Memory and Identity in Contemporary Chinese-Australian Novels

«This sophisticated and empathetic study explores a suite of important Australian literary works from the Chinese diaspora. Using memory studies to trace connections and contiguities, Dr Chen maps an emotionally charged literary network that is compelled by the past to confront the future. The result is a richly revealing exploration of transnational literary identity and complex forms of belonging and attachment across time and place.»

(Professor Nicole Moore, UNSW Canberra)



«If memory is the broken mirror of history, diasporic memories are intricate mosaics of multitudinous pasts: personal, collective, national, cosmopolitan, cultural and political. Reading Chinese Australian literature as a mimesis of memory, Beibei Chen offers invaluable insights into the entanglement of past and present and its effect on diasporic identity.»

(Professor Wenche Ommundsen, University of Wollongong)



Inspired by the «transnational turn» in global literature, this book explores the significance of transnational memory and identity in Chinese-Australian literature by closely examining representations of these two concepts in selected texts. By attending to diverse forms of memory such as collective memory, individual memory, cosmopolitan memory and transgenerational memory, this book offers unique observations on how different types of memory exert influence on the formation of identity in Chinese diasporic writings and tackles the complexity of reading literary texts in light of theories of memory, sociological studies and psychological analysis.