Searching for Sylvie Lee

In this multi-perspective novel that explores intergenerational immigrant experiences, the issue of perspective is key. Kwok’s interest in this theme is often explicit. At the end of the novel, for example, Amy reflects on how her search for her sister has made her aware of the “curtain of language and culture” (312) that has long kept the women of the family hidden from one another. With Sylvie gone, Amy’s perception of herself and her family has changed, and Amy is now keenly aware of how much everyone misunderstands and strives to conceal about themselves: “As Sylvie once told me, we are all ultimately unreliable storytellers of our own lives” (312). Broadly speaking, throughout the novel, Flawed and Incomplete Perspective is also a primary obstacle and source of conflict, one that Kwok treats as a central challenge especially for women in immigrant families.

Problems with eyes and vision are present for both sisters, symbolically hinting at their issues with perspective. The bulk of the narration comes from Sylvie and Amy, the sister protagonists—Ma’s chapters are both shorter in length and fewer in number. Thus, the reader’s two main vehicles for viewing the world of the story both have literal difficulties with their eyes.