INDEPENDENCE DAY by Richard Ford

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Not to be confused with the movie, this novel won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. The main character, Frank Bascombe, spends a contemplative Fourth of July weekend. He is a realtor trying to find housing for some difficult customers, a man dealing with women problems-- his ex-wife and current girlfriend-and a father, treating his son to a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Somehow this well-intentioned fellow ends up in the hospital.

This decent and bewildered man is gradually, inevitably and humorously wrenched out of his private existence to a new awareness of the world and people around him.

DONALD DUK by Frank Chin, 1991

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For obvious reasons Donald Duk hates his name, given him to honor an uncle who acts in Cantonese opera. In fact, he hates everything Chinese. It is not easy for Donald to ignore his heritage when he lives in San Francisco's Chinatown with parents who own a Chinese restaurant. During his twelfth Chinese New Year, Donald discovers reasons for pride in his Chinese forebears, in a series of detailed and historically accurate dreams.

In these dreams Donald joins the Chinese immigrants who built the Union Pacific railroad, setting a record for laying ten miles of track in ten hours. Author Chin is at his best in these historical scenes, but his descriptions throughout the book bring many other scenes to life also. Donald's father, despite the name with which he has saddled his son, is a marvelous character with a surprising sense of humor and insight.