Review of The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown

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[Following is a volunteer review of "The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown" by James Hanna.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown is a very engaging book about the improbable exploits of Gertie McDowell. This book is exceptionally well edited, as well as being a very quick, fun read. I personally really dislike when authors phonetically write out an accent, so that is where we lost a star. I will say that even with the altered spelling, Gertie’s dialogue was still easy enough to parse.

My favourite part of this book was how fascinating Gertie was as a character. She consistently made choices that I was not expecting. I found Gertie’s naive outlook charming and I liked that she always thought the best of people, no matter the circumstances. Even though Gertie makes very silly choices, she still feels like a believable character, because she explains her motives enough that the audience understands why she makes them.

Because we were only hearing Gertie’s perspective, the author is able to add in several fun references. Gertie doesn’t get them, and they aren’t necessary for the reader to understand what is happening, but they are pretty cool and do add something special if you do. The other aspect of Gertie’s perspective that I like is that even when she meets people who are very different from her, she still treats them well. She doesn’t necessarily describe these people in ways that would be considered correct or up to date. However, she still clearly respects them as people and wants them to enjoy living their lives. I was initially worried how this would turn out, but it ended up being really sweet.

I feel like there was a possibility that the plot could have easily felt disjointed. However, because the author decided to format the novel like a series of stories told by Gertie, it retained its sense of cohesion. Because the stories are so short, and packed with conflict, the book maintains a quick pace throughout. It is also quite funny, which helps keep things very engaging.

This book was awesome, I really recommend it.

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The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown
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