Celeste Ng has written many short stories some of which have won writing awards. Most are fictional but some are actually autobiographical. Though the stories address drastically different topics, most of Ng's short stories share a great deal of commonality. Each of them are narrated in the first person, feature flawed protagonists, and focus upon themes of identity. The stories are all reflections of people who have overcome something difficult for them personally and accomplished something within their souls.
Ng's characters are her strength because she builds them with intricacy and vulnerability. They each manage to talk their way into readers' affections due to their honesty and their position as narrators. They tell their audience what they're afraid of and what they've messed up in the past. One great example of this is Mackenzie in "How To Be Chinese" who explains that the most Chinese thing she's ever done is eat at a popular Chinese restaurant. Although she's ashamed to admit her ignorance about her native culture due to embarrassment, she decides to make a change and to write about it. This commitment to honesty and rigorous self-improvement make Mackenzie an extremely lovable character and a reliable narrator as well.
Ng seems to dwell on the concept of identity in all of her short stories. She seems perplexed about distinctions between identity and personality, whether personality is separate because it can be intentionally altered. Her characters all undergo some personal change in their stories, usually as a result of their own choosing. They are trying to form themselves into more complete, truthful people by addressing their weakness and correcting any false judgments. An argument can certainly be made that Ng must approach her own identity in a similar manner in order to be able to so accurately portray this process in so many of her characters. She also must possess a certain degree of optimism to believe that a person can change such central parts of their character. At any rate Ng is a master of character development throughout her short stories.
