Prodigal Son

In this coming-of-age novel, David Chen Long, son of a wealthy Chinese family, studies English in college in the hope of working for an international company or in the diplomatic service overseas. His Chinese American professor, Professor Wang, introduces him to the excitement of American culture. His extracurricular activities distract him from his studies: "I wished I had paid more attention to my books and professors than to my endless pursuits of leisure and pleasure and sex. To Professor Wang, I am a playboy, a prodigal son, with questionable morality and wasteful spending on drinks, girls, sex, travels and hotels." He attempts to be a responsible adult, pursuing his ambitions to go abroad and satisfying the expectations of his caring family.