Two thrillers raise questions about writing from a particular race and identity

NPR's Book of the Day

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Books, Arts

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2023

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today's episode focuses on two thrillers that our host, Andrew Limbong, read while on parental leave. First, R.F. Kuang speaks with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about her novel Yellowface and the complicated nuances of writing about friendship and cultural appropriation. Then, Japanese-American author Joe Ide takes a walk with Karen Grigsby Bates, formerly of NPR's Code Switch team, to explain how his upbringing in South Central L.A. informed his series I.Q. and his choice to write from the perspective of a Black protagonist.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Okay, so while I was on parental leave,
0:07.3	I noticed that my reading tastes skewed towards thrillers. Like, don't get me wrong, I still love
0:13.1	my meandering literary novels where, you know, like, not much really happens, and it's mostly
0:17.8	running off of vibes than anything else. But I'm not going to lie, it's kind of hard to get through those, you know, if you were up at 3 a.m. holding a crying, melting puddle of bones who doesn't feel like sleeping unless she's on you. So today on the pod, we're featuring two thrillers that I read on leave in a bit. We'll hear from Joe Ede, who's just come out with the latest book in his IQ thriller series. But first, a thriller that takes
0:40.7	place in the game. hear from Joe Idae, who's just come out with the latest book in his IQ thriller series.
0:38.9	But first, a thriller that takes place in the dark and seedy world of publishing, R.F. Quang's
0:45.2	novel, Yellowface, which has become one of the big books of the summer. And in this interview
0:49.5	with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, Quang hops to being scared of success turning her into one of her
0:56.2	unlikable characters. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.
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1:11.5	T's and C's apply.
1:13.2	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
1:18.0	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.
1:22.5	On our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:24.6	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you
1:28.7	understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app,
1:34.5	or wherever you get your podcasts. The new novel, Yellowface, is about a thief, namely June
1:42.4	Hayward, a writer, not a particularly successful writer. The other key
1:47.5	character is Athena Lou, a spectacularly successful writer. Now, these two went to Yale together.
1:54.5	They are friends, kind of, until Athena dies by choking on a pancake with June watching and with the manuscript of her next book,
2:05.5	a masterpiece that no one, not even her editor, has seen yet, typed and neatly stacked in the next room.
	...

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