How do you think the Huang's hometown impacted the children's lives? Would the story have been different had it be set in a city?

The author describes the Huang's hometown as being very small, with vacant lots, just two movie theaters and a population of around 30,000. Do you consider that a small town? How do you think the children's growing up there impacted their lives? Would the story have been different had it be set in a city?

Hometown played a part in sharing the children's lives. The fact that it wasn't a vibrant town had more impact. A population of 30,000 isn't all that small. IMO, the Chinese culture was the main influence in their lives.

Possibly a city would make it easier for Peter as he became older. The city seems to be more accepting or indifferent to differences. The possibility of meeting people from many different cultures and backgrounds, but he will always carry his background with him wherever he goes.

Yes, coming from a relatively small town makes our differences stand out and we become a subject for gossip and rumors. I believe in a city, we have more opportunity to find like-minded individuals and groups.

Yes. Large cities tend to be more open with different lifestyles. I think Peter would have found much more support in a larger city. By the time he got to Montreal, he was so beaten down, he didn't know how to carve out a life for himself.

A city might have helped but I think the author wanted to focus on the father figure, the immigrant status, dysfunctional family and the geography would have made little difference. A city might have allowed Peter & his sisters to find someone to mentor them but it also might have caused them to be more adrift.

I also agreed. A city offers more diversity in thought and actions and allows for similar minded folks to each have a place and a support system. While this has its plus - there are also cons in that in the city too often and individual can disappear from family and the cocoon that it often provides even if it is in a negative way.

The father had dreams for each of his children and he wanted to "reinvent" himself - which he was able to do in a small-town environment. I wonder if the father went to a large city would he have progressed or had the "status" that allowed his family to have. I am thinking the perhaps that the father would not have been as successful and thus he would have been a different person and thus perhaps his influence on his children may have been different.

In cities, ethnic groups tend to cluster together. I think the Chinese influences would be even stronger in a Chinatown situation. Of course, his father might have refused to live there.

In a city Peter when he graduated from high school and got a chance to move away from his parents would have had the opportunity to reach out to others like himself. He probably would be more informed living in a city and understand being a transgender person. His mother and father would have assimilated even faster in a city environment because every thing is so much faster there.
The home town caused the children to be small minded that didn't feel that had a future they couldn't see themselves getting out of this town.