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By Julia Lee

Biting the Hand is a gut wrenching novel that explores the complexities of race in America whilst analyzing how the races interact to form dangerous stereotypes. Lee expertly questions what it means to be Asian in a Black and white America through the lens of her own experiences.

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Review:

Julia Lee has questions. She’s furious. She is aching to understand what it means to be an Asian person in America. When she was stuck in the middle of the LA Uprising, the perfect immigrant experience the city seemed to promote began to falter. Asians are no longer flawless immigrants, smart and successful. Achievers of the American dream. They are criminals. The murders. But are they? They are just trying to survive. To keep their stores open. To keep their livelihood. But this is just the beginning of Lee’s questions about what it means to be Asian American. Because if you’re not Black or white, where do you fit?

When I say this book changed my life, I am not being dramatic. Biting the Hand is not only beautifully written, it handles complex topics. This novel doesn’t shy away from the hard subjects everyone seems to ignore out of fear, this novel embraces them and examines them. I see so much of myself in her, and this novel was truly to catalyst to my fascination of race in America. I cannot stress enough how powerful and beautifully written Biting the Hand is, you simply must read it yourself.

Lee argues her own side of the story, rewriting what it means to be Asian in America. She powerfully examines the difficulties of being the model minority, and the suffocating expectations that come with being Asian. She questions the racial hierarchy, providing fresh insight on racial dynamics in America. Lee uses her own experiences as a lens to understand the true meaning of being Asian in America, taking apart the experiences that made her who she is today. Wether it be her struggles finding a doll that looked like her, her grades on essays examining her own experience with race, her professor’s racist jokes in college, or the confusing impact of the LA Uprising, Lee acknowledges it all.

Biting the Hand: Growing up Asian in a Black and White American is a powerful novel that sheds light on the true Asian American experience, analyzing the complexities of the racial hierarchy and model minority through her own experiences of being a Korean American. I have never felt as seen or as spoken to whilst reading this book. This novel truly explains what it really means to be Asian in America in ways I have never seen before. It truly digs into the dirty truth of it all, never shying from the harsh reality of race that’s been swept under the rug for far too long. A must read for anyone who is interested in race in America or wants to better understand the complexities of being Asian in America.