Single Sashimi - Camy Tang

I've been waiting for this one. Sushi for One caught my eye because it was the first time I'd ever seen my favourite food mentioned in a Christian bookstore, and I was hooked by the first paragraph. Single Sashimi, the third in Camy Tang's Sushi Series, does not disappoint.

Though primarily focused on Venus, one of the four lone Christian cousins in a big, loud, extended Japanese-Chinese-American family living in Silicon Valley, Single Sashimi does bring satisfying updates to the continuing stories of Lex, Trish and Jennifer. Venus, however, is at the forefront, and it's wonderful to see that character fleshed out. Formerly dowdy, now beautiful Venus is struggling to be treated as an equal among the arrogant male gaming executives she calls her colleagues. After being condescended to one too many times because of her gender and good looks, Venus leaves her company, intending to start her own. However, she needs finanfical backers, and a job in the meantime. Enter Drake Yau, the most arrogant and condescending male executives she's ever worked for, the one who pushed her into the lowest moment of her career. Though the opportunity he offers her is terrific, Venus is wary of being around him once again, in spite of the evidence that he's changed.

Tang's knowledge and presentation of the cutthroat gaming industry is excellent, woven so seamlessly into the narrative that it feels part of, rather than an addition to, the story. Grandma, the high-powered, painfully controlling family matriarch and one of the primary antagonists in both Sushi for One and Only Uni shows a refreshingly kind side in this text, rounding out one of the very few characters in the whole series that is in any danger of becoming a stock stereotype.

If I need to find a flaw in this book, it's that it's seriously light on the spiritual side. Venus, through her volunteer work with a local youth group, is supposed to undertake some sort of spiritual journey, but if she's actually doing that, it's difficult to see. It would have made the change the character undergoes in the text far more powerful and impactful, but it's still an excellent story. And I'm still craving dumplings.

Highly Recommended. Go Camy!

Only Uni - Camy Tang

The second book in Tang's Sushi series (Zondervan) begins with the same vibrant energy that characterized Sushi for One. Only Uni sticks with the same basic cast of characters as the first book - cousins Lex, Trish, Jennifer and Venus, their loud, proud extended Chinese-Japanese family, and the friends that live alongside them in the fast-paced world of Silicon Valley, but focuses in on the story begun in the first novel about Trish, whose passionate nature has landed her in uncomfortably hot water.

An obsessive relationship with brooding artist Kazuo has left Trish on shaky terms with her friends and family. Determined to start over, prove herself as a devoted Christian, she establishes a set of dating rules for herself. However, as the complications in her life mount, it quickly becomes apparent that a godly life is more about faith than rules, and that God does not send love into our lives in a prescribed fashion.

I love the Sushi series for the fact that it doesn't shy away from the painful realities of life, and Only Uni holds up to this well. Tang hits on some of the darker elements of the modern Christian life, including alcohol use, divorce, premarital sex, and, to my delight, the petty jealousies and cruelties that can divide a church. Trish, who throws her heart and soul into musical worship, is treated with disdain by other worshippers in her congregation, who feel that she's too 'over-the-top'. Very few writers have the courage to admit that modern churches have the same elitist, clique-ish social structure as the rest of the community. Good fiction doesn't preach, but holds up a mirror to life so that we might examine ourselves. Tang gives a beautiful and painful reflection of modern congregational society, and will cause every one of her readers to pause and think.

Only Uni is a great story, fast-paced, tightly written, engaging, with every bit of the hilariously energetic dialogue and delicious descriptions of it's prequel. You'll walk away thinking, praying, examining yourself... and craving those sweet pork dumplings once again.

Highly Recommended

Sushi for One - Camy Tang

I was thrilled to see the Sushi series (Zondervan) by Camy Tang. Christian fiction is painfully lacking in Asian characters presented in a non-imperialist point of view, and Tang's casual, irreverent style fits that void magnificently. Tang taps into many of the sociocultural experiences that define young singleness in the new milennium - text messaging, fusion cuisine, Christian pop culture, and the 'framily', the close group of friends who serve as a surrogate family. Four cousins, the only Christians in their large, extended Chinese-Japanese family struggles as one of the very few Christians in the clan to maintain her faith while living up to the family's expectations. Tang, blessedly, avoids descending into the stock stereotypes that permeate Asian characters in fiction and media today, but instead presents a richly layered cast of characters, from Lex, the sports nut who holds a dark, painful secret, to beautiful, flirtatious Trish, who is so caught up in the passion of her new boyfriend that she loses her faith and her friends, to Grandma, the matriarch who rules her family with an iron fist, but bears some startling vulnerabilities. Tang's descriptive skills are stellar - you can almost taste the crunchy noodles and sweet dumplings she describes. It's a romance and a buddy comedy and a family drama, and you will turn the last page just wanting to know more and more about this fantastic gang of characters. Sushi for One focuses on Lex, who struggles to find love, though she's hindered by a series of hilarious bouts of bad luck and the memory of an awful experience in the past. You laugh and cry in turn, and are left craving more story as well as a good unagi roll. Tang is unafraid to present flawed, multifaceted Christian characters, women with fears, needs, wants, tempers, materialistic desires, and resentments. The arguments between friends and family are both real and hilarious. Tang is a great writer, and her website Camy's Loft http://www.camytang.com/ is well worth checking out.

Highly, highly recommended. Reviews on the rest of the Sushi Series to come.