This graphic novel does an awesome job representing that perspective but also opening up critique of it. There's just such a sense of ownership over women that I find very disturbing. I found the centered perspective (Ben's) very masculinist and even homophobic at moments (despite the lesbian friend), but it could also be my general reaction to that line of argument forwarded by straight Asian American men about Asian American women who date white men. Shortcomings would be a great text for a class that considers the issue of interracial relationships. Alice is the in-your-face dyke who doesn't let Ben get away with anything. Another central character is Alice Kim, Ben's only friend. The novel examines the issue of Asian-white relationships, particularly through Ben Tanaka's dating of two blond white women while he and Miko are taking time off their relationship. At the center of the book is Ben Tanaka, a 30-year-old Japanese American man in a troubled relationship with Miko Hayashi, a Japanese American woman with aspirations to work in the Asian American independent film world. The story is disturbing in a thoughtful way. The black-and-white illustrations are meticulous, capturing nuances of emotions for the characters in the facial expressions and body postures drawn. This book got a lot of rave reviews when it came out, and it definitely deserves them. ISBN: 9781897299753 Author: Tomine, Adrian Binding: Paperback Annotation: The 2007 New York Times Book Review Notable Book now in paperbackLauded for its. Read Adrian Tomine's graphic novel Shortcomings (Drawn and Quarterly, 2007) on this overcast and drizzly day.

Shortcomings novel