Ms. Hen reviews Interior Chinatown

 

Interior Chinatown

Charles Yu

Vintage Contemporaries

2020

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel after she heard it mentioned on the podcast SFF Yeah! on the website Bookriot. She learned it is going to be a TV series. She is interested in different types of books about minorities, and also ones written in alternative styles. This novel is written partly as a film script for a TV show, but the characters live in the show.

This novel is about an actor who plays Generic Asian Man, in its variations on several different TV shows, but primarily BLACK AND WHITE, a show about a white cop and a black cop trying to solve mysteries in Chinatown. The character, whose name is Willis, has spent his entire life in Chinatown, and has not had an opportunity to leave. He thinks that if he works hard enough, he will be able to play Kung Fu Guy, and become a star.

Willis doesn't realize that he will never get the chance he wants. He doesn't know that he will always be seen as generic, and in the background. He meets a woman, and falls in love, but refuses to leave Chinatown, because he perpetually thinks his big break is around the corner.

This novel is complicated; it is about how Asian people are seen in this country, and in the media. It discusses how Asian people on TV are usually in the background, or they play specific parts, such as Delivery Guy, Pretty Oriental Flower, Asian Seductress, Wizened Chinaman, Old Asian Guy, and the list goes on. The novel is satire, and difficult subjects are talked about in a dark, humorous way.

The characters don't seem to be able to get out of their comfort zones, until Willis runs away to find his daughter, and gets in trouble. This novel is about fighting against what is expected, and finding a new path. It's difficult to start a new life, and sometimes a person needs a jumpstart, like these characters on the TV show.

This novel reminds Ms. Hen of other novels written in a film script or play form. Some novels break into a play in the middle, like ULYSSES. Ms. Hen does not read a lot of drama, because she prefers to watch a play or a movie, but she is not averse to it.

Ms. Hen thinks this novel is wonderful, difficult, and beautiful, all at the same time. The world is dysfunctional, and Hollywood is even more so, but this is the only world we have. So far.