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A review by legs_n_chins
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantastic read. I loved the formatting and style the most, probably. It was engaging and really heightened the surrealism feel of the whole story. I think presenting it as a screenplay is really commentary all its own and it made the story itself more effective. It took me a minute, but teasing out the story that was layered into the “script” was very fun.
I really appreciated the stark lens on Chinese history in America that was presented in the book. It’s something I’ve always been aware of, as someone of Chinese descent, but I never really learned in a lot of detail the facts and timelines that Yu brought up in the final part of the book. It was interesting to read the experience of the main character because some of it was familiar from my own life, but at the same time it was new to me as I’m not first generation myself. I also particularly liked the commentary around Karen as a mixed-race Asian American, and the commentary around the sort of dichotomy between Black and Asian communities. I thought it was all very well presented and fit well in the story.
I really still can’t get over the style, it was just so, so cool. And so much fun to read. I would say at least half of why I liked this so much was because of that writing style. I think it’s very original and so creative and works perfectly for the story.
I really appreciated the stark lens on Chinese history in America that was presented in the book. It’s something I’ve always been aware of, as someone of Chinese descent, but I never really learned in a lot of detail the facts and timelines that Yu brought up in the final part of the book. It was interesting to read the experience of the main character because some of it was familiar from my own life, but at the same time it was new to me as I’m not first generation myself. I also particularly liked the commentary around Karen as a mixed-race Asian American, and the commentary around the sort of dichotomy between Black and Asian communities. I thought it was all very well presented and fit well in the story.
I really still can’t get over the style, it was just so, so cool. And so much fun to read. I would say at least half of why I liked this so much was because of that writing style. I think it’s very original and so creative and works perfectly for the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide, Violence, and War