Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #648134 in Books
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In Choy's lovingly detailed novel (following The Jade Peony and the memoir Paper Shadows), three-year-old Kiam-Kim Chen journeys from China to Vancouver in 1925 with his father and his grandmother, Poh-Poh (a former Chinese slave girl). As he matures, he gains a stepmother, an adopted brother and two stepsiblings. Poh-Poh's unsettling stories of kitchen gods and ghosts provide vivid reminders of the Old China the family left behind. Set pieces form the novel's core, like Poh-Poh's elaborate preparations for her mah-jongg party when Kiam is eight. That's when he first encounters Jenny Chong, a "tiger" girl with a fierce temper (and, eventually, the good looks to match it). When Poh-Poh dies, Old China's ghosts really do come back—at least the ghost of Poh-Poh (who haunts Kiam's stepbrother, Sekky, so intensely that Kiam's embarrassed father hires an exorcist). As Kiam grows up, the relationship among Kiam, Jenny and Jack O'Connor, the Irish-Catholic boy next door (whom Poh-Poh had barred from their house) gets tangled in the complexities of WWII and the ethnic politics of the neighborhood. Choy's novel captures the spirit in which exile turns into assimilation. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant, compelling sequel to The Jade Peony
I finished All That Matters by Wayson Choy in the wee hours of the early morning. It was so beautiful and compelling that I could hardly bear to put it down to finish the next day.

All That Matters is the long and eagerly awaited sequel to Choy's first book, the award-winning and national best-selling The Jade Peony. Expectedly, it is a continuation of Jade Peony, this time written in First Son Kiam Kim's eyes, instead of the rotating narrators (which included all of the siblings of the Chen family) found in The Jade Peony.

All That Matters is very reminiscent of The Jade Peony - it is almost like an echo of Choy's first book. The book focuses centrally on Kiam Kim, from when he first boards the Hong Kong ship to Gold Mountain (Vancouver, B.C.) to his adulthood in Vancouver's Chinatown. Kiam Kim's Poh Poh is another important part of the story, with her Old China and superstitious ways. She tells stories about ancient myths and ghosts, of which make Kiam Kim feel torn - in some instances, he believes in the things Poh Poh tells him, but his father is constantly reminding him that they are in Gold Mountain, not Old China, and to adapt essentially to "modern, scientific, Canadian ways."

Kiam Kim's responsibility as "First Son" and "Dai-Goh (Oldest Brother)" sometimes burdens him, but he soon learns that this is the Chinese way - as the First Son and the oldest sibling, he needs to be a good role-model for the rest of the family and, ultimately, refrain from "shaming" the family in any way. He is best friends with Jack O'Connor, an Irish white boy who is his next-door neighbour. A somewhat clandestine but intimate relationship between Kiam Kim and Jenny Chong (the daughter of one of Poh Poh's mah-jong mates) forms. All That Matters also deals with the second World War, of which readers will see makes a significant impact on Kiam Kim and the rest of the characters in the book.

All in all, All That Matters is a satisfying, triumphant sequel to The Jade Peony - and rightfully so that it was long and eagerly awaited. Choy does not disappoint in this sequel to his first book. In fact, he writes hauntingly and seductively, often incorporating Chinese phrases uttered by Poh Poh and other members of his family to make things more homely and authentic. Readers will be compelled by this wonderful book, entering the world of Kiam Kim - his trials and tribulations, his responsibilities and burdens, his relationships and family, and, ultimately, what matters.

For fans of The Jade Peony, I highly urge you to pick up All That Matters and to read it. I guarantee you will like it as much, if not more, than The Jade Peony. It is no surprise why All That Matters won the Trillium Award again, not to mention was also a finalist for the Giller Prize.

Having met Wayson Choy at an author reading in December made reading All That Matters for me that much more exciting and thrilling. I felt like I shared an affinity with various characters in the book and, at times, with Wayson Choy. I am certainly looking forward to reading more work by Wayson Choy.

I highly recommend All That Matters.

A Glimpse in the Chinese of Vancouver
A novel in the form of a memoir. The Chen family in Vancouver during the 1930's and the early war years. Kiam-Kim is the First Son who deals with Poh-Poh, Father, Stepmother and various siblings, as well as Jack and Jenny. This is at times charming, amusing, and terribly sad. I liked it and will probably read more of Mr. Choy. I recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates good writing, and who wants to learn more about the Chinese of Vancouver.

Highly overrated
A retread of Choy's first two books, lazy, sentimental, and full of cliches.