Podcasts about my year abroad

“And fiction is all about obstacles. It's all about misapprehension, misunderstanding, lack of information, lack of connection, and the problems that come up, arise out of those things.” Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Chang-rae Lee's most recent novel, My Year Abroad, is now out in paperback and it's unlike anything he's written before. Chang-rae joins us on the show to talk about homecomings and hunger, the limitless imagination of a new generation of immigrants, his 20-year-old narrator and the sense of play at the heart of this new book, what's on the syllabus for his Asian American autobiography class at Stanford, and much more.   Featured books: My Year Abroad, Native Speaker and Aloft, all by Chang-rae Lee.   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer, edited by David Eitel and engineered by Harry Liang.   Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Season three of Novel Dialogue launches in partnership with Public Books and introduces some fresh new voices into the mix. John and Aarthi welcome Chris Holmes, Emily Hyde, Tara Menon, and Sarah Wasserman into the ND pod as guest hosts. And have they brought a series of scintillating conversations with them! In our series premiere, Sarah sits down with acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee and Anne Anlin Cheng, renowned scholar of American literature and visual culture at Princeton. The conversation goes small and goes big: from the shortest short story to the totalizing effects of capitalism. Chang-rae is no stranger to such shifting scales: his novels sweep through large stretches of time and space, but their attention to detail and meticulous prose makes for an intimate reading experience. Chang-rae's latest novel, My Year Abroad, fuels a discussion about how we can form meaningful bonds in current conditions (hint: it's often around a table) and about the specters of other, better worlds that haunt Chang-rae's fictions. He discusses his relationship to his own work and the benefits of taking an “orbital view” on his writing. Chang-rae also offers a tantalizing glimpse into his current project, a semi-autobiographical novel about Korean-American immigrants in 1970s New York. In response to a brand new signature question for the podcast this season, Chang-rae reveals the talent he wishes he could suddenly have... one that Anne already possesses! Mentioned in this Episode Crazy Rich Asians, Dir. Jon M. Chu (2018) Parasite, Dir. Bong Joon-ho (2019) Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is Aarthi Vadde is Associate Professor of English at Duke University. Email: aarthi.vadde@duke.edu. John Plotz is Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities at Brandeis University and co-founder of the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative. Email: plotz@brandeis.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/historical-fiction

Our year-end survey. What the hell did we read in 2021???  Books mentioned:  Run, Don't Walk: The Listening House, Mabel Seeley; Hidden Valley Road, Robert Kolker; Piranesi, Susanna Clarke; Intimacies, Katie Kitamura; Visitation, Jenny Erpenbeck; Native Speaker, Chang-rae Lee;  Thumbs Up: The Plot, Jean Hanff Korelitz; The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen; To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, Christopher Paolini; The Stepford Wives, Ira Levin; Secondhand Time, Svetlana Alexievich; Clockwork Boys, The Wonder Engine, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher; My Year Abroad, Chang-rae Lee; No One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood; Matrix, Lauren Groff;  Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann; Under the Whispering Door, The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune; A Separation, Katie Kitamura; The 10,000 Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow; Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Süskind; Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen; Billion Dollar Loser, Reeves Wiedeman. Thumbs Down: A Man of Parts, David Lodge; The Midnight Library, Matt Haig; The Decagon House Murders, Yukito Ayatsuji; Little, Big, John Crowley; Pumped to Read: Klara and The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro; To Paradise, Hanya Yanagihara; Leviathan Falls, James S.A. Corey; The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim; The Hare, Melanie Finn; Small Pleasures, Clare Chambers; Maggie Hope Series, Susan Elia MacNeal. Articles and Links: Tweet Thread on Anne Rice Jenny Erpenbeck Profile (New Yorker) (Sigh) Bad Art Friend (NYT Magazine) Jeremy Strong Profile (New Yorker) Review of Yanigihara's To Paradise (Harpers) 100 Notable Books of 2021 (NYT) Joan Didion Archive at the New York Review of Books Sign up for Molly Young's books newsletter here (NYT)

For this special episode, Carol Ann Tack of Top Shelf at Merrick Library and I interview Kimmery Martin together. We talk about her new book Doctors and Friends, writing the book pre-pandemic, how it changed post-pandemic, her wonderful website, and so much more. Kimmery's recommended read: My Year Abroad by Chang-Rae Lee. Carol Ann interviews Chang-Rae Lee here Support the podcast by becoming a Page Turner on Patreon.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.   Doctors and Friends can be purchased at the Conversations from a Page Bookshop storefront.        Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  Connect with Carol Ann Tack on Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chang-rae Lee is the author of My Year Abroad, Native Speaker, winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for first fiction, as well as On Such a Full Sea, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered, winner of the Dayton Peace Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Chang-rae Lee teaches writing at Stanford University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, author Chang-rae Lee discusses his new book: My Year Abroad. The novel follows a young American whose life is transformed by an unusual Asian adventure. Lee examines the human capacity for pleasure, pain, and connection.  Photo courtesy of Riverhead Books/ Penguin Random House.

This week, author Chang-rae Lee discusses his new book: My Year Abroad. The novel follows a young American whose life is transformed by an unusual Asian adventure. Lee examines the human capacity for pleasure, pain, and connection. (more…)

Chang-rae Lee is the author of Native Speaker, On Such a Full Sea, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His latest novel, My Year Abroad, is a dazzling tale about an American college student whose life is upended when he travels to Asia under the wing of a mysterious Chinese American entrepreneur. From his home in San Francisco, where he's on sabbatical from his position as a professor at Stanford, Chang-rae talks with Catherine and Juliana about overcoming the pressures of being “the first” well-known Korean American novelist, developing his early love of writing as a student at Exeter, and the way his mother's early death from cancer at age 52 may have influenced his decision to pursue writing as a career. He also shares stories about his parents (we learn his mother was featured in Time magazine in 1956!) and his fond memories of the Korean church summer camp he attended as a kid. Follow K-Pod on Instagram @kpodpod Co-host, Producer, Photographer: Juliana Sohn @juliana_sohn Co-host, Producer, Editor: Catherine Hong @catherinehong100 Production Manager: Jessica Park Audio Engineer: AJ Valente Executive Producer: HJ Lee AAPI anti-violence resources: https://stopaapihate.org/ https://www.aafederation.org/ https://www.hatecrimebook.com/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQX-nWBQWKL3lnx52f3AuCw Interview with Ariella Elovic:https://youtu.be/SqI8ySARdM0 BOOKS MENTIONED: “Confident Women: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion”by Tori Telfer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53487125-confident-women?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=kT2S9Nyao2&rank=1 “My Year Abroad” by Chang-rae Leehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55333981-my-year-abroad?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6JZdGudMVq&rank=1 “Betty” by Tiffany McDanielhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48564330-betty?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=4n0VpIO6v8&rank=4 “Earthlings” by Sayaka Muratahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50269327-earthlings?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=PSn2SSrCJH&rank=1 “Finlay Donovan is Killing It” by Elle Kosimanohttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138099-finlay-donovan-is-killing-it?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=dWcBKk8N6a&rank=1 CHEEKY CONVERSATION WITH ARIELA ELOVIC:    FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AND GOODREADS @ILIKETOREADPOD TWITTER: @rpolansky77FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/iliketoreadpodMEDIA MAVEN BLOG:https://rpolansky77.wixsite.com/website

Tiller is an average American college student with a good heart but minimal aspirations. Pong Lou is a larger-than-life, wildly creative Chinese American entrepreneur who sees something intriguing in Tiller beyond his bored exterior and takes him under his wing. When Pong brings him along on a boisterous trip across Asia, Tiller is catapulted from ordinary young man to talented protégé, and pulled into a series of ever more extreme and eye-opening experiences that transform his view of the world, of Pong, and of himself. In the breathtaking, “precise, elliptical prose” that Chang-rae Lee is known for (The New York Times), the narrative alternates between Tiller’s outlandish, mind-boggling year with Pong and the strange, riveting, emotionally complex domestic life that follows it, as Tiller processes what happened to him abroad and what it means for his future. Rich with commentary on Western attitudes, Eastern stereotypes, capitalism, global trade, mental health, parenthood, mentorship, and more, My Year Abroad is also an exploration of the surprising effects of cultural immersion—on a young American in Asia, on a Chinese man in America, and on an unlikely couple hiding out in the suburbs. Tinged at once with humor and darkness, electric with its accumulating surprises and suspense, My Year Abroad is a novel that only Chang-rae Lee could have written, and one that will be read and discussed for years to come.

Tiller is an average American college student with a good heart but minimal aspirations. Pong Lou is a larger-than-life, wildly creative Chinese American entrepreneur who sees something intriguing in Tiller beyond his bored exterior and takes him under his wing. When Pong brings him along on a boisterous trip across Asia, Tiller is catapulted from ordinary young man to talented protégé, and pulled into a series of ever more extreme and eye-opening experiences that transform his view of the world, of Pong, and of himself. In the breathtaking, “precise, elliptical prose” that Chang-rae Lee is known for (The New York Times), the narrative alternates between Tiller’s outlandish, mind-boggling year with Pong and the strange, riveting, emotionally complex domestic life that follows it, as Tiller processes what happened to him abroad and what it means for his future. Rich with commentary on Western attitudes, Eastern stereotypes, capitalism, global trade, mental health, parenthood, mentorship, and more, My Year Abroad is also an exploration of the surprising effects of cultural immersion—on a young American in Asia, on a Chinese man in America, and on an unlikely couple hiding out in the suburbs. Tinged at once with humor and darkness, electric with its accumulating surprises and suspense, My Year Abroad is a novel that only Chang-rae Lee could have written, and one that will be read and discussed for years to come.

In this week's episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by award-winning author Chang-rae Lee. Lee talks about the varied cast of characters in his new novel, My Year Abroad, writing about sensory and social experiences, and how he dove into his own growing feelings of isolation through the Trump administration and then the pandemic.  To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub's Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel. This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Selected readings: Chang-rae Lee My Year Abroad On Such A Full Sea The Surrendered  Native Speaker A Gesture Life   Others: The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow “The Little Man at Chehaw Station” by Ralph Ellison   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, author Chang-rae Lee discusses his new book: My Year Abroad. The novel follows a young American whose life is transformed by an unusual Asian adventure. Lee examines the human capacity for pleasure, pain, and connection.  Photo courtesy of Riverhead Books/ Penguin Random House.