The Sense of Wonder
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- Create Date：2023-01-16 06:26:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Salesses
- ISBN：0316425710
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Summary
From the author of PEN/Faulkner finalist Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear and Craft in the Real World comes a "a smart， very meta take" （Kirkus Reviews） on the ways Asian Americans navigate the thorny worlds of sports and entertainment when everything is stacked against them。
An Asian American basketball star walks into a gym。 No one recognizes him， but everyone stares anyway。 It is the start of a joke but what is the punchline？ When Won Lee， the first Asian American in the NBA， stuns the world in a seven-game winning streak， the global media audience dubs it “The Wonder”—much to Won’s chagrin。 Meanwhile， Won struggles to get attention from his coach， his peers， his fans， and most importantly， his hero， Powerball！， who also happens to be Won’s teammate and the captain。 Covering it all is sportswriter Robert Sung， who writes about Won's stardom while grappling with his own missed hoops opportunities as well as his place as an Asian American in media。 And to witness it all is Carrie Kang， a big studio producer， who juggles a newfound relationship with Won while attempting to bring K-drama to an industry not known to embrace anything new or different。
The Sense of Wonder follows Won and Carrie as they chronicle the human and professional tensions exacerbated by injustices and fight to be seen and heard on some of the world’s largest stages。 An incredibly funny and heart-rending dive into race and our “collective imagination that lays bare our limitations before blasting joyfully past them” （Catherine Chung）。 This is the work of a gifted storyteller at the top of his game。
An Asian American basketball star walks into a gym。 No one recognizes him， but everyone stares anyway。 It is the start of a joke but what is the punchline？ When Won Lee， the first Asian American in the NBA， stuns the world in a seven-game winning streak， the global media audience dubs it “The Wonder”—much to Won’s chagrin。 Meanwhile， Won struggles to get attention from his coach， his peers， his fans， and most importantly， his hero， Powerball！， who also happens to be Won’s teammate and the captain。 Covering it all is sportswriter Robert Sung， who writes about Won's stardom while grappling with his own missed hoops opportunities as well as his place as an Asian American in media。 And to witness it all is Carrie Kang， a big studio producer， who juggles a newfound relationship with Won while attempting to bring K-drama to an industry not known to embrace anything new or different。
The Sense of Wonder follows Won and Carrie as they chronicle the human and professional tensions exacerbated by injustices and fight to be seen and heard on some of the world’s largest stages。 An incredibly funny and heart-rending dive into race and our “collective imagination that lays bare our limitations before blasting joyfully past them” （Catherine Chung）。 This is the work of a gifted storyteller at the top of his game。
Reviews
Ron Charles
，
In early 2012， Jeremy Lin， the first Taiwanese American in the NBA， led the New York Knicks out of a miserable slump to win seven games in a row。 The cover of Sports Illustrated trumpeted Lin’s “sudden and spectacular ascent，” and fans around the world went crazy with Linsanity！Beyond his opponents on the court， though， Lin also had to contend with racist taunts from the media。 A Fox Sports columnist mocked Lin’s genitals。 And when the Knicks’ winning streak broke， an editor at ESPN posted a ph In early 2012， Jeremy Lin， the first Taiwanese American in the NBA， led the New York Knicks out of a miserable slump to win seven games in a row。 The cover of Sports Illustrated trumpeted Lin’s “sudden and spectacular ascent，” and fans around the world went crazy with Linsanity！Beyond his opponents on the court， though， Lin also had to contend with racist taunts from the media。 A Fox Sports columnist mocked Lin’s genitals。 And when the Knicks’ winning streak broke， an editor at ESPN posted a photo of Lin with the headline: “Chink in the Armor。”For Matthew Salesses， a Korean American writer and avid basketball fan， those responses to Lin epitomized the peculiar species of racism that Asian Americans face in the United States。 Soon after the ESPN incident， Salesses published a deeply personal essay in which he wrote: “When the disparagements came — as we feared and maybe suspected they would but hoped they wouldn’t — it was like that first time looking in the mirror。 We realized that for all of Jeremy Lin’s accomplishments， we as Asians are still different， are still seen differently than other races by the vast majority of Americans。”Now， Salesses has transformed his thoughts on Lin into an insightful novel called “The Sense of Wonder。” That long decade of reflection included the death of Salesses’s young wife， the rise of Korean television in the United States and the mass shooting of Asian American spa workers in Atlanta。 Ideally， we’re willing to think about the intersection of tragedy， pop culture and anti-Asian prejudice in a way we weren’t a decade ago。 。 。 。 To read the rest of this review， go to The Washington Post:https://www。washingtonpost。com/books/。。。 。。。more
Roxane
，
This novel is brilliantly structured with several interwoven stories— an Asian American basketball star， the reporter who wishes he could have been， a k drama producer with a dying sister。 The characters here are very wry about their circumstances in an appealing way。 I enjoyed the humor and the emotional notes。 In the end， when all the pieces come together the novel leaps to a whole other level of excellence。 Definitely going to re-read it。 And you will know why when you read The Sense of Wonde This novel is brilliantly structured with several interwoven stories— an Asian American basketball star， the reporter who wishes he could have been， a k drama producer with a dying sister。 The characters here are very wry about their circumstances in an appealing way。 I enjoyed the humor and the emotional notes。 In the end， when all the pieces come together the novel leaps to a whole other level of excellence。 Definitely going to re-read it。 And you will know why when you read The Sense of Wonder。 Which you should。 。。。more
Rachel
，
Review forthcoming in Chicago Review of Books
Zeina
，
I really enjoy writing that is in this sort of “matter of fact” voice， but it’s rare to see something like that written so masterfully and Salesses does this so well。 The book was filled with emotion， I loved the commentary on race and racism and k-dramas and the explorations on the meaning of love。
Jimin Han
，
Won and Carrie are my favorite new fictional characters。 Their story of basketball and K-Drama， love and loyalties was deeply moving。 Wonderfully paced with great highs and lows， it delivered a gloriously unforgettable adventure full of humor and tears and commentary on what makes a story。 Matthew Salesses constantly pushes the boundary on what’s possible in the written form that makes his books unique。
Morgan
，
This was so much fun to read！ As someone who loves both basketball and K-dramas （and who followed Jeremy Lin during his rise） I loved seeing these elements brought together masterfully in this novel。 The alternating narration between Won and Carrie was wonderful—both were characters who you immediately want to root for （individually and together）。 The writing is super inventive and meta， which just added to my overall enjoyment！ Props to Matthew Salesses for putting so much love and heart into t This was so much fun to read！ As someone who loves both basketball and K-dramas （and who followed Jeremy Lin during his rise） I loved seeing these elements brought together masterfully in this novel。 The alternating narration between Won and Carrie was wonderful—both were characters who you immediately want to root for （individually and together）。 The writing is super inventive and meta， which just added to my overall enjoyment！ Props to Matthew Salesses for putting so much love and heart into this book。 I cried reading the acknowledgements。 。。。more
Audrey
，
What happens when the first AAPI NBA basketball player （and soon to be superstar） crosses path with another AAPI journalist and basketball devotee？ You get a clever， sly and thought provoking read about desire， will and yes， basketball。 This is also about many of the complicated feelings that AAPI and specifically， Korean adoptees have， when one is the first in a traditional non Asian setting。 And while this isn't all about sports， it does give insight into the behind the scenes of a sports cong What happens when the first AAPI NBA basketball player （and soon to be superstar） crosses path with another AAPI journalist and basketball devotee？ You get a clever， sly and thought provoking read about desire， will and yes， basketball。 This is also about many of the complicated feelings that AAPI and specifically， Korean adoptees have， when one is the first in a traditional non Asian setting。 And while this isn't all about sports， it does give insight into the behind the scenes of a sports conglomerate。 Plus， there is a K drama as a bonus。 For readers of Charles Yu， and Joe Milan， Jr。I received an arc from the publisher， but all opinions are my own。 。。。more
Hannah Bae
，
So smart， witty and moving。 Matthew Salesses is a master of form， and it’s marvelous to see him switch between traditional modes of sports writing， K-drama， reality TV and， of course， literary fiction throughout The Sense of Wonder。 I can’t believe what a keen eye Salesses has for pop culture！ This book goes deep into his complex characters’ internal worlds， asking questions like， “What would it feel like to be a basketball phenom？”， “What is the experience of being constantly racialized？”， “Wha So smart， witty and moving。 Matthew Salesses is a master of form， and it’s marvelous to see him switch between traditional modes of sports writing， K-drama， reality TV and， of course， literary fiction throughout The Sense of Wonder。 I can’t believe what a keen eye Salesses has for pop culture！ This book goes deep into his complex characters’ internal worlds， asking questions like， “What would it feel like to be a basketball phenom？”， “What is the experience of being constantly racialized？”， “What does one do with a lifetime of unrequited love？”， “What power does the media hold over narratives？” After reading this book， I feel like I’ve just watched an athlete at the top of their game sink a 3-point shot。 So satisfying！ 。。。more
Matthew Salesses
，
People keep telling me this is my best book and I just might believe them
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Sense of Wonder
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Sense of Wonder&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Sense of Wonder&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0