prose, angry wit, intelligence and even arrogance make this a vital, always interesting read. Author tour. (Sept.)