Interesting. I’ve never heard about that. As someone who is deeply in with Amazon, but looking for ways out, this is definitely something to investigate.
You are trading Amazon for Walmart, as Walmart bought Rakuten/Kobo, but I feel better than just giving money to an Amazon machine that I loathe.
Love my Libra H2O though. The hard page turn buttons are a must have.
So I have to decide between two large corporations that are trying to strong-arm small stores out of business?
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Finished up tonight. Very thought provoking and super excited to discuss with the crew on the 3rd!
Dug up some discussion questions but I have a feeling we really won’t need them…
Summary
- Throughout the book, Willis Wu feels torn between his own identity and the roles he is pressured to fill as an Asian American actor. Have you experienced similar tensions in your own life?
- What did you make of the structure of the story, written as a teleplay?
- The book is written as a story within another work of fiction, interweaving the plot of a cop show with the experiences of Willis as an actor. Were there moments where the artifice of the story stood out to you?
- At one point, Willis describes his father as “a leading man trapped in the body of an extra.” Why does it upset him to watch his father transition to the role of “Old Asian Man”?
- Yu writes that Willis’ parents “knew that behind them was a historical backdrop, that they were part of a prestigious project, with the sweep and scope of a grand American narrative.” How do their stories show the limits of the American dream?
- The cop show “Black and White” doesn’t always make sense, Yu writes, “But the template works, and you don’t mess with a working template.” Did it remind you of other television shows or films you grew up watching?
- “I’m not a person. I’m a category,” Miles Turner tells Willis. How are actors of different races, such as Turner and Willis, pitted against one other in this book?
- “Ever since you were a boy, you’ve dreamt of being Kung Fu Guy,” Yu writes early in the book. How does Willis’s dream change by the end of the book? Why does the role of “Kung Fu Guy” no longer hold the same allure for him?
- What commentary does Yu offer on racism and representation in Hollywood through this fictional story?
- How did the book affect your understanding of America’s history of anti-Asian discrimination?
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Here’s the Zoom link for the 3rd! Ryan McDonald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Refuge Book Club
Time: Mar 3, 2021 09:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 992 2451 5140
Password: 029224
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Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 992 2451 5140
Password: 029224
Find your local number: https://pace.zoom.us/u/ab2mLiTtzF
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Sorry for the double post, but I didn’t want this to get lost in the Zoom invite for next week. I’m up next on book selection duty and after two weeks of indecision, I was finally able to decide: The book after Interior Chinatown will be Milkman by Anna Burns. It’s been on my radar for a bit, so I’m looking forward to discussing it with everyone! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36047860-milkman
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Excellent pick - it’s been on my To Read list for awhile. I - like some others in here - am going to start reading Moby Dick, but I think I can work this in too.
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Booker Prize winners usually don’t disappoint!! This will be another notch in “year of the reread” for me. Don’t have to go quite as far back as “Matterhorn” or “Amazing Adventures”.
I’m excited to revisit this and plug it into our group. So much variation in styles and books—love it! “Interior Chinatown” was a fast, fun and intense read for sure.
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I read Milkman two years ago and I have to say it has been one of my favorites of the past 5 years. I am looking forward to this reread, will be the first one I have had in this group, and I typically do not re-read books so will be great to have another look at it. The Booker Prize is always an amazing resource. Great pick!
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Just ordered! Looks like a great pick!
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I’ve always been interested by the “controversy” surrounding Milkman’s Booker prize win. When it made the short list there were those who said it would be a terrible winner because it is a relatively “difficult” read, and no casual reader would ever buy it. There was also the now infamous NY Times review of it (linked below) that “panned” it and there was a similar London Times review as well. I am very interested to see what others think of it as it seems to be fairly polarizing, which as we have seen in this book club can be the best for discussion purposes. I would recommend a quick Wikipedia search of “The Troubles” to give some context to the novel. All this being said I thought it was an incredible book and extremely unique.
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Started reading this morning. Hoping to remind anyone who forgot or procrastinated like me to be ready for tomorrow!
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Got 90 pages left. Should be good to go by tonight. Looking forward to it.
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But we are meeting TOMORROW night, yes?
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yes!
@mcdonart22 shared the zoom link above
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Nice. I got an extra day. Haha
Just finished! Looking forward to chatting tomorrow night!
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Same - done! Great recommendation. Man can Charles Yu write his ass off. Very eager to debrief with you guise…
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I really feel like we might have all over the place takes! Very excited to discuss with everyone!
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