By Kristin Travagline
Most writers I know have a crush on at least one famous author (historical or contemporary… let’s face it, Mark Twain was a stud). During college I fell in love with Chang-Rae Lee who, fortunately for me, participated in a panel discussion and read from his new novel On Such a Full Sea at the Brooklyn Book Festival last Sunday, September 22nd.
Left to right: Chang-Rae Lee, Patricio Pron, Kirmen Uribe
Lee has written four previous novels: Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered. Although he is not hard on the eyes, I truly fell in love with Lee’s haunting and exquisite prose (FYI, he is already married).
Somewhat disappointingly, Lee only read two pages from On Such a Full Sea out of consideration for the other readers, Kirmen Uribe and Patricio Pron, as well as time constraints (although some samples of the novel were handed out after the reading). As he read, lyrical sentences stretched forth, tempting the audience with sensual descriptions of smells, “tingles,” and “chills.”
For some background, Lee’s family immigrated to the United States from South Korea when he was three years old and he often writes about the immigrant experience. On Such a Full Sea is set in a post-apocalyptic, decaying Baltimore called B-Mor, which is reminiscent of Detroit.
Although B-Mor appears dystopian, this urban community is actually somewhat functional. B-Mor’s population consists mainly of Chinese immigrants, who make a living raising fish and vegetables in a production facility.
One character, Fan, is a 16-year old girl. The government has banished her 19-year-old lover, Reg, from B-Mor. During the Q&A Session, Lee described how Fan “subversively disappears” by following Reg and leaving the community. B-Mor’s residents struggle to come to terms with how much Fan has given up, including safety and comfort, with her departure.
Yet, for these characters, comfort and safety come hand in hand with obedience and compliance. On Such a Full Sea is a book about “the bonds and strictures of community,” said Lee.
Lee did not originally plan to write a book about contemporary China, but was moved by the question of America’s future, particularly the future of our urban centers. Taking the train from Washington, D.C. to New York, Lee passed through Baltimore and witnessed the same tragic “scenes” for years.
The premise of the book germinated when he thought, “Why don’t we let a ruined village of China come here? What would they do with it?” Although B-Mor may seem a fantasy, Lee made the closing remark, “Maybe one day America would welcome such a passage.”
On Such a Full Sea is scheduled for release on January 7, 2014.
NYC Theater News
Brooklyn Book Festival: Chang-Rae Lee Reads From Upcoming Novel, “On Such a Full Sea”
By Kristin Travagline
Most writers I know have a crush on at least one famous author (historical or contemporary… let’s face it, Mark Twain was a stud). During college I fell in love with Chang-Rae Lee who, fortunately for me, participated in a panel discussion and read from his new novel On Such a Full Sea at the Brooklyn Book Festival last Sunday, September 22nd.
Left to right: Chang-Rae Lee, Patricio Pron, Kirmen Uribe
Lee has written four previous novels: Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered. Although he is not hard on the eyes, I truly fell in love with Lee’s haunting and exquisite prose (FYI, he is already married).
Somewhat disappointingly, Lee only read two pages from On Such a Full Sea out of consideration for the other readers, Kirmen Uribe and Patricio Pron, as well as time constraints (although some samples of the novel were handed out after the reading). As he read, lyrical sentences stretched forth, tempting the audience with sensual descriptions of smells, “tingles,” and “chills.”
For some background, Lee’s family immigrated to the United States from South Korea when he was three years old and he often writes about the immigrant experience. On Such a Full Sea is set in a post-apocalyptic, decaying Baltimore called B-Mor, which is reminiscent of Detroit.
Although B-Mor appears dystopian, this urban community is actually somewhat functional. B-Mor’s population consists mainly of Chinese immigrants, who make a living raising fish and vegetables in a production facility.
One character, Fan, is a 16-year old girl. The government has banished her 19-year-old lover, Reg, from B-Mor. During the Q&A Session, Lee described how Fan “subversively disappears” by following Reg and leaving the community. B-Mor’s residents struggle to come to terms with how much Fan has given up, including safety and comfort, with her departure.
Yet, for these characters, comfort and safety come hand in hand with obedience and compliance. On Such a Full Sea is a book about “the bonds and strictures of community,” said Lee.
Lee did not originally plan to write a book about contemporary China, but was moved by the question of America’s future, particularly the future of our urban centers. Taking the train from Washington, D.C. to New York, Lee passed through Baltimore and witnessed the same tragic “scenes” for years.
The premise of the book germinated when he thought, “Why don’t we let a ruined village of China come here? What would they do with it?” Although B-Mor may seem a fantasy, Lee made the closing remark, “Maybe one day America would welcome such a passage.”
On Such a Full Sea is scheduled for release on January 7, 2014.