Interior Chinatown
Charles Yu
£12.99
Mr B's review
Willis is an actor working hard at playing the part known simply as Generic Asian Man. His ultimate goal is Kung Fu Guy, a star role his father briefly tasted before fading into Old Asian Man. Structurally playful – the novel is typeset in most part like a movie script – this story isn’t about auditioning for the Hollywood role of a lifetime, but a lifetime of playing the only role available. A brilliant satire about assimilation, systematic racial “othering” and the possibility of transcendence. – Laura
Description
*WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2020*
*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
A deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play.
Willis Wu doesn’t perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he’s merely Generic Asian Man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making or even Disgraced Son, but always he is relegated to a prop. Yet every day, he leaves his tiny room in Chinatown and enters the Golden Palace restaurant where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He’s a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy-the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. Or is it?
After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he’s ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but also the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu’s most moving, daring, and masterful novel yet.
Goodreads 10 Books that ‘Disrupted’ the Literary Status Quo
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
“What a clever, clever book this is!”-Regina on Goodreads
“Truly unique.”-Kevin on Amazon
“*inhales sharply* *screams* This book makes me feel seen.”-Sofia on Goodreads
“Thoughtful, moving, and just hilarious.”-Charles on Netgalley
“Absolutely loved this book.”-Andres on Amazon
“An emotional roller coaster.”-Ellen on Amazon
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