When was unpolished gem written

Nevertheless, I loved reading about the Chinese-Cambodian culture and Alice's interesting family. There are two things that really stuck me in reading this novel, how Alice and her family call white people "ghosts". I found this quite amusing and smiled to myself every time I read it. Words to make the other person fall flat on their back and die a curly death, my mother says.

The sharp ones, the ones you can use if ever you need a weapon to protect yourself. I also loved the glimpse into Australian culture in general, mainly though vocabulary. For example, an ocker see summary of the book above is someone with an Australian accent who speaks and acts in an "uncultured manner" thanks Wikipedia! I had no clue what an ocker was but I had fun reading the bits of slang bugger!

Alice and her grandmother have a special relationship that was really heart-warming to read abou Unpolished Gem was a humorous look into the life of an average middle class Chinese-Cambodian family living in Australia. I learned a lot about Chinese-Cambodian and Australian culture. The strong characters, rich history and culture are never sugar-coated which keeps the book interesting and original.

I do think the ending could have been way better and the story becomes tedious at times, but the author's light hearted look at things and her way with words, helped me finish the book. I cheered when she said "I wanted to know whether it was only because I was 'exotic' and if so, what that word meant to him. If he told me he liked my almond eyes and caramel skin, I would tell him to buy a bag of confectionery instead, because i was sick of it all-how we always had to have hair like a black waterfall, alabaster or porcelain skin, and some body part or other resembling a peach.

I have mixed feelings on this memoir, but I would say if you want to learn about being Asian in Australia then this book is a must-read for you. Mar 21, Emily rated it liked it Recommends it for: Asians, Asians living in a western country, Westerners who would like to peek into the Asians' lives.

This book is actually part of my English assignment and I am supposed to do an expository essay out of this. Being an Asian Memoir, this genre is fairly new to me but it is a very great book. Funny, lighthearted and a great reading experience in a whole. I can safely say that this book opens up a window to the life of an Asian girl having to battle through the culture that she grew up into, which Unpolished Gem is the second memoir that I have read, the first one being the Diary of Anne Frank.

I can safely say that this book opens up a window to the life of an Asian girl having to battle through the culture that she grew up into, which is the Australian culture, while having to preserve her own Asian heritage, with the constant companion of extremely traditional grandmother and parents.

The book itself is rich with Asian culture, traditions, typical Asian people and customs. And at the same time pointed out how all these Asian quirkiness fit into the uncharted territory of the Whites and their totally opposite cultures. The thing I like about the book is that there are so many things that I can relate to. I have just moved to Australia recently, and while I do not have to struggle with the cultures - because by now I perfectly know what the norms are and I'm very much the stereotypical Asian - making adjustment isn't so simple either.

This book made me go 'Oh, I have totally experienced that before! At some part of the books, the feelings that Alice had mirrored mine perfectly, and for that alone the book holds a special place within my heart, so close, so relatable, so poignant.

I have to thank whatever fate that caused my teacher to make this an option for the assignment, that caused me to choose this book despite the very tempting alternative. I see this book as something more than just an assignment, but a book that helped me through this transition period, which is also possibly one of the toughest times in my life.

I've obviously come late to this book, which means I could see how influential Pung's memoir-style has been on other writers. Her breezy tone belies the darkness of much of her experiences, which both lets her explore intergenerational trauma without descending into misery porn and to create a book packed with cultural content that is accessible to an audience with little cultural background.

Having said that, coming late to the book also might mean it lacked the sense of fresh voice it carried w I've obviously come late to this book, which means I could see how influential Pung's memoir-style has been on other writers. Having said that, coming late to the book also might mean it lacked the sense of fresh voice it carried when first published.

I enjoyed the look into Footscray and the deft way that Pung navigates writing about difficult family dynamics. In particular, her relationship with her grandmother balances the depth of adoration of a child, with the knowing eyes of a more critical adult. The latter part of the book concerns Pung's development of adult identity. This includes a relationship mired in tedium, and I found myself a little disengaged as to be fair, in some ways did Pung. However, Pung is an interesting and assured writer, and I am quite looking forward now to her subsequent memoir about her father.

This book started with a bang, but lost impetus somewhere along the line. I loved her descriptions of Chinese immigrant family life. Her grandmother praising Father Government for the benefit she receives each fortnight. The excess of Australian society even in the late 70s when the authors early childhood occurs when seen by people who have endured war and hardship.

The little Green Man was an eternal symbol of government existing to serve and protect. And any country that could have a little gr This book started with a bang, but lost impetus somewhere along the line. And any country that could have a little green flashing man was benign and wealthy beyond imagining.

Interesting to learn some cultural differences. That careful translated literally in Chinese means to have a small heart. Young Alice doesn't want to have a small heart. That lady was the most abhorred thing you could become because ladies were lazy bums who sat around wasting their husband's money and walked down the street with perfectly made-up mien visiting the jewellery stores to which my mother delivered her wares. She really describing wealthy idleness which has become the dream of white society, and possibly society more generally.

The book becomes less interesting in the latter stages when teenage Alice has her first boyfriend, and we get more of an internal dialogue. Still enjoyable on the whole, and I'm glad to have read it. Jan 01, Penni Russon rated it it was amazing. An incredible project, I am so admiring of this sort of memory work, where Pung makes sense of her childhood and family history with such deft and sensitively rendered narrative tension.

The environments and experiences were so vivid I forgot I am not really a Chinese migrant. I can't believe Pung hasn't been more widely accoladed for her work, hers is a stunning talent.

Mar 11, Hermine rated it liked it Shelves: asian-related , australia , audiobook , non-fiction. The passages that touched on family culture, tensions and loyalty in this community resonated with me and led me to examine and compare against the dynamics in my family. Dec 28, Jo rated it really liked it Shelves: aww-challenge First, a bit of background to my reading of this book. I grew up in a part of Sydney where there were many people of Asian descent.

Those who were my age had often either been born in Australia to parents who were recent immigrants, or had come to Australia as children.

Many of my friends were of Asian descent, from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I tended to see the similarities between my friends and me - they were, after all, my friends - and I often did not understand why they First, a bit of background to my reading of this book. I tended to see the similarities between my friends and me - they were, after all, my friends - and I often did not understand why they reacted to certain things so differently, especially in relation to their interactions and relationships with their families.

In the years since high school, I have grown to understand much more. Unpolished Gem allowed me to take another leap in my understanding of some of my friends. At the very least, this means that if Ms Pung is writing for the wider Australian audience, to give them an insight into the life of a certain section of the Australian community, she has nailed it.

I am quite curious to know if she has nailed the audience within the section of the Australian community she is writing about. Ms Pung's writing is impeccable. By this I mean not that her sentences and paragraphs are well-structured and grammatically correct, although they are that, too, but that Ms Pung's narrative allows the reader to step inside the book and, to a significant extent, empathise with her.

The reader is, accordingly, able to understand Ms Pung's emotional reactions to the situations she describes. It was this which allowed me to come to a much better understanding about my friends than I had before.

It is not that I think all - or, even, any - of my friends had precisely the same experiences as Ms Pung, but that, by understanding the background in Ms Pung's story, I was able to better imagine what might have been happening for my friends in similar situations. Such an understanding is important to me personally, and may be important personally to many others. It is also important socially. Ms Pung's family has much in common, in terms of experiences and background, with many other Australians and their families - not only those who came to Australia at around the same time as, and in similar circumstances to, Ms Pung's family, but those who are coming to Australia now.

In order to ensure that we can be an Australian community, as many of us as possible from as many parts of Australian society need to have some insight into other parts of our society. Unpolished Gem will help to increase the level of insight between communities. Finally, this book is also an excellent story, rather than merely a piece of writing about what happened. As a result, this book is likely to be quite an enjoyable read for those who, like me, do not normally enjoy non-fiction and memoir writing as much as fiction.

Nov 20, Lien Vong rated it it was ok. When I first started reading this book, I thought that there was so much I could relate with growing up Asian and living in Australia. But then I found Alice really quite annoying towards the end of this book when she talks about her relationship with the Anglo Aussie guy she starts dating. I just want to tell her to get over it, being Asian doesn't mean that it needs to get in the way of living your life.

It obviously wasn't an issue with that guy and he went out of his way to adjust to the "As When I first started reading this book, I thought that there was so much I could relate with growing up Asian and living in Australia. It obviously wasn't an issue with that guy and he went out of his way to adjust to the "Asian-ness" of her family and he still liked her. There were a lot of stereotyping in this book which started to bore me. For example the old Asian woman at the markets bargaining down to the last penny we all know that Asian women do this so nothing new there and the fact that she ends up being a lawyer.

Okay, so she probably chose to be a lawyer and this is an autobiography but it just adds to that whole stereotyping of Asians only being interested in pursuing careers in law, medicine and accounting.

There were some highlights. For example, when she describes how the way her grandmother and mother talk to each other. How every comment contains "bones". That is a very Chinese saying and a very bitchy Chinese way to be. Basically, it means that there are underlying messages in what is actually said never good. Her mother and grandmother's relationship sounds like my mother's and my late-grandmother's.

Mar 23, Colin rated it it was amazing Shelves: asian-authors , bipoc , reviewed , authors-of-colour , this-is-australia , published , non-fiction , borrowed , biographies-and-memoirs.

Reading this book made me feel some sort of connection between me and Alice Pung. After all, she has sent me a message before, 4 months ago: You thought I was joking. So yes, I have talked to her. But even more than that, she lived in the same area as me she lived in Footscray while I live in Sunshine North, which are both of Melbourne's western suburbs and about a minute drive away from each other , and in FACT, she went to the same school as me!

Well, actually, I'm 4. Well, actually, I'm not even sure if her campus was part of my school back then--there were two schools near each other and they thought it would be a good idea if they just merged into ONE school with two separate campuses, and the smaller campus would only have Year 7 to Year 9 girls, but I'm not sure if they merged before or after she went there This just made me feel a stronger connection to her as I read this book, knowing she has seen the same places and encountered the same types of people as me.

This book was funny, down-to-earth, and intelligently written. Alice Pung is such a magnificent writer and I hope she comes out with more books, because she is one to watch out for. Apr 15, Robin rated it liked it Recommends it for: those who like memoirs. Shelves: memoirs , list. When I finished reading this book last night I was left with an odd feeling because it contains no author information whatsoever.

I don't understand why we only get this author's life thus far, what made her write this book, as compelling as the narrative is, I missed her motivation. Maybe I need to take a closer look at it.

The author's story about a family who flees Cambodia and settles in Australia is another story about a young person caught between cultures. Even though she grows up in Aust When I finished reading this book last night I was left with an odd feeling because it contains no author information whatsoever. Even though she grows up in Australia, she doesn't consider herself an Australian because she's not a "white ghost," she is Chinese and lives according to the social norms imposed on her by her family's culture.

A concise biography of Alice Pung plus historical and literary context for Unpolished Gem. In-depth summary and analysis of every chapter of Unpolished Gem. Visual theme-tracking, too. Explanations, analysis, and visualizations of Unpolished Gem 's themes.

Unpolished Gem 's important quotes, sortable by theme, character, or chapter. Description, analysis, and timelines for Unpolished Gem 's characters. Explanations of Unpolished Gem 's symbols, and tracking of where they appear. An interactive data visualization of Unpolished Gem 's plot and themes. Pung spent most of her childhood in Braybrook, a suburb just west of Melbourne, where she attended five different schools, including a Catholic all-girls school.

She also attended law school at the University of Melbourne and remains a practicing lawyer in the areas of pay equity and minimum wage. Following the Cambodian Civil War, the Khmer Rouge, supporters of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, targeted and killed anyone in Cambodia who threatened their communist agenda—including those suspected of connections with foreign governments, Cambodian professionals and intellectuals, Cambodian Christians, followers of the Buddhist monkhood, and anyone of ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, or Cham origin.

The regime closed schools and hospitals, abolished organized banking—making all money worthless—and forced Cambodian citizens to live and work on communal farms after seizing all personal property and belongings. Other Books Related to Unpolished Gem While Alice Pung credits her paternal grandmother with instilling in her the love of storytelling, she claims John Marsden, an Australian based schoolteacher, principal, and writer, as her single greatest literary influence.

Cite This Page. Cultural identity and belonging are certainly large parts of what it means to be human. If the book can assertively be said to be about one theme above all others—or about one theme which all others connect back to—it is the idea of cultural Unpolished gem essay. How did he use opportunities to advance his skills?

Kuan began by taking classes to learn the English language. He then worked as a translator at the Migrant Hostel. Kuan later opened his own electronics store, and after years of hard work, he owned two Retravision franchises.

He started his