Find a copy of Interior Chinatown in a library near you (Click here).
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu offers a poignant picture on the role of family in shaping identities; a lacerating satire on American popular culture; and a critique of the external stereotyping and the internalized racism that have defined the experience of Asian Americans for almost 200 years. Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction in 2020.
KICKOFF EVENT
AUTHOR EVENT
Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, One Book, One Region presented An Evening with Charles Yu. The hybrid event was hosted at the Garde Arts Center in New London, Connecticut and livestreamed to YouTube. The event is a collaboration between One Book One Region of Eastern Connecticut (now in its 19th year) and Connecticut College. This is the sixth year that Connecticut College has partnered with this initiative to bring community members and the college community together to discuss ideas, broaden appreciation of reading and break down barriers between people.
RESOURCES
Interior Chinatown Discussion Prompts – designed by a UConn Avery Point English 1011 (First-Year Writing) class
Interior Chinatown Wikipedia page
National Book Award for fiction, 2020
A Literary Guide to Combat Anti-Asian Racism in America
Charles Yu | Interior Chinatown: A Novel | Talks at GoogleRecipe for Change
BOOK DISCUSSIONS AND EVENTS
Tuesday, June 29th, 6:30 pm Ledyard Public Library – Chinese cultural cooking program on Facebook Live
Monday, July 26th, 6:30 pm Waterford Public Library – Book Discussion led by Lynn Rogers of UCONN
August, Preston Preston Public Library – I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story– Smithsonian Poster Exhibition Celebrating the History of Asian and Pacific Americans in the United States
Thursday, August 12th, 7:30 pm Otis Library – Guest Speaker Stephen Fan (Over Zoom) – Sub-Urbanisms
Monday, August 23rd 7:00 pm Mystic & Noank Library – Book Discussion co-hosted with Bank Square Books
Wednesday, September 1st, 5:30 pm Stonington Free Library – Book Discussion
Wednesday, September 8th, 6:00 pm Otis Library, Norwich – Book Discussion
Thursday, September 9th, 2 pm Stonington Free Library – Afternoon Book Discussion
Thursday, September 9th, 6 pm Janet Carlson Calvert Library, Franklin – Book Discussion
Tuesday, September 14th, 7 pm East Lyme Public Library – Book Discussion
Tuesday, September 14th, 6:30 pm Groton Public Library – Virtual Book Discussion led by UCONN Prof. Laurie Wolfley
Tuesday, September 21st, 2:30 pm Sprague Public Library – Book Discussion
Thursday, September 23rd, 6 pm Preston Public Library – Book Discussion
Monday, September 27th, 6 pm Cragin Memorial Library, Colchester – Book Discussion
Wednesday, September 29th, 6:00 – 7:00 pm Mystic & Noank Library – Talk with Phoebe Huang, via Zoom. Join us for this talk and community conversation led by local resident, Phoebe Huang, in connection to this year’s One Book One Region selection: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. Integrating her own personal experiences as a Chinese immigrant, research, and current events, her talk explores the differences between ethnicity, race, nationality, and citizenship in order to elaborate on the question raised by Charles Yu in Interior Chinatown: “Who gets to be an American?”.
Thursday, September 30th, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Groton Public Library via Zoom –There is No Single Story: OBOR Panel Discussion Join us for a virtual panel discussion to discuss the themes in the book Interior Chinatown connected to race, immigration, assimilation, pop culture, and escaping stereotyped roles. Moderated by Kevin Booker, Jr. View the discussion recording.
IN THE NEWS
Making Sense of Atlanta and This Asian-American Moment
Charles Yu Talks About ‘Interior Chinatown’
Interior Chinatown: The novel taking on Hollywood’s Asian tropes – BBC News
‘Interior Chinatown’ Puts That Guy In The Background Front And Center – NPR
“Interior Chinatown” by Charles Yu – Asian Review of Books
Charles Yu – Tackling On-Screen Asian Representation with “Interior Chinatown” | The Daily Show (YouTube)
THANK YOU TO OUR 2021 SPONSORS!
Connecticut College
CT Humanities
Eversource Energy
Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
Libraries of Southeastern CT
Waterford Walmart facility #2331
