“She had never said it was love. Neither had he. They were shy. They had been unsure. Now, there would be no time for love. It was in the moment of parting that she knew she loved him” (Yang 21). Love exists as an emotion that persists to be challenging to comprehend, but once one feels it, it seems problematic to let go of it. Kao Kalia Yang wrote the book The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, which tells of the anguish the Hmong people faced in their excursion from Laos to the United States. Yang uses her unique writing style to present her topic in an enlightening way to her readers. Yang uses the story of her parents to convey the sufferings of the Hmong people and their journey. Her parents make a fitting example of a typical Hmong family fighting to survive and find love in a time of turmoil. Although Kao Kalia’s parents met in unfortunate circumstances and had no home to live in, love kept them and their family together, even when times seemed their darkest.
The memoir, The Latehomecomer, written by Kao Kalia Yang, presents the oppression and the persecution of the Hmong people in an interesting, informative style, but still not boring or overwhelmingly preachy. To understand her writing it is important to understand her history. Yang is a Hmong woman, who was born in Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand. Since then, she moved to the United States, graduated from Columbia University and wrote The Latehomecomer. Her book gives her audience a glimpse into the not as recognized topic, the history of the Hmong people, when Laotian and Vietnamese soldiers forced the Hmong people out of Laos and into the Refugee camps of Thailand. She wants her readers, which could be anyone who wants to learn more about Hmong culture, ...
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...opposite direction, they left. I felt the heartache Yang’s mother must have felt to have to say goodbye to the people she loved so much, so that she may start on a new adventure.
Yang makes her topic of the treacherous history of the Hmong people an appealing one with the story of her parents. She brings emotion into her writing that makes her readers feel as if they are there in the jungle, experiencing the fear and love these two lovers felt. Yang makes us aware of how hard it was for a young Hmong couple to survive in this trying time. Fate and destruction brought Yang’s parents together, and like other Hmong people, love kept them moving forward.
Works Cited:
Being Hmong Means Being Free. Dir. Lia Vang. Perf. Lia Vang. Wisconsin Public Television, 2000.
Film.
Yang, Kao Kalia. The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. Minneapolis: Coffee House,
2008. Print.
In The Latehomecomer, by Kao Kalia Yang shares her story and the story of her family’s search for a home and identity. Her family’s story voices the story of the Hmong people and their plight. From every stage of their journey, from the mountainous jungles of Southeast Asia to the freezing winter of Minnesota, Yang and the Hmong were compelled to redefine their identity, willingly or unwillingly. While growing up, Yang’s parents would often ask her, “’What are you?’ and the right answer was always, ‘I am Hmong.’” (Yang, 1) For “Hmong” to be the right answer, then what does it mean to be “Hmong”? From the personal story shared by Yang, and the universal story of the Hmong people, the Hmong identity cannot be contained in
Tachiki, Amy; Wong, Eddie; Odo, Franklin, eds. (1971). Roots: An Asian American Reader. University of California, Los Angeles Press.
Phillips, Delores B. "Quieting Noisy Bellies: Moving, Eating and Being in the Vietnamese Diaspora." University of Minnesota Press 73 (2009): 47-87. Print
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