Join us at the library on Thursday, April 27 @ 5:30 pm to discuss this year’s NEA Big Read book, Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu! A humorous and deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play. BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

Forever relegated to background roles on TV and in his everyday life, Willis Wu wakes up to play Generic Asian Man, leaving his tiny room in a Chinese SRO to go to the Golden Palace restaurant. There, he plays a background character on a police procedural Black and White, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy, the most respected role someone who looks like him could play—or so he thinks. After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he’s ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, this story is an exploration of the themes of pop culture, assimilation, and immigration.

This is the 2023 NEA Big Read. The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read—a partnership with Arts Midwest—broadens our understanding of our world, our neighbors, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience. Showcasing a diverse range of themes, voices, and perspectives, the NEA Big Read aims to inspire meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections in each community.