Aw, Tash: *1971

Strangers on a Pier, 2021 - Thematic Parallels: Family

Aw, Tash: Strangers on a Pier, 2021
The book centers around identity, migration, and family history. It is a memoir that explores the author’s personal journey to understand his family’s roots and his own place within the broader context of Chinese migration to Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Cole, Teju: Every Day Is for the Thief, 2007, ~170pp
  The novel a reflective, semi-autobiographical narrative that examines how a place can change—and how a person changes in relation to that place.
  Both novels converge in their treatment of the diasporic self, fragmented belonging, and ethical introspection. Both works offer meditative, layered portrayals of individuals who straddle multiple cultural identities and who return “home” only to find themselves further away from certainty.
- Foer, Jonathan Safran: Everything is Illuminated, 2002, ~110pp
  The protagonist searches for his family’s past in Ukraine, exploring memory and connection.
  Both works reflect a shared concern with the uncertainties of memory, the burden of inherited history, and the yearning to bridge past and present. Both are deeply personal yet universally resonant explorations of identity in the aftermath of dislocation.
- Kureishi, Hanif: My Son the Fanatic, 1997, ~70pp
  This novel deals with the gap between first-generation immigrants and their children, the conflict between tradition and assimilation, and the struggles of adapting to a new society.
  Both texts show how immigration produces a fractured sense of identity, where the children of immigrants struggle with a legacy they never fully inherit or understand, while the older generation wrestles with cultural compromise or silence. Both narratives wrestle with the impossibility of fully belonging—to a nation, a culture, or even a family legacy. Each author captures how identity is fragmented and shaped by both what is present and what is absent.
- Souad: Burned Alive, 2003, ~220pp
  The novel offers a powerful look at family, tradition, and survival in a restrictive culture, with significant exploration of generational and cultural identity.
  Both texts interrogate the consequences of patriarchal and traditional frameworks, though Souad does so through direct, physical violence, and Aw through the quieter marginalization in family memory and diaspora narratives. They explore the cost of cultural dislocation and how leaving “home” can mean freedom—but also identity fracture.
List of general discussion questions on Family (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Family (pdf)