Everything Asian
You’re twelve years old. A month has passed since your Korean Air flight landed in lovely Newark Airport. Your sixteen-year-old sister is miserable. Your mother isn’t exactly happy, either. You just met your father for the first time, and although he’s nice enough, he might be, well – how can you put this delicately – a loser.
You can’t speak English, but that doesn’t stop you from working at East Meets West, your father’s gift shop in a strip mall, where there are not only customers to wait on but neighboring stores to visit. Everything is new. Nothing is the same.
Welcome to the wonderful world of David Kim.
Everything Asian weaves together two compelling stories: a dramedy of the Kim family, reunited for the first time in America, and of Peddlers Town, a depressed, second-class mall where the Kims have their store. Told in alternating chapters, my first novel offers a distinctive slant on the immigrant story.
Set in early-1980’s suburban New Jersey, Everything Asian is narrated by David Kim, who details the family’s first year in the U.S. together with equal amounts of humor and pathos. They encounter competition in the mall; they literally have to fight fire; they attempt to befriend Americans. They celebrate a birthday at a bowling alley and cook a turkey on Thanksgiving. Through it all, the Kims try to understand what it means to be a family in their new country.
While David’s observations take center stage, they alternate with chapters told from another perspective, including the other members of the Kim family and other merchants in the mall. These multiple points of view flesh out the picture of life at Peddlers Town as well as show the Kims through outsider’s eyes, offering a broadened understanding of the family.
Excerpts
Everything Asian
In Sook Kim
Mr. Hong
Ted McManus
Manuscript to Book
How a stack of pages becomes a published novel
January 6th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
[...] you like this piece, you might want to consider picking up Sung’s first novel, Everything Asian, when it’s published this April from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. It’s [...]
August 18th, 2009 at 2:33 am
You should be VERY PROUD of this outstanding novel. I picked it up today and was unable to put it down. It was everything a memorable novel should be: funny, endearing, witty, touching, human….You hit every possible emotion that one can feel right on the head. I will never be able to forget your characters and their stories. Thank you so much for this masterpiece! (P.S. I hope that you’re considering a sequel–I want to know what happened to David, Sue, and even Mindy the giraffe.)
August 18th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Thanks so much for your kind words, Nikki. I’m working on a second book, and though it’s not a sequel, maybe it will be, in a way. It’s a brother-sister story, but they’re in their late thirties/early forties, and their lives are a mess. It’s a good place to start!
August 30th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Just finished your book — what an amazing novel! I found myself laughing, cringing, stammering, worrying and enjoying life, right beside David. It was fun for me to be a pre-teen for a day… Many thoughts in Asian cultures are never articulated, and I especially appreciated your gentle touch in helping us get to know the characters. I saw (at least) one family member in each character, which added to my immense enjoyment. Thanks, again, for your lovely gift!
August 31st, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Thanks so much for your kind words, Julie — it’s really wonderful to hear that readers like you enjoyed it. You’re very right — Asian culture has primarily been about the unsaid. I’m trying to change that, and will continue to do so with book #2!
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Mr. Woo,
도서관 (한국 용산 미 8군 )에서 우연히 이 책을 보고, 읽기 시작했는데, 너무 재미있었어요. David의 순진한 느낌과 생각들에 많은 공감이 갔어요,
73-77년도에 New York에 살면서, Kim’s 가족같은 사람들을 본 일이 있어서 더욱 실감이 났을것 같아요.
재미있게, 섬세하게, 또 이민생활에 힘들게 적응하는 한 가족의 삷을 너무 real하게 잘 표현해
주셨어요. 다음책이 빨리 나오기 기대하겠어요.
계속 한국 또는 Asian을 미국에 잘 소개시켜 주시기 바람니다.
Linda
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
안녕하세요 Linda,
감사합니다! 다음책을 지금 쓰고 있어요 — 형제 자매 이야기어요. 아마 내년어 끝내요 (나의 희망!)…
Sung
September 9th, 2009 at 12:33 am
I just found out about your book Everything Asian from an ad at my local bookstore today. I was really shocked as to how similar David’s family background is to mine. I moved to New York when I was 12 without knowing English or seen my father for 6 years. Other than the fact that I don’t have a sibling to share my thoughts, everything else seems to be completely the same. I’m really excited to read this and I really appreciate you writing something which will hopefully be very close to my heart Can’t wait to start reading!
Wish you all the best!
September 9th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Dear A.Z.,
That’s great that my book is still being discovered by readers like you. I hope you’ll enjoy the ride!
- Sung
November 4th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Everything Asian’. Such great insight on the Korean-American experience! I thought the portrayal of each character in first-person was captured beautifully. As I read, I could see these 3-D characters come to life within my own journey as a Korean-American, and just anyone who has to deal with the inevitable changes in their lives, whether the age, race or sex. I have one question. All the characters seem discontent with their lives. Was this intentional or did this come about as each character was developed?
November 5th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Dear Anna,
Thanks so much for your kind words! The reason why all the characters seem unhappy with their lives is because, well, that’s the way to get a story going. If everyone was content, then there probably would be a lack of conflict, and without conflict, there wouldn’t be much of a story. Check out this great essay by Aaron Gwyn: http://www.glimmertrain.com/b27gwyn.html. Trouble is our business!
- Sung
August 1st, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I just finished your book and its really good ! The part that made me sad the most was when I found out that the dad was cheating. He didn’t seem like the type
But I knew what the mom was going through and it hurts, but i would never be as patient as she was. Your a very talented author and you are my favorite author now. Hope to read more of your work 
August 1st, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Thanks, Jeremiah — I’m so glad you liked the book. I’m currently working on book #2 — it’s a very different experience than the first one, which is both good and bad!
August 20th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
I loved your book, Everything Asian, but am struggling to find the message behind it if there is one?
August 22nd, 2010 at 7:15 am
Dear Ishan,
I’m glad my novel was a good read for you. Is there a message behind the book? It’s a family story, an immigrant story, a story of adolescence. What I hoped to accomplish was to write a book about these characters and their major struggles and minor triumphs. I didn’t have any grand plans in mind, but whatever you glean from it is true and right. Because in the end, the reader is the one who brings his or her own meaning to what I wrote.
- Sung