Fiction

Interior Chinatown

Interior Chinatown

  • Downloads：7396
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-11 11:54:48
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Charles Yu
  • ISBN：0307948471
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

2020 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

One of the funniest books of the year。 。 。 。 A delicious， ambitious Hollywood satire。 --The Washington Post

From the infinitely inventive author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe， 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 a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son， but always he is relegated to a prop。 Yet every day， he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO 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 the buried legacy of his own family。 Infinitely inventive and deeply personal， exploring the themes of pop culture， assimilation， and immigration--Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu's most moving， daring， and masterful novel yet。

Fresh and beautiful。 。 。 。 Interior Chinatown represents yet another stellar destination in the journey of a sui generis author of seemingly limitless skill and ambition。" --The New York Times Book Review

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Reviews

Karen ，

Fresh， original， funny， poignant， and surreal， this novel-in-screenplay form is an incisive critique of race relations and Asian stereotypes in America。

Amy ，

This book pushes the boundaries for what a novel can be。 The story is satirical， written mostly through scripts of a tv show， oscillating between the main character’s present and past and on-screen life at a quick pace。 With that， I found following the narrative to be confusing but was equally thrilling and interesting to read。 A great example of writing about a tough subject with inventiveness， thoughtfulness and humor。

Amy Andrew ，

WowReally interesting and compelling look into stereotyping I felt a little like I was IInteresting and compelling 。 illustrates consequences of stereotypes with sort of a twilight zone combined with Vonnegut feel。 I will definitely be recommending it。

Richard ，

The idea of writing a satire of all-American Hollywood stereotyping of Asian-Americans must have seemed clever， at the time。 But for me it had the effect of reducing Yu's characters to those stereotypes， instead of singling them out as real people。 This was one of those books I couldn't wait to finish， but not in a good way。 The idea of writing a satire of all-American Hollywood stereotyping of Asian-Americans must have seemed clever， at the time。 But for me it had the effect of reducing Yu's characters to those stereotypes， instead of singling them out as real people。 This was one of those books I couldn't wait to finish， but not in a good way。 。。。more

Christina Morland ，

Sharply satirical and， at times， heartbreakingly beautiful， Interior Chinatown manages that difficult balance between pointed social commentary and a character-driven story。 Though the plot and action are often surreal （is this actually happening？ a metaphor？ a dream？ a nightmare？ all of the above？）， I kept being pulled along by the beauty of Yu's writing and the depth of his characters -- characters who sometimes don't even have names， and yet still feel more real， more meaningful than many nam Sharply satirical and， at times， heartbreakingly beautiful， Interior Chinatown manages that difficult balance between pointed social commentary and a character-driven story。 Though the plot and action are often surreal （is this actually happening？ a metaphor？ a dream？ a nightmare？ all of the above？）， I kept being pulled along by the beauty of Yu's writing and the depth of his characters -- characters who sometimes don't even have names， and yet still feel more real， more meaningful than many named characters in fiction。 While I felt the book tilted more towards satire and commentary than story and character near the end， Yu's thoughts on identity and agency were so powerful that I （a reader addicted to character and story， rather than ideas in fiction） did not mind as much as I might have otherwise。 I highly recommend this book， though be prepared to let go of expectations about what should or shouldn't happen in fiction as you read。 。。。more

Amanda ，

I listened to the audiobook first and enjoyed it。 I read it again so that I could catch more of the nuanced references and details。 Light-hearted， yet dives into some of the unspoken aspects of being Asian American。

Ben Vore ，

A clever send-up of procedural cop shows in particular — and American pop culture in general — that mines cultural stereotypes of Asians to deliver an uneven but mostly successful satire。 The climactic courtroom scene brings the novel’s themes together with dramatic force， intertwining the history of anti-Asian legislation in American history with William Wu， the novel’s protagonist and actor of parts ranging from “Background Oriental Male” to Generic Asian Man，” asking， “Who gets to be an Ameri A clever send-up of procedural cop shows in particular — and American pop culture in general — that mines cultural stereotypes of Asians to deliver an uneven but mostly successful satire。 The climactic courtroom scene brings the novel’s themes together with dramatic force， intertwining the history of anti-Asian legislation in American history with William Wu， the novel’s protagonist and actor of parts ranging from “Background Oriental Male” to Generic Asian Man，” asking， “Who gets to be an American？ What does an American look like？ We’re trapped as guest stars in a small ghetto on a very special episode。 Minor characters locked into a story that doesn’t quite know what to do with us。 After two centuries here， why are we still not Americans？ Why do we keep falling out of the story？” 。。。more

Roberta DeTata ，

Unique style of storytelling。 This books leaves me more than a little heartbroken given the relatively recent spate of hate crimes against people of Asian descent。 And also because of my own ignorance of the depth of longstanding Asian discrimination in the form of state and federal laws。 But even with that， this story is told with humor and a grace that in the end leaves you with a smile。

Kelly ，

This is one I'll be recommending all year。 Dark humor， sad， timely and ultimately a touch of hope。 I read so many parts out loud to my husband。 I could say so much about this， but would not do it justice。 Loved it！ This is one I'll be recommending all year。 Dark humor， sad， timely and ultimately a touch of hope。 I read so many parts out loud to my husband。 I could say so much about this， but would not do it justice。 Loved it！ 。。。more

Bryan Rainstein ，

A very inventive book， i tore through it。 Its a well crafted look at how Asian Americans are looked at through the lens of pop culture but extending to societal ideas at large and checks a lot of biases。 I definitely learned a lot and was entertained the whole way。 Super impressed and will have to read a lot more by Charles Yu！

Pamela Cole ，

Very strange writing。 Many may find it interesting， but it did not interest me。

Shelley Barnow ，

Written like a script。

Colin Gooding ，

I really enjoyed this。 It feels like a very personal take on what it means to be an Asian American， yet it is an extremely stylized telling as it's often written in the form of a screenplay AND in second person， which I'm not sure I've ever seen outside of short stories。 And it GOES PLACES the further you get into it （which isn't too long， the audiobook was just over four hours）。 I still need to process my thoughts and do some reading / podcast listening to understand this better。 I really enjoyed this。 It feels like a very personal take on what it means to be an Asian American， yet it is an extremely stylized telling as it's often written in the form of a screenplay AND in second person， which I'm not sure I've ever seen outside of short stories。 And it GOES PLACES the further you get into it （which isn't too long， the audiobook was just over four hours）。 I still need to process my thoughts and do some reading / podcast listening to understand this better。 。。。more

Ruhika ，

This book was an exceptional representation of what it’s like to be asian and an invisible minority in America。 It was incredibly written and will probably stick with me for the rest of my life。

Carol ，

Innovative approach to exploring the topic of racial inequality for Asians in America。 Serious， poignant， with sprinkles of humor。

Erin Jones ，

I appreciate the creativity of the structure of this novel （more like a screenplay）。 Strong messages about the stereotyping and struggles of Asian Americans being seen as "generic Asian。"Audiobook I appreciate the creativity of the structure of this novel （more like a screenplay）。 Strong messages about the stereotyping and struggles of Asian Americans being seen as "generic Asian。"Audiobook 。。。more

T ，

Didn't know if I would finish this， I disliked it so much。 Not so much the story but the way it was written as if it were a movie script， with shifting characters and episodes。Funny， I asked someone what they thought of it and the reply was that this person disliked the lead character's inferiority complex and weak character。 Kind of the whole point and yet she liked the book。Protagonist sees his life as a series of roles to be played as interchangeable Asian male characters， revolving around a Didn't know if I would finish this， I disliked it so much。 Not so much the story but the way it was written as if it were a movie script， with shifting characters and episodes。Funny， I asked someone what they thought of it and the reply was that this person disliked the lead character's inferiority complex and weak character。 Kind of the whole point and yet she liked the book。Protagonist sees his life as a series of roles to be played as interchangeable Asian male characters， revolving around a Chinese restaurant and the "sro" （single room occupancy） living quarters above the restaurant。 。。。more

Erica ，

Five Stars！！ If you read this book， read the whole thing！ The final scene is marvelous。 It brings it all together and makes you want to cheer for Mr。 Yu！ Before this scene， I thought perhaps the idea of role （in a drama， in life， at work） might get thin。 But I honestly have never read a book that I can recall that comes together like this at the end。 It is funny， enlightening， brilliant， creative， true， and sad。 We yearn for endings like this， and this author did it。 I know this book is about th Five Stars！！ If you read this book， read the whole thing！ The final scene is marvelous。 It brings it all together and makes you want to cheer for Mr。 Yu！ Before this scene， I thought perhaps the idea of role （in a drama， in life， at work） might get thin。 But I honestly have never read a book that I can recall that comes together like this at the end。 It is funny， enlightening， brilliant， creative， true， and sad。 We yearn for endings like this， and this author did it。 I know this book is about the Asian American experience in America， but there were two parts in particular about parenthood （when his parents became parents and another one later） that were so universally moving。 He took all of parenthood and stacked it up in a one page summary so well done I teared up。 I guess I am going onto Tattered Cover and ordering his other two books right now。 。。。more

Kimberly ，

Definitely a different book。 Important conversations about Asian discrimination would be readily facilitated in book discussions。

Jeanne ，

Who gets to be an American？ What does an American look like？ （p。 251）In the 70s， I watched the TV show， Kung Fu， where a white actor with no previous knowledge of the martial arts played a half-Chinese Shaolin monk。 I was in high school and didn't question the casting （I accepted that David Carradine was Chinese）。 In the 60s， we had loved watching Charlie Chan movies on Sunday mornings。 Chan was played by three white actors over the course of its 20+ year tenure （with reprises in 1973 and 1981）。 Who gets to be an American？ What does an American look like？ （p。 251）In the 70s， I watched the TV show， Kung Fu， where a white actor with no previous knowledge of the martial arts played a half-Chinese Shaolin monk。 I was in high school and didn't question the casting （I accepted that David Carradine was Chinese）。 In the 60s， we had loved watching Charlie Chan movies on Sunday mornings。 Chan was played by three white actors over the course of its 20+ year tenure （with reprises in 1973 and 1981）。 The place of Asian Americans in the film industry is considered in Interior Chinatown， which is largely set in and on the filming sets of Chinatown for the series Black and White， a cop show with sexy and sultry Black and White leads – and bit parts for Asians。 The narrator's big dream was to someday by Kung Fu Guy。I'd read GR reviews since Interior Chinatown's publication and， although they had raved， I wasn't convinced， as I wasn't sure that I wanted to read a screenplay， but its premises worked on two levels: limitations imposed on Asian Americans in the film industry and also in American culture。Interior Chinatown was not really a play （although formatted as screenplay）， but its characters were generally limited to generic， stereotyped roles （e。g。， Background Oriental Male， Kung Fu Dad， Older Brother， Oriental Guy Making a Weird Face， and Generic Asian Man）。 Stereotypes were forced on the actors – who often accepted them and the barriers they represented。 As Erving Goffman （1956） argued:A performer may be taken in by his own act， convinced at the moment that the impression of reality which he fosters is the one and only reality。 In such cases we have a sense in which the performer comes to be his own audience; he comes to be the performer and observer of the same show。Charles Yu agrees with Goffman's analysis:But at the same time， I’m guilty， too。 Guilty of playing this role。 Letting it define me。 Internalizing the role so completely that I’ve lost track of where reality starts and the performance begins。 And letting that define how I see other people。 I’m as guilty of it as anyone。 Fetishizing Black people and their coolness。 Romanticizing White women。 Wishing I were a White man。 Putting myself into this category。 （p。 246）Yu's is both an interesting and entertaining analysis。 Laugh and cry while reading this。He is guilty， Your Honor， and ladies and gentlemen of the jury。 Guilty of wanting to be part of something that never wanted him （p。 239）。Kung Fu is being redone by CW with a predominantly Asian-American cast， “attempting to right some of the wrongs of the original series” （Leonhardt， 2021）。 Late， but never too late。 。。。more

Abbie Caskie ，

I really enjoyed this book。 There was a passage on basically every other page that completely blew me away。

Carly Thompson ，

Good book about the Asian American experience。 This was more a book of ideas than a character driven story （which I usually read）。 I liked the different format - told in the form of a screenplay and the humor。

Evelyne ，

3。5/5

Elliot Weeks ，

This was an incredible book that challenged me in several ways。 The format takes a little getting used to but once I did it was really fun。 Author Charles Yu created an amazing world - Interior Chinatown made me think hard about representation， assimilation， and educated me further on the USA’s racist practices toward the Asian American community。 There were moments of humor， poignancy， and sadness。 I was truly moved by the entire last third of the book。 Fully recommend this novel！

Jessie Parrish Chee ，

In the surface this book may seem frivolous， but by the end it's unavoidable and unabashedly poignant In the surface this book may seem frivolous， but by the end it's unavoidable and unabashedly poignant 。。。more

J。D。 ，

Take what you can get。 Try to build a life。 A life at the margin made from bit parts。Summary: Willis Wu， an （Asian） actor tries to build his career until he can reach the pinnacle for all Asian men in America: Kung Fu Guy。 All the while， his journey provides an analogy for the Asian-American experience in terms of immigration， assimilation， and racism。 My Thoughts: This was an incredibly creative and illuminating book。 The author artfully articulates the Asian American experience and the journey Take what you can get。 Try to build a life。 A life at the margin made from bit parts。Summary: Willis Wu， an （Asian） actor tries to build his career until he can reach the pinnacle for all Asian men in America: Kung Fu Guy。 All the while， his journey provides an analogy for the Asian-American experience in terms of immigration， assimilation， and racism。 My Thoughts: This was an incredibly creative and illuminating book。 The author artfully articulates the Asian American experience and the journey for assimilation and all the baggage surrounding it， such as how the protagonist's ultimate dream is to fulfill a role that appeases others rather than achieving his true potential。 As the only role he can get is in the buddy cop show Black and White， similar to how much of American culture focuses on a binary between Black and White， he is often stereotyped into portraying certain roles and is killed off many times， highlighting his perceived expendability。 And in case you are like me and had trouble understanding all the metaphors and symbolism， the author clearly lays out what he wants to get across at the end， which I appreciated。 It especially struck me how the author mentions that people of Chinese descent have been in America for two centuries， far longer than many people of Caucasian descent， yet for some reason people who look Asian are less likely to be seen as American by society。 There is so much depth to this book that I barely scratched the surface of it， and it will likely require multiple reads to fully understand。 This would make an excellent book club read。 Three Favorite Quotes:1。 "There’s just something about Asians that makes reality a little too real， overcomplicates the clarity， the duality， the clean elegance of BLACK and WHITE， the proven template and so the decision is made not in some overarching conspiracy to exclude Asians but because it’s just easier to keep it how we have it。"2。 “Just promise me something， okay？ Don't grow up to be Kung Fu Guy。 Be more。”3。 “She says that telling a love story is something one person does。 Being in love takes both of them。 Putting her on a pedestal is just a different way of being alone。” 。。。more

Kelsey ，

“。。。as if nothing matters because nothing does matter because the idea was you came here， your parents and their parents and their parents， and you always seem to have just arrived and yet never seem to have actually arrived。”While with his young daughter:“Watching her is like finding old letters， of things you knew thirty years ago and haven’t thought of since。 How to feel， how to be yourself。 Not how to perform or act。 How to be。”

Sinyee ，

I didn't think 2021 was going to be a sequence of reading novel after novel about the Asian-American immigrant experience but I've had a thorough helping of it's subject （with more to come！）。 While I thought the concept was interesting， original， and very meta， I wasn't used to the blunt exposition-filled prose。 I didn't have much time to linger on the poignant moments when the story rushed the years as quickly as the days and that was probably the biggest reason I didn't enjoy it as much。 The b I didn't think 2021 was going to be a sequence of reading novel after novel about the Asian-American immigrant experience but I've had a thorough helping of it's subject （with more to come！）。 While I thought the concept was interesting， original， and very meta， I wasn't used to the blunt exposition-filled prose。 I didn't have much time to linger on the poignant moments when the story rushed the years as quickly as the days and that was probably the biggest reason I didn't enjoy it as much。 The book's format didn't allow it :c 。。。more

Jessica Tipton ，

4。5 stars。 Part of me thinks I'm not deep enough to fully "get" all the stylistic things happening here--it starts off simply enough， but by the end it gets to "Inception" levels of "wtf is actually happening here？" To be honest， that's not really my thing， and most of the time I hate novels that get too deep into unusual stylistic choices。 But still， it was no "House of Leaves，" so I'll live。 And the story is great and well-written， and no doubt the author is extremely clever for all the mash u 4。5 stars。 Part of me thinks I'm not deep enough to fully "get" all the stylistic things happening here--it starts off simply enough， but by the end it gets to "Inception" levels of "wtf is actually happening here？" To be honest， that's not really my thing， and most of the time I hate novels that get too deep into unusual stylistic choices。 But still， it was no "House of Leaves，" so I'll live。 And the story is great and well-written， and no doubt the author is extremely clever for all the mash up of styles he was able to incorporate into the story。 The message was important and translated despite the times I had to question what exactly was "real" vs "scripted，" I get the point he was making with those choices。 It was an interesting story and I'm glad I read it！ 。。。more

Krista ，

Inventive， but confusing。 Really came together for me at the end。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Interior Chinatown

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Interior Chinatown&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Interior Chinatown&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0