Chinese Culture
Narratives of Chinese culture ranging from food, superstitions, familial customs, and everything else in between remotely related to the Chinese are constantly mentioned in the novel. This is a deliberate attempt on the part of the author to remind the reading audience that this is not your average American romance novel but a Chinese-American romance novel. This also serves to add an interesting cultural twist to an otherwise tired genre and also serves as a springboard for other images that are featured in the novel.
American Pop Culture Trivia
Raymond is a veritable treasure trove of pop culture and historical trivia, especially if it has something to do with Hollywood depictions of the Chinese or Chinese/Asian actors playing the role of, well, Chinese. This was done not just to add another layer of cultural nuance to the novel but also to emphasize the cultural identity of the main character. The pop culture trivia, in addition to emphasis, is also done as a respectful homage to the numerous pioneers of Chinese culture in American entertainment that paved the way for Asian-American writers like the author.
Sex
Narratives of sex are by far the most numerous as it seems to be a general preoccupation for the novel’s protagonist. Many of the descriptions of the sexual activities are written quite directly rather than making use of more polite sounding double entendres. This makes the sex narratives quite lurid and leaving little to the imagination.
Family
It is ironic the other most frequently encountered narrative in the novel is family, specifically the Asian-American family and the subtle variations that occur in the family set up. The Ding family obviously is representative of the Chinese-American family. Aurora doesn’t just represent the Japanese-American populace but also those who have grown up with a biracial ancestry. Betty represents the Vietnamese-American family and represents the more tumultuous dynamics of a distressed family.
