Interior Chinatown: A Novel (National Book Award Winner) (Vintage Contemporaries) Paperback – November 17, 2020

Interior Chinatown is a creative exhibition of Yu’s analytical and writing skills, and exposition of social identity. At first, the book was not easy to follow because of the unconventional narrative style. But as I turned the pages the story became clearer. Yu’s literary stream-of-consciousness carried me into the SROs of Chinatown and the lives of its residents. My mind flowed through theirs. I drifted past glimpses of Hong Kong and Taiwan, the struggles of new immigrants in America, and the continuing efforts of their descendants to thrive. I empathized with many scenes in this story because my grandparents were field laborers on Hawaii’s sugar plantations and I was born on a plantation. Among all of this was the universal theme of a mother encouraging her son to be more.Years ago, I wrote on a website that being an Asian-American felt like standing in a minefield where every landmine was a stereotype. No matter what direction I took, a stereotype waited for me because there were so many of them. They were so numerous that people could use one stereotype to justify another or apply contradictory stereotypes to the same person. The person gets caught in this web of stereotypes. It’s not about who you are, but about what you represent to someone’s mind. And stereotypes can live on in the minds of people long after the real world has moved on. And they can be weaponized.Stereotyping can insidiously limit people’s growth because of prejudices toward that person or group. They might be excluded from the types of education, employment, social interactions, or patience that could have improved their life situations, and allowed them to reach their personal goals and contribute to the larger community. Instead, the absence of progress reinforces the belief that they do not have the potential to better themselves. Defeated, the stereotyped person may succumb and become the stereotype. This circular trap is the self-fulfilling prejudice.Luckily, my mom told me to do better.Here on the mainland, for the past 40 years, some of the stereotypes that I had to rise above included:bad driver, dog-eater, misogynist, not assertive enough, threatening, bait-eater, economic predator, inscrutable, not a real American, will not fight back, worker bee, over-educated, asexual, lascivious, cannot write in English, over-represented, no people skills, foreign, clever, diseased, dishonest, sneaky, and the model minority.In my Amazon review of Mismatch by Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor Jr, I wrote about a law professor’s revelation on the over-represented status of Asians-Americans.I recall that after raising the topic of racism with a few people, I got responses such as:1) you’re making things up (i.e., dishonest),2) you don’t understand (i.e., gaslighting), and3) you have no right to complain because you’re not supposed to be here (i.e., foreign).I’m still here, doing better.

Overall really enjoyed this book. My only gripe with it is it’s a little long for what it was trying to do and could’ve been condensed and still great. That being said it was a wildly creative book. Lots of brilliant satire throughout but the last 50 pages were what did it for me. Beautifully bringing it full circle and factual references to past us laws that highlights systemic racism and I can’t help but think not much has changed in the last 100 years … not to be cynical but it is what it is

I must say at the outset of this post that Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu is the best book I have read in 2021. And I am not alone in thinking that. Yu won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction, so my vote for best book is in good company.And with that, let me tell you a bit about the plot. As the book opens, Willis Wu is a first generation American living in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, where his parents settled after they left Taiwan. They have all taken roles in movies and television as “Generic Asian” man and woman, and right now they appear as part of the cast of a TV cop show called “Black and White,” which takes place in and around a Chinese restaurant called The Golden Palace. Family members as well as other bit players on the show live above the restaurant in single room occupancies (sro). Most of them have lived in these rooms for many years. Willis was raised there. He has worked his way up the bit player in the television show roster: from “background Oriental male” to “dead Asian man” to “generic Asian man number three/delivery guy.” What he really wants to be is the “Kung Fu Guy,” so when he becomes “Kung Fu Guy” toward the end of the book, it is a major plot surprise.The novel is bitingly humorous while at the same time hauntingly potent. For example, the recruiter for the show responds to Willis when he seeks an audition for a speaking part. The recruiter says, “No one really wants to hire you. It’s your accent.” Willis replies, “I don’t have an accent.” The recruiter: “Exactly. It’s weird.” So Willis learns to have an accent. The most poignant scene for me occurred when Willis’ father, “Old Asian man,” sings “Take me home, country roads” at the restaurant’s karaoke night, and there are tears in everyone’s eyes, because everyone wants to go home. There is an intense undercurrent of anger and sadness amidst the screenplay. The reader doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.As I was reading the book, I pondered the way in which we categorize the different varieties of immigrants we see in our community—the Asians running the restaurants, the Middle Easterners’ who run the convenience stores, the Indian owners of the motels, and on and on. As I watched television, I watched closely for “background Asians.” I saw many in the commercials that came on. Even during a speech during the Virginia governor’s race, three people stood in the background of the Republican candidate: a white man, a woman, and an Asian man. “Background Asian man” for sure. The New York Times reviewer mentions: “Yu explores in devastating (and darkly hilarious) fashion Hollywood’s penchant for promoting clichés about Asians and Asian-Americans.”I had little prior knowledge about Interior Chinatown before I began reading, so the format was a huge surprise and very confusing at first. Please be aware of the format as you begin reading. At book club last night, most of these veteran readers expressed some difficulty figuring out the format, the print size, and most of all, they had questions about the dialogue. Was the dialogue part of the tv show script or the characters speaking as themselves?I would suggest that you take the challenge of reading this book. It will change some of the ways you view the world.

This novel's first half is far stronger than its second. There are certainly a few strong lines that I feel do its general purpose justice, however, its poor formatting, confusing scenes, and odd time skips really pull you out of the immersion it intended to provide. I understand that the author is primarily a screenwriter, but as someone who has tapped my toes in the water of that writing myself, I find that he combines "normal" writing with screenplay format too much---to the point where you start thinking that he just has to pick a side and go with it. Although this may be an artistic expression, it just creates unnecessary confusion of whether scenes are genuine or just part of the show, "Black and White." A decent read with a strong theme and message, however executed horribly.