The Flower Drum Song

A brilliant novel, especially considering that it was the author’s first. The Chinese-Americans of San Francisco’s Grant Avenue come to life, with all the noble and ignoble traits of any other group of human beings.

The base story is a beautiful and unusual love theme, with young Wang Ta forced to break the age-old traditions of his people for the love of a woman.

But the most unforgettable character, the man at the center of all the action, is Old Master Wang, who refused to recognize the western world around him, and resolutely shut his eyes to the trembling walls of the House of Wang.