Hello Kitty Must Die Book

First line: "It all started with a missing hymen."

Thus starts a fictional memoir whose first chapter features rants about body parts I don't have and sex aids I've never used. It is dark and hilarious, the way I like my comedies, yet I wondered if the author has the ability to continue in such a strong manner.

The premise is strong. Fiona is a "Hello Kitty" Chinese-American stuck between modern America and Chinese cultural norms. She is a 28 year old lawyer who is also a virgin and lives at home. Now that she is marriage material her parents expect her to do just that. But Fiona wishes to kill the Hello Kitty part of her..and if anyone is going to take her virginity, she will damn well do it herself! But first she needs to find her hymen. And that is the strange setup that includes serial killers, Lidocaine coated vibrators, lots of loser dates, and a regurgitating parakeet.

There's a lot of material in the clash of cultures. Yet it has been done before. By Amy Tan in a much more serious tone and by comedian Margaret Cho in a funnier but gentler way. In fact, much of this book reads like stand-up material. But I'm not sure Angela S. Choi adds anything to the discussion. The author's rude and chaotic humor starts to fade quickly. When Fiona's obsession with serial killers blends into her reality it starts to pick up but it is also losing its focus. I enjoyed this novel and I was especially floored (as in ROTFL) by the first quarter of the novel. Yet it ultimately fails to provide any insight to the novel's theme of cultural conflict.