Rachel Khong’s Novel ‘Real Americans’ Questions the Limits of Identity

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KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What it means to be American and who gets to claim that identity are questions that animate Rachel Khong’s newest novel “Real Americans.” The book follows three generations of a Chinese American family, and grapples with not just race, but class and genetic identity. Khong is a former editor of the food magazine “Lucky Peach” and the founder of The Ruby, a work and event space in the Mission for women and nonbinary writers. We talk to Khong about her book and work. Guests: Rachel Khong, author, "Real Americans" - Khong is also the author of "Goodbye, Vitamin," which won the 2017 California Book Award for First Fiction. She founded The Ruby, a work space in San Francisco's Mission district for women and nonbinary writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho La Puerta, boated the number one wellness resort and spa by readers of travel and leisure magazine in 2024.
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0:43.1	From KQED.
0:59.1	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal. A billionaire pharmaceutical heir and the daughter of immigrant scientists meet at a party for a travel website.
1:06.7	This simple entry point for Rachel Kong's new novel, Real Americans, masks the long arcs through history that the book will eventually take.
1:15.1	It is perhaps an indication that we, too, are living history, living in history, even on the days when we're simply putting on something nice and going on.
1:24.4	This is a great novel about family, about what we inherit, and about the choices
1:28.8	we do and don't have, whether we want them or not. She's coming up next right after this news. Welcome to Forum.
1:48.1	I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:49.8	Rachel Kong is the celebrated author of the book Goodbye Vitamin,
1:53.7	founder of the Ruby, a collective for women and non-binary binary writers here in the city.
1:58.2	And her new book is Real Americans, a carefully plotted and
2:02.5	intricate story about three generations of a Chinese American family, from the grandparents'
2:07.5	post-cultural revolution immigration to the grandson's work in biotechnology.
2:13.4	Welcome to forum, Rachel.
	...

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