How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Ormsby was indignant. How dare this Chinese woman with the Thatcheresque perm and preposterous "English" accent speak to him in such a manner? "I'm afraid we simply do not have anything available," he declared. (P.20)
The prologue offers an interesting frame for the novel, where the mothers are treated as outsiders because they are Asian and accented. They wouldn't dare treat anyone else like they have been treated, would they?
Quote #2
"An American girl? Nicky wouldn't dare do such a thing […] Daisy, if you tell me she's from Mainland China, I think I'll have a stroke," Eleanor warned. (1.2.37-1.2.39)
Eleanor gives indication early in the book that there are only certain women acceptable to marry her son, and they certainly won't be American or Chinese.
Quote #3
"You know how notorious those Taiwanese girls can be. They swoop in unexpectedly, the men fall head over heels, and before you know it they are gone, but not before sucking up every last dollar, just like a tornado," Nadine explained. (1.2.43)
Don't worry! The negative comments aren't only reserved for Americans and Chinese!
Quote #4
In the last few years, he was spending far too much time hanging around with these dubious Mainland Chinese billionaires, flying all over Asia every week to attend parties, and she worried how this might be affecting his health and his family life. (1.6.9)
Auntie Alexandra's concerns about her son's company aren't necessarily wrong, but it's the qualification of the dubious "Mainland Chinese" billionaires that emphasizes the othering going on.
Quote #5
She had always found Asian girls with American accents to be quite ridiculous. They all sounded like they were faking it, trying to sound so ang mor. (1.7.35)
There's a peculiar tension between choosing to Westernize your children and the inevitable result of Westernized children. According to Eleanor, the Americanized ones are particularly "ridiculous."
Quote #6
"Her family comes from some ulu ulu village in China that nobody has ever heard of. The investigator thinks that they were most likely working class. In other words, they are PEASANTS!" (1.13.17)
Shock! Horror! Peasants! Eleanor's husband calls out that they're all likely descended from peasants. Good one, Phil! That went over well!
Quote #7
"Now that America is broke, all these ABCs want to come to Asia and sink their claws into our men. They are even worse than the Taiwanese tornadoes because they are Westernized, sophisticated, and worst of all, college educated." (1.13.40)
Lorena's disdain for American-Born Chinese women is palpable, particularly with their [gasp] educations!
Quote #8
It was at the old T'sien estate near Changi, before the place was turned into that frightful country club all the foreigners went to […] but the Shangs barely deigned to look in her direction—those Shangs were only comfortable speaking to families they had known for at least two generations. (3.2.50)
The notion that the Shangs don't socialize outside their comfort zone helps us understand that there's an "other" that exists within Singapore: those outside the uppermost social class.
Quote #9
"Forty million, and for heaven's sake, Cassandra, the Lees have lived in Singapore for decades now. You need to stop calling them Mainlanders."
"Well, they still behave like Mainlanders, as this ridiculous reception proves. Forty million—I just don't see where all the money went." (3.5.10-3.5.11)
It's a complex social web in the Shang/Young universe: you've gotta have money but you also have to have old money AND you can't be from outside Singapore unless it's been a really long time but then you have to stop acting like you're not from Singapore…we're tired.
Quote #10
"She's not been brought up at all. She's not Taiwanese, even though she claims to be, and she's certainly not from Hong Kong. I've heard that she is from some remote village in northern China," Fiona offered.
"Tsk, those northern Chinese are the worst!" (3.6.28-3.6.29)
No punches pulled there. It seems there's a ranking of acceptable places to be from. Northern China must be the bottom of the list.