Amateur Review, "Who's Irish?" - An Engaging Read by Gish Jen

From a class reading(ENG104) and the book, The Story and Its Writer, by Ann Charters

"Who's Irish?" by Gish Jen

She starts by stating: "In China, people say mixed children are smart."

Uh oh.

The real tension starts in the next line: "But Sophie is wild..."

The scene rambles around the daily activities of the narrator and the wild Sophie. Grandmother v. granddaughter. We see the scene shift from moment to moment, battle to battle, in a seesaw clash of culture and generation.

In a weird way, empathy for the grandmother in this story, results in sympathy. Even after the end, after we know of her "child abuse," can we still feel empathy? What about sympathy? Is it possible to not hate this character, in the aftermath of such a horrifying event?

Gish Jen's "Who's Irish?" is a fiction short that grips the reader in a sort of chokehold the entire way, and reading it left me speechless and wide-eyed, wondering quite honestly, what I just read.

Told in present tense by the live-in, babysitting, and ultracomplaining, Chinese grandmother. The story surrounds a short period of her life living with her own daughter and the husband and granddaughter.

Much of the tension is, of course, about the toddler, but tension is throughout, as the grandmother struggles to bridge culture within family. The Chinese and Irish marriage has produced a less-than-adequate granddaughter(not to mention husband) in the eyes of the storyteller grandmother, and that equates to rocky roads, to say the least.

In the constant critiquing of the daughter's "Irish" shortcomings, comparisons to English language suggest an unworthy thread in other cultures, and says "You know, the British call the Irish heathen, just like they call the Chinese."(pg 613 Charters)

Further comments from grandmother, stating that words such as "supportive" and "creative" do not exist in Chinese, is both a nod at American inferiority, and a political statement. These traits, are simply not allowed, especially in the grandmother's homeland and her history.

References to her Irish counterparts, and their "all boys" family, come to conclusions about stereotypes that the author addresses loudly. The disrespect for these jobless, drinking, lazy and dumb males, reaches no pinnacle, but remains a clear, despite being a substoryline.

The story also focuses on the nanny aspect of the living arrangement, and the constant struggle for control. The child, Sophie, is three years old, and acts three. Wandering and adventurous, Sophie is an everyday toddler. Except in her grandmother's eyes. The little girl is a smart kid, yet an abomination. From manners to habits, this kid is a wild heathen, fit to be "instructed" on how to properly act.

Still, the grandmotherly side does show, albeit in an odd manifest. Sophie's skin is the telling feature.

The concept of Sophie's skin as "brown" and that she must be "more" Chinese and therefore saved from such Irish stupidity, is apparent as well. The disconnect between acceptance here is obvious, yet ignored by the main character, and leads to some distaste for her and elation for her priding motherly instincts. She simply thinks Sophie's Chinese half is better than her Irish side. This fact lends an irony to this story that resonates long after reading it.

The grandmother introduces the reader to Bess, the mother-in-law, who is distinctly Irish, and the banter is cynical but respectful. The story seems to say that somewhere in the main character is some sort of reasonable thought, if not critical thought. The mere respect for not so cutthroat manners, is a sign of this. "You have a beautiful family," she tells Bess.

Calmer seas in the middle of this story.

The struggle cedes, and after an initial and forbidden spanking of the rambunctious child, manners win. But only for a little while. After teeter-tottering about keeping her clothes on, Sophie gets a lesson in punishment. The grandmother, betrayed her daughter, and spanked the kid. The short lived consequence, Sophie soon ignored, as kids do.

These things are harmless, but only in some culture's eyes, apparently. And other circumstances attest to that. Like the worthless husband and his worthless brothers.

The no-good husband of the daughter Natalie, has no job. And of course, he does not babysit. The grandmother is in a fit over this, but forgets that in between all of the "issues" is a perfect setup. The complaining fiction story travels like on a gravel road. Somewhere, it can go wrong...

And wrong it did go. After the anointed new name, grandmother "Meanie" took up arms.

With a frown, and armed with a long, pointed, sharp and pokey stick, Meanie forced the child from a foxhole.

Odd and contrastingly violent from the story as I was reading it. This end is disturbing, to say the least. I saw a certain disregard from the grandmother, for the tensionous, climactic, and story crashing final scene. It is an obvious mark on her.

But in the lost gaps and misplaced tendencies, the clash of generations changing hands, is also apparent, and worth discussion. The differences in ideology is bold and stark in this reading, as one generation's spanking morals are significantly different than another and prior generation. Two things may be discussed; 1) Are the differences related to simply different time? And 2) Are the differences more about a better conscience? And is that because as time moves along, so does human progress?

I enjoyed this story and would recommend it, and my rating is 4 out of 5 stars. The scene is well framed, the banter has hinged clarity, and the story captivates throughout.

I did zero research before this review, as I tend to process the words more clearly. It helps me to not make assumptions. Any feedback is welcome.

The superb fiction short, from renowned writer Gish Jen, is in a book by Ann Charters(The Story and Its Writer) and can be found on Amazon and in many public libraries.