Girl in Translation translates impressively to audiobook
The only thing more satisfying than reading Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is listening to Grayce Wey’s audiobook rendition of this remarkable debut novel. The semi-autobiographical story takes us into the world of eleven-year-old Kimberly Chang and her mother, brought to America from Hong Kong by their purported sponsors, Mrs. Chang’s sister Aunt Paula and her husband, Uncle Bob. Ordered to work in Uncle Bob’s garment factory to pay off their travel debt, Kimberly sees only one way of escaping their wretched circumstances. She will use her “knack for school” to earn their way out of the sweatshop and their cockroach infested apartment in a condemned building to the American life they have long envisioned.
While Kwok leaves nothing short in her vivid storytelling, Wey’s captivating recital of the story deepens the experience as she subtly takes on the persona of each character — we hear Aunt Paula’s razor-edge voice, Kimberly’s shy but determined demeanor, Mrs. Chang’s deferential tone. We ache for Kimberly’s compatriot, Matt, whose burdens are in many ways more profound and painful than her own. For Matt, there is no escape, a foretelling Kwok handles as finely as a carefully sewn seam. Even the misshapen American words, “Min-hat-ton,” resonate more fully when read by Wey.
Girl in Translation is positioned as fiction for young adults but it is an exceptional read for any age. Of course, expect a measure of teenage angst and lust, but even here Kwok’s treatment is authentic and understated. The focus is on Kimberly Chang, whose circumstances don’t allow her the luxury of a normal adolescence, but one in which she is left to negotiate a perilous road that most adults would find trouble navigating.
About Jean Kwok
Jean Kwok moved to Brooklyn when she was five, and like Kimberly spent her after-school hours working alongside her family in a Chinatown sweatshop. Readers will find many parallels between Jean and Kimberly—the rodent infested apartment, the talent for school—but Girl in Translation is a work of fiction, not a memoir. The book is not only her debut publication, it is her only publication to date. Kwok lives in Holland with her husband, two sons and one cat.
About Grayce Wey
Grayce Wey’s credits include voiceover work on public service announcements, documentaries and movies in Mandarin Chinese and English. She is the co-creator and director of Bakaboo, a Chinese language learning DVD for children ages 3 – 7, where she also serves as the voice of Mimi, the panda who has just moved to the land of Bakaboo from China.