Chapter 1: Trippers and Askers Summary

Tripmaster Monkey, His Fake Book is Maxine Hong Kingston's kaleidoscopic novel of the life of Wittman Ah Sing, a young English major just one year out of Berkley. Wittman thinks of himself as a poet and a playwright, although he works as a clerk in a department store. After being fired from his job, Wittman goes to a party in Oakland, meeting a plain young Chinese woman on the bus. Wittman meets an attractive blonde named, Tasa, at the party, and marries her in the wee hours of the next morning, primarily to avoid the draft.

Wittman takes his "friend" Tasa to meet his mother. It is mah jong day, so all Wittman's Aunties, his mother's close friends and former showgirls, are in attendance. Wittman and Tasa visit his father at an RV campground, and travel to...