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Charles Yu is a Taiwanese-American author and lawyer who lives in California. Besides Interior Chinatown he's written one other novel, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and two short story collections. Interior Chinatown won the National Book Award and was adapted into a TV series.
Interior Chinatown illustrates the life and times of Willis Wu, an aspiring Asian American actor living in Los Angeles' Chinatown. Typecast in a number of familiar Asian-centric movie and TV roles, Willis strives to become a "Kung Fu Guy," a function within the Hollywood industry that he's coveted since his earliest years.
The novel is written in the form of a screenplay, and in my opinion this format sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. I wasn't always sure if what was happening was "real" or if it was some kind of metaphor, but perhaps that sort of ambiguity was the author's intention.
I think Interior Chinatown is a good book, though I do have certain objections to it. In terms of narrative structure it's relatively solid, even if the character's trajectory is a bit predictable. I enjoyed the author's observations on what it means to be a Taiwanese immigrant in America, though after a certain point one wonders if Willis Wu isn't just feeling incredibly sorry for himself. Is there a point in wanting a country to love and respect you? Maybe my saying so is a reflection of my age, but I think carrying around an expectation that strangers - and by extension an entire nation - will understand you the way in which you want to be understood is somewhat pointless.
Does America have a history of discrimination when it comes to Asian immigrants? Certainly. But I'm not sure what good it does anyone to regurgitate racist laws from the 1800s, or to expect that the outside world is going to see beyond the handier aspects of one's culture. That kind of social justice thinking can only be carried so far, and if you're meditating upon it all the time you're probably only causing yourself a great deal of distress. People are racist sometimes. Stereotypes exist. It doesn't make you (or them) any less American. I suspect it might be better to approach others and their assumptions with forgiveness, rather than seeing in their (sometimes false) assumptions some sinister plot to keep you and yours down.
Besides, it's 2026. Assuming that society has doomed you to life in Chinatown - or any other ghetto - is too much like playing the victim. Injustice exists, but if you want something or if you want to be somewhere then it's up to you to go out and make that happen to the best of your ability. No one's going to give it to you. You have to go out and take it.
And yes, this "going out and taking it" is itself an Asian-American story, and moreover one we would all do well to remember.
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