Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Fiction > The Bit Character Speaks

The Bit Character Speaks

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

March 13, 2021 by wicherwill Leave a Comment

I’d say this is a 3.5 star book that I’m rounding up! I really enjoyed the whole conceit, but similar to how I think people viewed the Seinfeld finale, the final step of said conceit veered a bit off for my enjoyment.

This is a very meta book, where our main character (Asian Man) is both a person and a background character in a by-the-numbers police procedural, whose filming itself veers between scripted TV and improved real life(?). It’s satire and yet very grounded in real life, with a ring of truth throughout the entire story. Feels very fourth wall breaking and aimless and yet there’s a plot throughout, broken up into acts named for various parts of Willis Wu’s life.

I wonder sometimes if the people reading these novels are actually being educated when it comes to things like systemic anti-Asian (specifically Chinese) racism. As in, if you’re going to pick up a book called Interior Chinatown after reading the blurb, is it going to surprise you to learn that the US passed a law called the Chinese Exclusion Act and that legal immigration from Asia was suspended for the majority of the 1900s? Maybe I just happen to know about these things because I am, myself, the beneficiary of liberalized policies towards immigrants of Asian descent.

That aside, I in particular enjoyed the elucidation of “otherness” through the lens of being a background character in film/TV productions. The Tragic Backstory of his father, both infuriating and heartbreaking and pointedly cliche–after all, what is a wise Asian Sifu without a tragic backstory? Preferably one involving Triads. The evolution of his mother from whistled-at Asian Pretty Girl to Older Asian Woman (But Still Pretty). Willis’ own experiences follow the tired path: Asian Man 3, Asian Man 2, Asian Man 1, Speaking Role, Guest Star!…Tragic Death (wait for some time, then you can come back).

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Charles Yu, Satire

wicherwill's CBR13 Review No:33 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Charles Yu, Satire ·
· 0 Comments

About wicherwill

CBR13 participantCBR13 Comments

Longtime lurker, goodreads addict :D View wicherwill's reviews»

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Singsonggirl on Ye Olde ChildrearingCrap, I can't find it on the TV station's website anymore. But it was made by Austrian TV and was in German anyway. One of...
  • Singsonggirl on Perfume – Patrick Suskind (1985)Aaahhh, this is one of my all-time favourite books! I read the ending as a culmination of all the olfactory and sensory impressions? Like it...
  • narfna on Re-reading Mistborn, Era One – Part I: The Final EmpireA re-read would probably be your best bet if you want to continue because Sanderson is the king of bringing back details and making them...
  • wicherwill on Re-reading Mistborn, Era One – Part I: The Final EmpireMy brother suggested this book, and only recently told me / did I realize there were others as well. I don't remember enough of this...
  • llamareadsbooks on “Mouths always open, minds never so”OMG, that is the PERFECT casting. I was thinking this would make an absolutely amazing, brain-twisting movie. And you are so right about Doka, too,...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in