Lillian Li is the author of the novel “Bad Asians.” Her previous novel, “Number One Chinese Restaurant,” was an NPR Best Book, and she’s been published in The New York Times, Granta, One Story, Bon Appetit, Travel & Leisure, and The Guardian. She lives in Ann Arbor, not far from the independent bookstore where she spent four years working. Here, she takes our Book Pages Q&A.
Q. Please tell readers about your new book.
After graduating from college into the 2008 recession, childhood best friends Diana, Vivian, Errol, and Justin find themselves back in their parents’ homes in the DC suburbs of Maryland, jobless and at loose ends. The friends are branded as failures by their hypercompetitive Chinese American immigrant community.
Self-appointed group leader Diana graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Economics, but in this economy, no one is hiring. As the “boy genius” of the group, Errol left his impressive job at Microsoft, thinking he could do better, only to be relabeled as the delusional screw-up. His girlfriend Vivian, pretty and popular but struggling with expectations to “marry well,” doesn’t know who she is beyond her relationship, and the mediator of the group Justin is drawing further into himself as he tries to keep his sexuality a secret from both his friends and his fragile single mother.
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Enter Grace Li, the group’s essential frenemy, held up by their parents as the model student and golden child, and thus a decades-long source of jealousy and resentment. Back in town, now an aspiring filmmaker and carrying her own secrets, she convinces the four friends to let her film them for a documentary. After a series of betrayals, those interviews – along with embarrassing footage from their middle school days – become “Bad Asians,” a mockumentary-style video that goes viral in the early days of YouTube and threatens to engulf the friends’ futures.
Following Grace, Diana, Vivian, Errol, and Justin through the next eight years, the novel weaves together their stories as they drift together and apart, held together by the specter of the video and by their enduring dedication to one another.
Q. Is there a book or type of book you’re reluctant to read?
I’m not a big history reader, which is disappointing because I find the idea of history so interesting — that you can go through these events and primary sources and put together an interpretation that might wildly differ from another historian’s. And also that it’s essentially gossip about the past. But with the narrative being tied to facts and dates and historical figures, it can feel like a slog to me. Luckily, my husband is a big history reader, and I just have him tell me the juiciest parts of the book at dinner.
Q. Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend?
I usually prefer reading a book over audiobooks, but the exception is comedian memoirs because the comedian often does their own narration. Hearing Tina Fey or Sarah Silverman deliver a joke in their uniquely perfect way is so much better than doing an approximation in my head. In addition to their audiobooks, I also loved books by Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Trevor Noah, Mindy Kaling, and Tig Notaro. Another exception is the audiobook of “Bad Asians.” I’ve been telling everyone that Katharine Chin, the narrator, elevates my book to the next level. I listen to her and forget it’s my own book, she’s so good!
Q. Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?
My parents made a huge impact. Growing up, they would say that there was no spending limit on books. My mom is also a big reader, and she would take me to the library every week, where I would get an enormous stack of books. I barely read any of them before the next visit, but it taught me to be voracious and that it was okay to have eyes bigger than my reading stomach. My parents made me feel like books were both an indulgence and a necessity.
Q. What’s your comfort read?
“The Jane Austen Book Club” by Karen Joy Fowler. I read it once a year and have multiple copies to give to friends. It’s really a book about our relationship to reading, and the way a beloved author can cradle you through the hard times. I like to measure my own growth by rereading books and noticing what parts resonate most with each passing year, but I’ve found that “The Jane Austen Book Club” remains the most stable source of joy. I simply love every sentence of it.
Q. Do you have a favorite bookstore or bookstore experience?
I worked at an independent bookstore, Literati, in downtown Ann Arbor for four years, and it was a big reason I decided to live in Ann Arbor long-term. It put me in touch with so many readers in my town and pushed me to read widely so that I could give them the best recommendations in any genre.
At Literati, we have a staff picks wall, and my best memory is actually when my first book (“Number One Chinese Restaurant”) came out. The entire staff picks wall was dedicated to my book! It was the most meaningful gift to have had so many of my co-workers read my book and be excited to share it with our readers.
Q. What’s something about your book that no one knows?
I was actually torn between a few other titles. The working title – what I called it for the first six or so years of writing this book — was “ABC.” An ABC, or “American-born Chinese,” is what Chinese people call Chinese Americans. And also, since my group of friends has known each other since they were babies, I thought there was a fun double meaning, but ultimately, it was too vague for a title. From there, I was interested in calling this book “Gifted and Talented,” since the characters are grappling with this label and the pressures that come with it, especially when your life doesn’t match up with your “potential.” But ultimately, “Bad Asians” was the right title – it tells you exactly what the book is interested in, and it’s eye-catching too!
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Q. If you could ask your readers something, what would it be?
I would ask them if they’ve ever had a friendship breakup that they can’t stop thinking about. Why do these breakups stay with us, sometimes for much longer than romantic ones? Is it because we never think of friendships as ending? Is it because, unlike family, you choose your friends, and so it’s also a choice to unfriend?
I realized there weren’t many books out there that looked closely at friendship, that treated it with the drama and heartbreak of a romance. And while this book might not answer the question of why a friendship ends, or how we might find our way back together again, I hope it will make you feel less alone in asking that question.
Litfest in the Dena is back! Today and tomorrow, Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, this free event will fill Pasadena Presbyterian Church with book talk, author conversations, crafts and more. Attendees will include Michelle Huneven, Ryka Aoki, Daniel A. Olivas, Francesca Lia Block, Jennifer J. Chow and many more.
For more information, go to www.litfestinthedena.org
Night at the Library: On Saturday night, the Richard J. Riordan Central Library transforms into an after-hours festival of art, music, and storytelling with the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, dublab, LA Phil Insight, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Heidi Duckler Dance, and much more.
For tickets and information, go to lfla.org/natl