Lisa Lee is the author of the debut novel, “American Han,” which is in stores on March 31. Lee has an MFA from the University of Houston and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles, and will appear at Skylight Books with Viet Thanh Nguyen on March 31 and with Muriel Leung at Vroman’s on April 16.
Q. Congratulations, your debut has gotten praise from writers such as Percival Everett, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Aimee Bender. Can you also talk about the work required to get the book to this place?
I’m incredibly grateful and honored for the advance praise. I’ve looked up to Percival Everett since I read “Erasure” 20 years ago. I’d never read anything like it. I discovered Aimee Bender’s first book, “The Girl in the Flammable Skirt,” on the debut table at a bookstore in Berkeley when I was very young and just beginning to wonder whether the life of a writer was possible for someone like me. I was familiar with Viet Thanh Nguyen’s phenomenal work as an academic, namely “Race and Resistance,” before he published his first novel, “The Sympathizer.” That these writers who I’ve admired for so long read my book and responded to it is extremely validating.
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This book took almost 10 years to write. I wrote many drafts that got thrown out before I wrote what was to become “American Han.” I wrote a Harold & Kumar-inspired picaresque starring Jane Kim and Margaret Cho’s mother. I wrote a story about a competitive swimmer named Nigella, named after her father Nigel.
Finally, I had to give myself permission to write about the world I know. I had to accept that there will be people who assume the fictional story is autobiographical, and there’s nothing I can do about that.
Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?
“Housekeeping” by Marilynne Robinson and “Erasure” by Percival Everett.
Q. What are you reading now?
“Colored Television” by Danzy Senna, “Woodworking” by Emily St. James, “The Oldest Bitch Alive” by Morgan Day, “Ruins, Child” by Giada Scodellaro, “Tailbone” by Che Yeun, “All Friends Are Necessary” by Tomas Moniz, “The New Naturals” by Gabriel Bump, “Mom, Unfiltered” by Leah Kim.
Q. How do you decide what to read next?
Recommendations from writer friends are usually a good bet. Lately, I’ve been receiving new books in the mail, unannounced, which is a nice surprise. They go into my TBR pile.
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Q. Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend?
I chose Katharine Chin to narrate my audiobook after listening to several auditions. I like the personality and feeling in her voice, and her tone is how I imagine my narrator, Jane Kim, would sound.
I was thrilled to learn that Chin also narrates several other titles by writers I admire: “Wanting” by Claire Jia, “Homeseeking” by Karissa Chen, “Bad Asians” by Lillian Li, “Bliss Montage” by Ling Ma, “Where Are You Really From” by Elaine Hsieh Chou, “Superfan” by Jenny Tinghui Zhang, to name a few.
Q. Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?
When I was growing up, whenever my dad was home from work, he was always reading a book. One of my strongest memories of my dad is him sitting on the burgundy leather sofa chair with his glasses off, a book held inches from his face. That’s probably what I look like now. My mom took my brother and me to the library every week. She loved that borrowing books was free. We’d check out the maximum number of books allowed (something like 30), devour them, and return the following week for new books.
Q. Are you someone who must finish every book you start – or is it OK to put down the ones you don’t connect with?
I don’t finish every book. Life is too short and there are too many good books out there to spend time on something I don’t connect with.
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Q. What do you look for in a book?
I don’t care much about plot. I’m drawn to a unique voice and well-developed, complex characters. If I connect with the characters, the book will stay with me long after I finish it.
Q. Do you have a favorite bookstore or bookstore experience?
My favorite L.A. bookstores are Skylight Books in Los Feliz and Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena. In New York, Yu & Me Books in Chinatown, Manhattan and Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. In San Francisco, Green Apple Books.
Q. What’s something about your book that no one knows?
During the final drafts, when I hadn’t yet decided on a title, the working title was “Death and Poo” (see page 92).
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