And my editor, Tim O’Connell at Pantheon, actually had a lot of input, but only after I had already kind of fleshed out the concept. So I wrote a good chunk of it, and then I did share it with my editor. I felt like in order to execute this concept, I would have to really do it before showing it to anyone. How much, or what kind of, advice did you accept from editors in deciding what to include or exclude from your story? You’re definitely walking a line between the stereotype of the perpetual foreigner and identity. These responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. You’ll find a selection of his answers below and can watch senior correspondent Jeffrey Brown’s interview with him here. Written as a teleplay, the book offers a darkly humorous commentary on racism and representation in the entertainment industry. We hope you’ll read along.Charles Yu, author of our February pick for the NewsHour-New York Times book club, recently answered questions submitted by readers on Facebook about his satirical novel, “Interior Chinatown”. Yu will join the PBS NewsHour to answer your questions at the end of the month. In “Interior Chinatown,” he “expands upon this approach in brilliant and unexpected ways.” Yu, who has written for television shows including “Westworld,” has “showcased his ability to revitalize familiar tropes like time travel” in previous works such as his 2010 novel, “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,” wrote Jeff VanderMeer in a New York Times book review. Written as a teleplay, the novel offers a darkly humorous commentary on racism and representation in the entertainment industry. But maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be the day.” “Ever since you were a boy, you’ve dreamt of being Kung Fu Guy,” Yu writes. This satirical novel centers around Willis Wu, an Asian actor who is typecast to fill Hollywood stereotypes in television such as “Generic Asian Man” or “Background Oriental Making a Weird Face.” He has a small part on a cop show called “Black and White,” but dreams of one day playing “Kung Fu Guy,” which he sees as the “pinnacle” role he could be offered. Our February 2021 pick for Now Read This, the PBS NewsHour’s book club with The New York Times, is Charles Yu’s “Interior Chinatown,” which won the 2020 National Book Award for fiction.

Become a member of the Now Read This book club by joining our Facebook group, or by signing up to our newsletter.

Interior chinatown by charles yu