“Girl in Translation” is fictional, but is based heavily on the life of the author. It is about a Chinese immigrant named Kimberly Chang, who moves to the United States at the age of nine with her mother. She is forced to live a double life; she is a bright and brilliant student by day and a sweatshop factory worker by night. The book follows Kimberly through her difficult upbringing, and explores the issues of diversity, socioeconomic status, gender roles and immigration.
Kwok began her speech and slideshow by talking about her experience as a Chinese immigrant. She then moved on to what it is like to be an author, what it's like to be a writer and how vastly different the two are. She closed the speech with some optimistic words for the students.
“If you lose a few times, don’t let it get you down,” said Kwok, “keep moving.”
After taking 15 minutes to answer audience questions, Kwok moved to the Atrium for a book signing. Kwok stayed on campus two days, speaking to smaller groups and participating in various activities.
Jean Kwok resides in the Netherlands with her husband and two sons. She taught English at Leiden University in the Netherlands and worked as a Dutch-English translator until the publication of “Girl in Translation.” She now writes full time.
To learn more about Jean Kwok, go to www.jeankwok.com or visit her Facebook.
