The Partition

Written by Don Lee

Narrated by Greg Chun and Cindy Kay

Twenty-one years after the publication of his landmark debut collection Yellow, Don Lee returns to the short story form for his sixth book, The Partition.

The Partition is an updated exploration of Asian American identity, this time with characters who are presumptive model minorities in the arts, academia, and media. Spanning decades, these nine novelistic stories traverse an array of cities, from Tokyo to Boston, Honolulu to El Paso, touching
upon transient encounters in local bars, restaurants, and hotels.

Culminating in a three-story cycle about a Hollywood actor, The Partition incisively examines heartbreak, identity, family, and relationships—the characters searching for answers to universal questions: Where do I belong? How can I find love? What defines an authentic self?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705056226

Don Lee

Don Lee is the author of the story collection Yellow and the novels Country of Origin, Wrack and Ruin, The Collective, and Lonesome Lies Before Us. He has received an American Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, the writer Jane Delury, and teaches in the MFA program in creative writing at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Reviews for The Partition

[bokai_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to be cynical about this book but I can't. I enjoyed the whole thing, even though the stories can feel a bit like a lit fic cliche where everyone is a bit of an asshole fucking things up and no one has a healthy relationship with anyone, and the stories can start to feel a little repetitive in their structure, but in the end if I'm engrossed in the story, feel sympathy and some connection with the characters despite how much of a mess they might be, and feel a sense of anticipation about the choices they might ultimately make, how much can I really complain? I may not usually care about the foibles of horny modern people all that much, but The Partition made me care more than I usually do, that's for sure. While there is a running theme of living life as an Asian (Korean, specifically) in the Western world, it wasn't the strongest theme in the book for me. There's a lot of stories of the entertainment industry. Actors, directors, translators, chefs, and so on and so forth. There are a lot of questions about how we see ourselves and how other people see us, how we present ourselves and whether or not the creative risks we take work out or not. And there's a lot of life getting in the way of the best laid plans. I've always had a contentious relationship with Asian-Western lit. That is, I've enjoyed very little of it because it so often seems to focus on how being Asian in the west sucks, and how Asian families also suck, and I never could relate. I can't say I relate much to the people in this book either, but even though things are constantly going sideways in these stories, the tone remains one of optimism, of coming back from bad moments and finding meaning in a modern world that presents us with what can feel like impossible choices.

[malphoria · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Don Lee's collection of short stories introduce the readers to characters who are making sense of the decisions they have had to make. A failed indie filmmaker who is tapped to make a stereotypical movie about Asian immigrants, a chef who comes back home to help her parents close their restaurant, an academic who is accused to taking too many liberties with a translation of a novel, a letterpress printer who finds out his girlfriend is having an affair, a TV reporter who manipulates people to move ahead, a former actor who grew up around the world because of his father's job as a CIA operative and whose acting career has been filled with typecasting and disappointments. That these characters are Americans of various Asian descent color their experiences. Lee allows these characters to exist in specific moments in their lives, but he also lets them look back with the benefit of hindsight, tinged with wistfulness and regret. From time to time the narrators give background info on aspects of Asian or Asian American cultures which can seem clunky, intrusive, and even didactic, but for readers who may not be familiar with them, the added nuance may be beneficial. Altogether, this collection is a meditation on growing older and remembering the hopefulness of youth but also its mistakes and consequences.

[manatree_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Partition by Don Lee is another collection of short stories and the publisher actually sent me a hardcover copy, which I think is the first hardcover Early Reviewer book that I've received. The stories are all well written, blunt and descriptive. Not being of Asian descent, I'm sure that there are subtleties that I missed, but all of the stories explore the universal search for finding one's place in the world around you. I enjoyed all of the stories, especially the final three story series about the same character.

[niaomiya · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.I really enjoyed "The Partition." I'd never read Don Lee before, and I like his style. Lee explores the Asian-American identity through characters from varied Asian backgrounds (both mixed and not), some the stereotypical model minority doctors, engineers, musicians and others not so much. Through stories taking place in different cities around the world, Lee's characters all search for something meaningful, looking for their true identity and rightful place in the world. Although some of the stories can be in-your-face direct and a little bit harsh, they are never bleak or jarring, and all of them have at least a little bit of heart in them, so nothing is truly black-and-white in its presentation.This was a very enjoyable collection of short stories.

[eurohackie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received advanced uncorrected proofs of this book courtesy of LibraryThing Early Reviewers and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I am always a bit leery of literary fiction, which I tend to find tedious and dull, but I enjoyed this collection of short stories immensely. It is exactly what it says on the tin (or, at least, my copy of the tin): "an updated exploration of Asian American identity, this time with characters who are presumptive model minorities in the arts, academia, and media."

Identity is definitely the core motif, and the author explores every nook and cranny of the idea: everything from race and ethnicity to culture, stereotypes, sexual identity, public presentation, adoption, celebration vs suppression, fetishes. These six stories are all over the place, with different narrators, of different heritages (though with a heavy emphasis on Korean), at different places in their lives and dealing with different issues, both internal and external. I can't say I liked all of the protagonists, but each story was certainly thought provoking, opening my white eyes to invisible issues I have the privilege of not facing, at least not head-on.

My favorite stories are "Commis" - which explore the intersection of food, culture, time, and location, and the final, longer novelette, "Les hôtels d'Alain." This final work is a three-part story, where we follow the narrator, Alian Kweon, over the course of his life, from a 14-year-old adolescent CIA brat in Tokyo to a 59-year-old retired actor who runs an enterprise of boba tea in San Francisco. I liked Alian quite a bit, and found his story compelling, especially given recent conversations about when we, as adults, actually feel like adults, as opposed to children masquerading as adults. I think every has a bit of that imposter feeling when we all realize that everybody's winging it, with varying success, as we careen down the highway of life.

I really enjoyed this collection, and I felt some of the slings and arrows hitting close to home even without the baggage of being Othered by the world in general. Recommended even to those of us who shy away from literary fiction.

[paperbackpropensity · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just finished my advance copy of The Partition by Don Lee. It's short stories that explore Asian American identity. The reason I like them so much is because the characters are so flawed and real. I even sort of hated the main character in one of the stories. She was a piece of work, but I loved that the writing stirred those feelings in me. It ends in a three-cycle story about an actor, which brought up a lot of the issues in the industry surrounding actors of color. In the very last one the actor wonders about his purpose in life which I found to be genuine and relatable. Definitely recommend to those who enjoy short stories.

[lisan. · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Most of these were good stories. It was especially interesting to read the ones about Asian men being dismissed by Asian women. Also, the title story was fascinating, and I would read a whole novel about it.It wasn't my favorite read of the year, but I enjoyed it, and I will be reading Don Lee's other story collections.

[jjean7-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Won this book, an advanced copy - Author is new for me - the short stories (9) reflect the life of one Asian American identity who are model minorities - deals with relationships, identity problems, where/how accepted - well written - some humorous - different point of view - left with a better human understanding - Fast but enjoyable read.