Matthew’s Comments (group member since May 27, 2021)

Matthew’s comments from the Tepper Reads: Alumni Edition group.

Cristen wrote: "Well, I think it is because they are aiming for something that won't really make them happy. Also, happiness - like all feelings - are never permanent. Many people go through life chasing external ..."

Thanks for sharing, Cristen! Yes, it's hard to know what will make one happy. And in Willis's case, he felt Kung Fu Guy was his only option, and he eschewed a relationship with a loving wife and daughter--things that likely would have made him more happy--to pursue this goal of his. I don't want to spoil anything, so won't say much more.

As for Phoebe's show, it makes me sad, too, though I find Willis's reactions to it pretty funny. Charles Yu is so good at this sad/funny satire. I'll definitely read whatever he writes next.

Hello Tepper Readers!

Since we met in-person last week, I skipped our usual weekly discussion. But now we're back, and if you're following along in the reading guide, you should have just finished page 212.

In this most recent section, we see Ming-Chen become Sifu, Kung Fu Guy extraordinaire. We also see Willis follow in his footsteps and become a Kung Fu Guy himself. But once each generation of the Wu family achieves their goal, they still aren't happy. Why do you think that is? And have you worked toward something, and then once you got it, realized that it wasn't quite what you were hoping for? If so, how is your experience similar to Willis's, and how is it different?

We also see Willis fall in love in the section, marry, and start a family. Karen leaves Chinatown for another gig, Phoebe's television show. While some of the themes of the show—tolerance, dealing with divorce, exercise—seem wholesome and necessary for children, there’s also an undercurrent of stereotype to it. What are your thoughts about Phoebe’s show?

Looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks!

Jen Sherer wrote: "I'm sorry to say I won't be able to make the group discussion tomorrow. I'm enjoying the book and really like getting inside a perspective and experience so different from my own. I look forward to..."

No worries, Jen! I'm just glad you're reading the book and enjoying it. See you on the 31st!

In addition to the questions and links posted above, I came across this article that may be of interest as we continue to talk about the novel. It's an update on some of the information I shared at the Kickoff.

"More than 9,000 Anti-Asian Incidents Reported in US Since Pandemic Started"

Amran wrote: "Hi All, I'm going to tread into this one carefully and I hope I don't get canceled.

Re: the conversation on pages 93-97, this is particularly powerful dialogue written in a powerfully economical w..."

Amran, thanks for diving right into this really important discussion. And in my opinion, nothing cancelable here.

As a white man who grew up in an admittedly racist family, it's taken a lot of unlearning and relearning to get where I am today. The things I heard growing up, just unbelievable--I'm sure they'd rival your in-laws.

Because of who I am and how I was raised, for most of my life I'd never really considered some of the things brought up in Miles and Willis's discussion, because honestly, I didn't have to. It wasn't until I was in my mid-20s and I became close friends with a guy who was born in a Thai refugee camp to parents that escaped from Cambodia, and who later emigrated to the US. He shared his experience with me and it blew apart my world, in a good way. And therein lies the problem, in my opinion, as well as some of a solution. Miles talks about the "system" in his discussion (which is something we'll be talking about more next Tuesday, so I hope you can make it) and by the system he partly means people like me, who didn't have to be bothered to think about these things. But I think talking to different people, reading books or watching TV shows or movies created by people whose lives are vastly different than one's own, exposes you to whole new facets of our society. Not to keep harping on this empathy thing, but art really does make you more empathetic. If people like me can be made to be more empathetic to the plight of people like Willis, we're moving one tiny step closer to a solution. Fiction maybe can't save the world, but it can bring us a bit closer to a better one.

Hello Tepper Readers!

So here we are, at the end of week two, which covers pages 46 - 101, and there's lots to discuss.

First, I'm going to tell you right now that my absolute favorite scene in this book takes place on pages 65-66 when "Old Asian Man" steps up to the mic to sing John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads." The writing here is so good, so visual, that I feel like it's something I've seen before. But to be honest, karaoke is not my thing so I've never actually witnessed this first-hand. Leanne Meyer, though, who you met at the Kickoff, is originally from South Africa and she advised me that this John Denver song is huge with ex-pats from her area of the world as well. Why might a song by a guy from New Mexico, whose last name is Denver, be such a hit with immigrants in the United States? I'd love to know what you think.

Sadly, I can't embed the song in this post, but you can listen to it here.

Changing gears a bit, what are your thoughts on Turner and Willis' conversation on pages 93-97? It all starts with Green referring to Willis as "Asian Guy," and moves on to some really heavy stuff in just a few short pages. I also believe this is the first time the term "model minority" is used in the book. Have you ever thought of American racial dynamics in this manner before?

Before you answer, check out this short, five-minute interview with Charles Yu from a pre-pandemic Daily Show. Yu touches on the model minority myth, Asian representation in American visual media, and how his kids were a motivation to write the book. It's definitely worth your time.

Amran wrote: "Hey all, sorry for being late to the discussion, was behind schedule on reading. Couple of thoughts I hope are interesting:

Re: Asian stereotypes in media, I was more attuned to this given that my..."

Amran, thank you so much for this thoughtful, funny response--"chef's kiss" is right! The best satire walks that line between hilarious and depressing.

I have not seen Warrior, but will definitely check it out now. A lot of westerns were based on samurai films, so I love the idea of taking back the genre.

I want to respond more to this, but I think a lot of what I'll cover will be in the next discussion I'm putting up, which I'll be posting in the next hour or so. So stay tuned.

Jen wrote: "I appreciate the reading guide with page targets. I'm not sure I would pace myself appropriately without it!"

Thanks so much for the feedback on the reading guide, Jen! I'm so happy you've found it useful. I'm also glad to hear you're enjoying the book, even if it wasn't your first choice.

And thanks so much for your insightful contribution to the discussion. I feel like these past two years or so has been filled with awakenings for a lot of us. One of my favorite parts about being human is knowing that I can always learn more. And there's so much out there to be learned by all of us.

Cristen wrote: "I guess I have considered it before indirectly. Mainly because I have a few actor friends (more in theatre) who discussed casting challenges because of their appearance. I never explicitly thought ..."

Thanks for being the first brave soul to post, Cristen!

One of my qualifiers for a book being great is that it makes me see the world in a different way than I had before I read it. And Interior Chinatown does just that. I'm glad to see it's making you think of visual media in a different way, too. Like you, I ingested a lot more TV and movies during the pandemic than I normally might have. Since reading Interior Chinatown, I've watched it all through a different lens than I did before. Once Charles Yu points out the representational flaws in our media, you start seeing them everywhere.

Hello Alumni Tepper Readers!

If you're keeping up with the reading guide, you should have just finished page 45 of the book yesterday.

In the reading guide created for the project, the idea of roles comes up a lot in this first week. First, there are the roles Willis and his parents have played in movies and TV. Even though this book came out before the LAAUNCH report was put together, the acting roles of the Wu family are pretty in-line with the stereotypes listed in the report. Is this something you've considered before? And how do you think this will change how you view movies and TV going forward?

We're also introduced to the new role Willis finds himself in in his "real" life, that of caregiver to his aging father. The roles between these two characters have reversed over the span of Willis's life. Is this something you can relate to?

Finally, in this section we're also introduced to "Black and White," and its two stars, Sarah Green and Miles Turner. What are your initial thoughts about "Black and White?" And do the roles played by Green and Turner feel just as stereotypical as those played by the Wu family?

I'm looking forward to seeing what you think!