Toward the North is the first anthology of thirteen short fiction
pieces written and translated by Chinese-Canadian writers during the
last two decades, each of which depicts the contemporary lives of new
Chinese immigrants to Canada, and illustrates newcomers' perspectives of
multicultural Canada. The theme of the anthology is Chinese
transnational and cross-cultural life experience. A fundamental concern
shared by most of the authors is to redefine their characters' cultural
identity in their acculturation across times and space. In these
stories, the exploration of the relationship between Chinese immigrants
and Canadians extends beyond yellow/white binary model, revealing
interactions between the Chinese and other ethnic communities. Struggles
between cultural assimilation and resistance are vividly and
captivatedly portrayed. The authors' approaches to their characters'
life experience of culture's in-between displays an intriguing diversity
both in content and in styles.