Alex Kuo Alex Kuo was born in the United
States but raised in China during World War II. He has
traveled extensively there as a Senior Fulbright Fellow,
Lingnan Fellow, and lecturer. He is the author of Chinese
Opera, a novel, and a collection of poems, This Fierce
Geography. Lipstick His memory-his mind,
really-is blocking and altering his recollection of
what transpired in the early forties in Chongqing. What he
remembers about his mother is especially jagged and
conflicting. Such repression is a theme Alex Kuo pursues in
many of his stories. Likewise censorship and state
terrorism, ideology, and dissidence. "His stories burst with hard-edged
insights that take my breath away. I read them with surprise
and admiration." -P.K.
Leung "The essence of what short stories
should be: simple and at the same time profound and
disturbing. It is his genius to bring to light how the basic
horror of repression, censorship and state terrorism is the
same all over the world, on any side." -Luisa
Valenzuela "A lushly written, enigmatic
collection of tales, most of which are set in that murky
borderland where dreams, memory, imagination and fact mingle
and merge, creating an alternate reality in which
authenticity trumps mere accuracy....Lipstick and Other
Stories may present readers with more questions than
answers, but in the end it will leave them
believing." -South China
Morning Post "Collectively [these
stories] convey a strong sense of what a contemporary
intellectual artist in China is up against...Add to this a
large dose of droll humor, and Kuo's art is
complete." -Bloomsbury
Review "Alex Kuo's work is informed by his
knowledge of Asian American literature, which translates to
a writer who is always pushing the definition of the field
and expanding the borders of the diaspora." -Shawn
Wong "Alex Kuo's work is infused with
his own keen intelligence and exemplary integrity which just
shines through the writing. Both the man and his work have a
kind of articulate elegance informed by a passion for
fairness and a deep concern with historical
forces." -Judith
Roche Asia 2000
and Other
Stories
available through Soho Press/FS&G
19 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003