Cab Called Reliable

I noticed how several reviewers show admiration for Kim as an Asian American author...but I feel that's limiting this book strictly to one scope. The way she wrote, the things she wrote about...were so identifiable that they called to the reader...PERIOD. Whether they be Asian American or not. The geographical region in which the story takes place is familiar to me (many of the cities are a few miles from my house) and she has described them with startling accuracy. Many of her school experiences were similiar to mine also though our points of views would undeniably be different. She has talent as writer but also the gift of writing in a way in which the reader empathizes whether they be of the same cultural background or not. I would recommend the novel to anyone.

Patti Kim's novel is a powerful and elegant piece of writing that gives a young Korean girl, Anh Joo, a voice of her own while growing up in America. Kim takes us inside the world of this 11 year old girl, where we were able to watch her to grow up and become a woman. I felt as if I was really there with Anh Joo when she was telling her stories. Sometimes I was in tears and other times i was in laughter while reading the novel. Overall, I found this novel to be emotional, moving, and humorous. When I started to hear the voice of little Anh Joo, I just could not put the book down until I was at the end.

Much of Asian-American Lit seems to center on the immigrant experience, and the resulting growing pains one contracts from it. A Cab Called Reliable, has this centralized theme as well, however it would be an injustice to marginalize it into "Asian-American Literature". I don't mean to clump other works under this constricting label, but the flavoring of A Cab Called Reliable is inexplicably different. Typical as the storyline may seem, the richness of the details make it anything but typical. After reading a train of Asian-American books, I prepared myself for yet, another piece of work about the trials living in White America. Yes, Ahn Joo and her father did face these trials, but they remain peripheral in her identity formation. I witnessed her break into womanhood, guided by the off-kilter relationship with her father. As a result, her identity, and basically the crux of the book, goes beyond the immigrant experience, transcending culture and race. Patti Kim brings in the juices often snubbed by many Asian-American authors: betrayal, drama, and discovery. She deals with risky business when writing about an Asian-American father daughter relationship (a term basically foreign to the Asian culture) yet executes it in a convincing, and touching manner. I fell in love with Ahn Joo's character, not so much for characterestics which make her a likeable person, but because she carries an air of uncompromising humanness. Bravo to Patti Kim for an excellent piece of literature!

the content is real, moving, touching, emotional, humorous, and takes you back in time and yet it pulls you in and out. patti kim really has done something interesting-- the writing is beautiful and playful prose that reflect some of the thought process and creativity that flows from the protagonist (ahn joo)'s head. and i really liked it that this book doesn't have to be a "korean-american book" since the story seems to transcend that cultural realm into something more human: of growing up, coming to terms with your reality and wants, of relationships with people in your life, etc.