by Jane Wong
Why read a memoir? If the person is well known, I often think the answer comes down to “how.” How did this person achieve success? But if the person writing the memoir isn’t a household name, I think the question in the best memoirs widens to “why.” Why do we make certain choices? Why do we pursue hard things, like art and relationships? And most of all, why do our lives matter? Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City fully engages the reader on the “why” level. Jane Wong grew up in New Jersey in the 1980s, the daughter of two Chinese parents who came to America seeking a better life. Her father becomes a compulsive gambler who pulls himself beyond the margins of his family’s life; her mother becomes the rock who supports her daughter through abusive relationships, devastating breakups, and the process of becoming an artist, writer, and human being struggling to escape the boxes that gender and racial biases would assign her.
Likes: There are many references to spirals (snails, hermit crab shells), and I loved the way the book’s structure also moved in a spiral, examining events and relationships through different lenses in order to deepen our understanding of the author’s life. Wong also writes poetry, and it shows: the prose is gorgeous, rich, and unflinching. The book’s most moving passages detail the relationship between the author and her mother. Wong’s mom is wise, wry, and supportive, even when she doesn’t totally understand what’s going on with her daughter (what parent ever does?). She is always there to nourish, with food, words, and emotional support; her example of building a fulfilling, meaningful life in face of heartbreak and hardship is one everyone should read.
Dislikes: I really didn’t have any. Books like this are why I read, and particularly why I love memoirs of so-called “ordinary people.” Don’t be fooled: she may not be a household name, but Jane Wong is an extraordinary writer. I look forward to reading her previous books and eagerly await whatever she writes next.
FYI: parental abandonment, intimate partner abuse, misogyny, anti-Asian prejudice.
Thank you to the publisher, Tin House, for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
Liz Helfrich 