Interior Chinatown showcases the (perceived) roles we play in society. Particularly, the role of the Asian immigrant in a Chinatown. Although it works with stereotypes and generalizations, many of the points raised felt justified. I felt a little sad for the main character when I was reading; it’s not easy to be a minority in your home country (and, no, you can’t “go back where you came from” when you’ve always been home).
The book is written as a script, and the format spoke a lot to the commentary that Yu was making. The story itself was a little hard to follow (it felt choppy), and there were a lot of monologues as the main character realized certain things about himself. For some reason, I don’t want to spoil this book for others, so I won’t delve into the details.
This one is a quick read, and it is easy to digest. I can imagine this book resounding to many on a personal level, but it might be hard to appreciate for those who don’t have enough context or familiarity with immigration stories.
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