How ‘The Farewell’ masterfully depicts Chinese American biculturalism
It’s summer in Shanghai and the hot air clings to my skin as I say goodbye to my grandmother from the taxicab parked in front of her apartment building. The leather of the seats sticks to my thighs as she reaches through the window to grab my hand, and I see the tears well up in her eyes just as they do in mine. I am not in the habit of lying, yet I promise her that I will take her to America soon, and that she will stay with us in our home in Miami where she will spend the rest of her days. In reality, she is too old and too sick to bridge the distance between us, but I tell her that we will be together anyway to keep her heart strong and her head high. When I roll up the taxi window, my mother pretends not to see me cry as we make our way back to a place my grandmother cannot reach.