One would say that America is the land of opportunity, in the book Bone, a Chinese-American family tries to get through with their everyday lives. Leila Leong, the main character and her family are trying to figure out why her sister, Ona, committed suicide. The book also deals with the problems of immigration and assimilation. These issues are a part of society today, which fits into the definition of Contemporary. Contemporary is what is considered modern and current in the world today. The book, Bone was written in the current time period and address issues of today, which allows it to be under the contemporary title. Faye Myenne Ng's life was similar to the book she wrote. It is almost the story of her own childhood in America (Arias 1). American is something or someone that is related to America by language or culture who reside in the U.S. In the book, the Leong family lives in the Chinatown of San Francisco (Ng 3). Many Chinese immigrants today choose to live in Chinatown like the Leong family because it is where they feel comfortable because of the surroundings (Ng 4). Everyone comes to America to get the be successful as did the Leongs. The themes listed in this book are all found in society today. Literature is defined by creative and scholarly writing. The author wrote this book using the modern dialect of today to reflect the lives of the characters in the book (Stetson 87). This book was well written and the style that she used was imaginative and artistic. At times, she integrated Chinese sayings to make the book seem realistic. Faye Myenne Ng's highly acclaimed novel, Bone, should be considered on the class reading list of American contemporary literature because it addresses the issues of today's American society.
             Chinese immigration to America began after the Gold Rush of 1849, but the Chinese Exclusion Act soon followed and the rates decreased. The Immigration Act of 1985 lessened the rules and many...