On a Bed of Rice

This book is not only full of well crafted literature, but it presents an unbiased collection of perspectives for anyone interested in the cultural constraints of the asian cultural influence over asian americans and their sexuality. Each piece depicts a new mindset, a newly created experience, and a different approach to the the Asian/American conflict.. Excellent collection.

Impressive, beautiful, moving, and complete. This book speaks for itself.

Growing up asian and female, everything was made to seem taboo, that sex and eroticism were dirty things. But this anthology is proof that they need not be. There is something about the state of nakedness that makes you feel both liberated and vulnerable. And when these qualities are infused and woven into words and images, everything together is just that much more powerful. The stories ranged from haunting to humourous to just plain honest. I come back to the book again and again as some stories really hit home and others take on new meaning when read again with new eyes. There is something here for everyone with an open mind regardless of race.

On a Bed of Rice is an excellent anthology. The subtlety of the sexuality left the reader with images that remain for a long time. Read the poem "Handbook of Sex of a Plain Girl" it is beautiful. My copy was lost and I miss it terribly. If this book pleases you, read "Pleasure in the Word" Erotic Writings from Latin American Women similiar to this but the imagery is different based on the difference in culture. I plan on buying a new copy of On a Bed of Rice because I feel lost without it.

I give this book a nine, because it's an anthology and two of the stories were, frankly, terrible. But the rest of the stories were some of the most penetrating fiction I've read. One hilarious story deals with the myth that Asian American men have smaller penises; the author goes to great lengths to research and disprove that myth. Other stories deal with the way race and sex are intertwined in America. David Mura's story in particular, about a white woman who was once his girlfriend writes to him after seeing "The Lover," is particularly poignant. Asian American men, especially, will enjoy the book, since we are always absent from and desexualized in the white media. This book gives amore real view of who we are, who we are screwing...and why.