Why Karen Carpenter Matters

Tongson (Relocations) weaves experiences from her own life with stories of her namesake, musician Karen Carpenter, who with her brother Richard performed as the Carpenters in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, Tongson and her family moved from their native Manila, the Philippines, where the Carpenters' music is still popular, to Southern California, where Tongson yearned for the perfection of mainstream suburban life as seemingly represented by the duo. Later, while analyzing personal questions of place, gender, family, and belonging, Tongson realized that Carpenter's world was far from ideal. The author closely examines Carpenter's brief life and her music, from its content and style to its presentation and range of emotion as expressed by her beautifully haunting voice. Tongson incisively comments on the music's significance for her personally and for immigrants, people of color, queer communities, and other marginalized groups. Her observations on defining "normalcy" are thought provoking. There is much to ponder in this engaging volume, and the chapter notes are especially helpful.