Love Yous Are for White People Lac

¶ … Love Yous are for White People

Lac SU begins the first chapter with his recollection of his family's escape from Vietnam when he was five years old. From the very beginning he manages to highlight some of the realities of his life there with his family. Though his father was forcing him and his three-year-old sister to run fast, he mentions he was happy because at least he was spending some time with Pa. It is clear that the difficult life they had in Vietnam kept his father away from the family most of the time. As we read further, Su offers details of their pre-escape life in Vietnam. His father fought against the Communists and their city was later taken over by them. So, they were trying to survive under harsh conditions. Su's environment was filled with violence from his childhood. He vividly explains those perhaps to build a context for talking about the rest of his life -- which would also be filled with violence. Su places so much emphasis on violence that at one time he describes the cries of his sister, Quy, as "bloody murder" (Su 5). Later, when he recalls the happy times he spent with his one-year-older friend and would-be brother Vu, it also ends tragically: Vu's death. That's unfortunately not the end of tragedies and violence. It is just the beginning as we read through further his journey. In his discussion of his father, it is also clear that Pa is a tough father who expects from his son a responsible and very "manly" behavior. When Su cries in the face of storms of the sea, Pa tells him: "Quit crying and take care of your sister . . . Live up to your responsibility as big brother. You will see worse than this" (Su 12). This is just the first chapter of the book but it is already laden with nightmare. Nevertheless the story is also captivating. It is hard to be in Su's shoes without experiencing what he has experienced. For me personally, reading about his survival of horrendous conditions gives me strength -- just like these hardships gave Su strength when he began writing although Su is stronger.

As we read Chapter 2, Su's difficult and captivating story of life continues. For a moment, as a reader I feel relief when we read how Su's family is lodged in a nice room in Hong Kong, having access to better food and hot water. But Su again keeps us in apprehension, discussing the life of his father's early life. It turns out, Pa has been escaping from Communists all his life. We also learn that Pa is actually Chinese born in China but had to flee it in a boat after the soldiers of chairman Mao had seized all the rice from villagers, including Pa's family. Pa's mother, Su's grandmother, had died of starvation. Pa reached his uncle in Vietnam who was an abusive person who considered Pa simply a burden. Perhaps those abuses left a lasting impact on Pa since he would be as abusive with Su in his later life. Pa's use of banh bao's business reminded me a scene from the animation film Kung Fu Panda. In the animation, the Po's adopted father highly values the recipe of noodles that had been passed from generation to generation. In a cartoon, it sounds just funny but reading Su's story makes it a serious matter. Pa worked for an old man who, scorning his own family, passed the secret recipe of banh bao he used to make to Pa, which helped him become a rich person although Pa was engaged in so many other things (he even was a pimp). In this chapter, Su also discusses how they reached the United States. He keeps using terms such as "Heaven" and the "Promised Land" to highlight how they perceived America to be at the time, but Su also seems to be a bit sarcastic here, suggesting that what was awaiting him in America wasn't really heavenly or what was promised to them by their dreamed wishes. After all, it was in America that Su felt the wrath of Pa's heavy hands. "It hurts worse than I imagined it would," he says, describing the beating he received at the hands of his father who wanted to discipline his disobeying son (Su 25). Reading through these two chapters makes it impossible to put this book down. It is so mesmerizing.