Interior ChinatownInterior Chinatown
Score Modern
What it's about
Willis Wu lives in a cramped room above a Chinatown restaurant and works as an extra on a cop show called Black and White, playing roles like Generic Asian Man and Dead Asian Man. He dreams of rising to the top part an Asian man can get: Kung Fu Guy. The novel is written as a screenplay, and the line between Willis's life and the show keeps blurring.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award and became a Hulu series. It's funny, inventive and sharp about how Asian Americans are cast, in Hollywood and in life.
You'll love it if you liked
Erasure
The Sympathizer
Hell of a BookGood to know
The screenplay format takes a few pages to get used to. It's short.
By the numbers
- Readers28 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics63 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller35 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz14 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #175 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #776 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1455 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
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Quick answers
Is Interior Chinatown worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award and became a Hulu series. It ranks #1,455 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 68.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Interior Chinatown about?
Willis Wu lives in a cramped room above a Chinatown restaurant and works as an extra on a cop show called Black and White, playing roles like Generic Asian Man and Dead Asian Man. He dreams of rising to the top part an Asian man can get: Kung Fu Guy. The novel is written as a screenplay, and the line between Willis's life and the show keeps blurring.
How long does it take to read Interior Chinatown?
About 7 hours (288 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Interior Chinatown won?
National Book Award (Fiction) winner (2020).
What should I read after Interior Chinatown?
If you liked it, try Erasure by Percival Everett, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen or Hell of a Book by Jason Mott.