Bone, by Fae Myenne NG

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	• Bone : Novel, A Fae M. Ng Perennial, 1994 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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Family Culture

Bone
By Fae Myenne Ng
Review by Annette Baca
Bone is the reflection of how one family cycle through culture. This story takes place in San Francisco's Chinatown in a poor but sustainable neighborhood. The Leong family consists of a mother, father and three daughters. The Leong family is living life through dealing with the death of their middle daughter and sister Ona. Leila, the oldest daughter, feels an obligation to live the path set for her by her mother and step-father Leon. Nina the youngest daughter escapes the cycle by moving across the country to live her life in New York. Leon feels he has brought darkness upon his family by not following through on a cultural tradition of burying his adopted father's bones in their native country. The family learns to deal with life, culture, and family in accepting and letting go.
The theme of Bone is about responsibility the oldest daughter feels as her duty to her parents. Leila as a young child helps her mother with sewing projects, daily chores and is the communicator for the family. Leila is in charge for her younger sisters while her mother is at work and when her step-father Leon ships out on voyages. Leila is depended upon for knowing Leon's agenda and communicating this to her mother. This upbringing is what has lead to Leila's role of responsibility.
Bone brings the manifestation of how the Leong family is structured and how the sisters Leila and Nina accept the responsibility of their roles in the family structure. Leila is in a constant struggle with being the liaison for her immigrant parents and living her adult life. Leon and her mother depend on her intelligence and duty as daughter to help them with necessary paperwork and other family responsibilities. This becomes an extra burden when her sister Ona commits suicide, and Leila is the one to tell the family of Ona's death. Leila is responsible for making funeral arrangements, supporting her grieving parents, and dealing with her sister Nina's return. Fortunately, Leila has one outlet--her boyfriend Mason who helps give Leila the backbone to deal with her responsibilities.
Nina, the youngest of the Leong family, has left San Francisco for New York and has become an independent woman. Nina is able to escape the daily pressures in accepting that she could not live her life in the culture she was raised in. Upon the death of Ona, Nina returns to the family home and finds it is not a happy but dark environment. Nina invites her mother to take a trip to Hong Kong back to see the family culture and visit with relatives. Leila and Nina live different lives but when Leila goes to visit Nina in New York she explains that Leila needs to learn how to let go.
The relationships of the Leong family with the outside world are stabilized with Mason, Leila's boyfriend. The mother is accepting of Leila's relationship with Mason as he is Chinese but was raised outside of Chinatown. Leon depends on Mason to help him when he feels he has exhausted Leila's resources. Nina encourages Leila to marry Mason and to live her life while on a vacation trip to New York. Mason is the rock for the family especially for Leila when Ona dies.
Ona's death shocks the Leong family in disbelief a denial that anything could have been wrong in Ona's life. Leila and Nina return Ona's uniforms and her boss tells them, "She was one of my best hostesses ever. We hadn't asked him. That's the thing: people thought we wanted to hear about Ona, but mostly we just wanted them to be quiet about her." (Ng page109) Nina in conversation with Leila states, "Why does everybody keep saying she was all right?" (Ng page 111. "Ona was dead." (Ng page 153) Leila replies to her sister that they were all good at holding secrets and that "Ona kept more inside than either of us" (Ng page 111)
Leon has a unique relationship with the girls and their mother. Leon is not an educated man he provides for his family while taking on odd jobs through out the story. Leon likes working on ships that go out to sea for months at a time and Leila is responsible for knowing when Leon departs and returns from his voyages. Leon takes to living apart from the family when his wife has an affair while he is out on a voyage although he and his wife never get a divorce . "Leon blamed himself" (Ng page 50) for Ona's death because he did not follow a family tradition to take his adopted father's bones back to be buried in there native country. "He had this crazy idea that our family's bad luck started when he broke his promise to Grandpa Leong." (Ng page 50).
The Leong family faces many cultural challenges as many immigrant families encounter. In learning how to deal with responsibilities, life and cultural differences this family learns how to get along and go on with their adult lives. The reflection of how responsibility can shadow a young child into adulthood is remarkable. Leila in role of the oldest child assumes that all the responsibility lies with her. Nina proves that she can be responsible for her mother when she takes her on a vacation. Leila and Nina learn how to cope and accept the responsibilities of their family.
The story of Bone has a reflection for every family since we all come from different cultures. I recommend this book to any person who feels that they are the sole person responsible for parents, siblings, and other family members. This book can help see the role you play in your culture and how not to fall victim to have the sole responsibility.

Work Cited
Ng, Fae Myenne. Bone. Place of publication New York. HarperCollins Publishers., year of publication 1994.

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Bone, by Fae Myenne NG

"Bones", a beautifully written novel about relationships and the challenges faced by a Chinese immigrant family with first generation Chinese American daughters, provokes the reader to take an intimate journey through the eyes of the main narrator, Leila. Leila, the eldest of the three sisters, is like most children of immigrant parents in that she takes on the role of the "navigator" in helping the family make their way through a new culture and new societal systems. Leila, like many first generation Americans, struggles with living on a bridge between two worlds that of her native Chinese customs, and her Americanized ways of looking at herself and life.

The story takes off with Leila revealing her eloping with Mason to her mother, while visiting her younger sister Nina in New York. Mother, of course, does not take it at all too well. The story unfolds in the present while also addressing reflections of past memories, and even intimately revisiting the past. Through Leila, the narrator's perspectives we are invited to take a personal look at the challenges and richness of the relationships within her family and community.

One point of conviction for the story is the struggle each character deals with. The on-going struggle with self-blame for the suicidal death of Ona, the middle child, this affects each character differently. Ona's death and the symbolism of "bones" serve as metaphors in the unfolding of this most intriguing and inviting story line and for each character's evolutionary process in their own unique and meaningful way.

"Bones" seems to symbolize Ona's death, her mangled bones as a result from jumping off of a tall building; the bones the mother is left with in order to give the meatier parts to her daughters; and the bones of the grandfather who's traditional burial proceedings were not followed through by Leon, the father of the three girls.

"Bone" is a story which will resonate with those who are descendants of immigrant families and with those who are interested in learning about the realities of immigrant families, and especially first generation Americans. I highly recommend this novel! :)

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Book Review_Candice C

Bone

The creation of theme in the novel Bone is that life is a bone. Life is made up of bones that survive, but people somehow manage to strip it down to a single bone. Bone is the story of a first-generation Chinese-American family dealing with the pressures and problems living in Western society. The story revolves around the death of the middle child, Ona. There is the father, Leon--the traveler and inventor, trying to care for his family while being away at sea for months and never having a steady job on land. The mother, Mah--though somewhat of a cry-baby, is the bread winner for the family while at the same time caring for her three daughters. Nina, the youngest daughter and a free spirit, is able to get away and live her own life far from the rest of her family. Leila is the oldest daughter, the narrator, and the back bone that keeps her family together.
The story begins in the present with Leila and her boyfriend, Mason eloping in New York while visiting Nina. Upon their return to San Francisco, Leila is figuring a way to tell her mother about the marriage without upsetting her since a traditional, elaborate wedding was not performed. "...Leila, `Time was right, so Mason and I just went to City Hall. We got married there...' Mah, `Just like that. Did it and didn't tell. Mother Who Raised You. Years of work, years of worry. Didn't! Even! Tell!'"(Ng 22). Throughout the book, the story rambles from one timeframe to another, filling in the details of the family's trying to understand why Ona has committed suicide, hence the flashbacks of everyone's life leading up to the death. Leila searches each aspect of everyone's life and how it might be somehow related to the loss of her sister. Along the way, Leila discovers a median between her Chinese and American upbringing and how it distinguishes each person in the story. "`I [Leila] was reassured. I knew what I held in my heart would guide me. So I wasn't worried when I turned that corner, leaving the old blue sign, Salmon Alley, Mah and Leon - everything - backdaire" (Ng 194).
Ng's first novel conveys strong rationalization of growing up with two entirely different cultures. There are the Chinese customs and values, respecting parents and being obedient. Leila defies both when she talks back to her parents and, in one scenario, curses at Leon. Leila's Americanism comes out while becoming the aggressor and initiator towards Mason. Instead of being the submissive Asian woman, she becomes the individualist fulfilling her own needs. The daughters are not the stereotypical Asian woman naïve to the use of drugs and alcohol. It seems these women are living American lifestyles while still trying to abide by their Chinese traditions.
Throughout the book there are effects that accentuate the symbolism of bone. For instance, there is a significance of sending bones back to China for burial. "Leila, `...Of more consequence was the promise to send Grandpa Leong's bones back to China. Leon was away when Grandpa Leong died. Leon was worried about the restless bones, and for years, whenever something went wrong - losing a job, losing the bid for the takeout joint, losing the Ong and Leong Laundry - Leon blamed the bones. But in the end the bones remained here" (Ng 50). The setting of the story plays an important role. Chinatown is occupied primarily by Chinese immigrants. Fae Myenne Ng is very descriptive setting this place a world apart from the outside. There are physical boundaries stated throughout marked out by streets and parks and setting it apart by its culture and community.
This novel creates the experience of how the Chinese-American culture is shared and valued by each individual person. "Leila narrating, `I [Leila] believe in holding still. I believe that the secrets we hold in our hearts are our anchors, that even the unspoken between us is a measure of our every promise to the living and to the dead. And all our promises, like all our hopes, move us through life with the power of an ocean liner pushing through the sea.'" It shows a perception of experiences of how these individuals as different people show importance of cultural movements where individuality is lost.
Ng, Fae Myene. Bone. New York: HarperPerenial, 1994.

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Book Review on Bone

The book Bone, by Fae Myenne Ng, tells the story of a Chinese-American family and their struggles while living in Chinatown in San Francisco. Ng leads her readers into the lives of the Leong family, their anguish over a lost daughter, the hardships for immigrants, and shows her readers how two different generations intertwine with each other. The readers get to experience a taste of what life is like for Chinese immigrants trying to make it in America and also how it is for their children to shift between the old cultural ways and the modern American world that they actually live in. Bone evokes the need and the yearning for escape; it presents symbolism through the lost bones, and Ng is a true storyteller through her choice of a circular narrative.
One of the themes in the book Bone is that of wanting to escape, it is portrayed through all of the sisters in the book. Ona escapes her world and her worries by committing suicide, while Nina escapes by moving far away and disgracing her parents. When Nina has an abortion, Li tells her to keep it to herself. Nina, of course, does not take her advice. Nina tells her parents as a way of separating herself from them; Li, however, takes a much different approach. She moves slowly and cautiously as she does not want to disappoint or hurt her parents. As a consequence, she escapes properly and without regret. As Li is driving away from her old home, she says, "I was reassured. I knew what I held in my heart would guide me. So I wasn't worried when I turned that corner, leaving the old blue sign, Salmon Alley, Mah and Leon-everything-backdaire." (Ng 194) Ng shows how at times everyone feels the need to escape from where they are or their lives, yet she also shows that there is a proper way to do it, a way without regret.
Ng uses symbolism in her book to show how important cultural ways can be to immigrants. The parents, Leon and Mah, seem to hold on to a lot of their Chinese values and beliefs, and the one that Leon holds onto most is the consequence of the lost bones. The narrator Li tells us, "Of more consequence was the promise to send Grandpa Leong's bones back to China...Leon worried about the restless bones, and for years, whenever something went wrong - losing a job, losing the bid for the takeout joint, losing the Ong and Leong Laundry - Leon blamed the bones." (Ng 50) Leon wholeheartedly believes that all of his misfortune comes because of the fact that he never has sent his "paper-father's" bones back to his homeland, China. Ng uses the bones as a symbol of how culture continues to play a huge role in this family's life.
Ng wrote Bones in a circular narrative, and this format helpes her achieve a more realistic and personal feel; it makes her a true storyteller. As in most cultures and with most people, stories are told with the end of the tale coming first and then the storyteller fills in the blanks to lead back to the end of it. This book is written in that same format, starting with Li telling of a trip she took to New York and that she gets married. As the narrative goes on, it is like listening to how a real story is told; a bunch of memories coming to the narrator at just the right time to help make sense of everything. By the end of the novel, the reader is brought around full circle and left with Li driving away with Mason to begin her new life. This circular narrative is a good way to help keep the reader feeling a personal connection and attached.
Overall, Bones is a great insight into how life is for Chinese immigrants and their families. In general it will give the reader a sense of how it is for any immigrant family. I absolutely loved this book and was able to make so many personal connections to it. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to step out of their box and enter into a world that most of people do not know. This would be a great book to use in the classroom as an eye-opener and to show how immigrants feel and what their American born children go through and deal with on a daily basis. It is a wonderful book that shows the importance of family and cultural identity as well as self-identity.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

In this profoundly moving novel, Fae Myenne Ng takes readers into the hidden heart of San Francisco's Chinatown, to a world of family secrets, hidden shames, and the lost bones of a "paper father." It is a world in which two generations of the Leong family live in an uneasy tension as they try to fathom the source of the middle daughter Ona's sorrow. Fae Myenne Ng's portraits of the everyday heroism of the Leongs--who inflict deep hurt on each other in their struggles to survive, yet sustain one another with loyalty and love--have made Bone one of the most critically acclaimed novels of recent years and immediately a classic of contemporary American life.

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