SVong-Along

How do you deal with a loved one who is losing their mind? Rachel Khong's novel Goodbye, Vitamin explores this through Ruth, a 30 year old Asian American who returns home to take care of her father, whose Alzheimer's/dementia gets increasingly severe. Ruth returns from San Francisco to Southern California after a break up with her ex-fiance, and writes diary entries for the year she spends with her family. In short, read Goodbye Vitamin if: you're looking for a good read and short read with both lighthearted and heavy insights about love, loss, and family  you are a young Californian or Asian American dealing with struggles of adulthood- relationship, family, etc.  you want a different perspective on how to love someone who is losing their memory  The book takes a fresh perspective on the familiar genres of family battling disease/overcoming a breakup: more specifically, an Asian American Californian (and her family) confronting Alzheimer's and their prio

If someone you love is dying- would you tell them? The Farewell explores this heavy question with a surprising amount of hilarity and is a funny yet emotional family movie that also showcases Asian culture and the ethical dilemma of deciding what is best for our loved ones. Release poster - (Wikipedia) In short, see the Farewell if: you like laughing about weird family customs you love a good movie about family and/or love your family you are interested in/relate to Asian culture The Farewell is truly an homage to the idiosyncrasies of Asian culture: from the overall theme of hiding secrets big and small and pretending everything is ok, to burning fake money for ancestors to have a prosperous afterlife. But it also explores the intermingling of many complicated family relationships: grandparent and grandchild, kids and parents, uncles, cousin, etc. While everyone can relate to family love and drama, the setting here is China - and some themes arise of: the perspecti

"Most human activities are predicated on the assumption that life goes on. If you take that premise away, what is there left?" Haruki Murakami explores this theme in the very strange but fascinating  Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.  Murakami draws readers into a "narrative particle accelerator in which a split-brained data processor, a deranged scientist, his undemure granddaughter, Bob Dylan, and various thugs, librarians, and subterranean monsters collide to dazzling effect." The book is definitely a trip - taking you from the mind of a seemingly normal, nameless man who talks about mundane (but relatable things) such as couch shopping, to dealing with the Yakuza (mafia) and avoiding demons in the sewer. What I enjoyed most was the immersive narrating with random details, and unraveling the mystery/how the storyline eventually made sense. Murakami adds such relatable notes of nostalgia- i.e. bringing up memories of how library books had t