Vancouver Short Stories

One of my favourite short stories from the Vancouver Short Stories is "The Jade Peony" by Wayson Choy. Although I have read this short story a few times in secondary school, I still enjoy reading it because it has a similar family background with mine so I felt attached to this story. In this short story, I think the characters and the theme are the two main elements that build the interests of this story. The main characters in "The Jade Peony" are Grandmama and Sek-Lung. Grandmama influenced Sek-Lung's life because he was the child who had the closest relationship with her prior to her death. The Chinese culture and the superstitious believed that ghosts had passed onto Sek-Lung also. Even though he lives in Vancouver, he viewed his nationality as Chinese rather than Canadian. Also, his thoughts on Grandmama picking up cans and junks on the streets were inconsistent with the rest of the family, who considered it shameful. From Wayson Choy's description of Grandmama, I can imagine her facial expression and emotions, and it made me want to cry and feel sympathy for her because she was about to die. "The Jade Peony" reminded me of my family, so I really like this short story. Also, it was one of the stories that I understand the most.