Podcast appearances and mentions of Peter Ho Davies

Our "marriage plot" season continues, but with a twist: on this episode, novelist Peter Ho Davies introduces us to "the parent plot," which he argues is a contemporary successor to all those 19th-century novels about choosing a mate. For many, becoming a parent is not only one of life's biggest choices, but also a cultural marker of adult responsibility and growing up. As an example, we dive into Ben Lerner's 2014 novel, 10:04, about a writer trying to finish his next book and also decide whether to father a child with his platonic best friend. To learn more about Davies, and his many wonderful, widely-celebrated books, you can visit his website: http://peterhodavies.com/ If you like our podcast, and want to support it--plus get access to twice-monthly bonus episodes--please consider subscribing to our Patreon, for just $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight Thanks for listening!

Episode 168 Notes and Links to Dur e Aziz Amna's Work       On Episode 168 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Dur E Aziz Amna, and the two discuss, among other things, her early relationship with writing and reading and multilingualism, formational and transformational texts and writers and mentors, and themes of home, ignorance, xenophobia, connection, maturity, misogyny, and so much more, as chronicled in her stellar novel.    Dur e Aziz Amna is from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and now lives in Newark, USA. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Financial Times, and Al Jazeera, among others. She was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022, and won the 2019 Financial Times / Bodley Head Essay Prize. She is a graduate of Yale College and the Helen Zell Writers' Program at the University of Michigan. AMERICAN FEVER is her debut novel. Buy American Fever   Dur e Aziz Amna's Website   Sana Goyal Reviews American Fever for The Guardian   Anandi Mishra Reviews American Fever for Los Angeles Review of Books At about 6:30, Pete asks Dur e about any secret societies she was part of at Yale   At about 7:25, Pete highlights a standout line from the book   At about 8:45, Dur e speaks about her early language and reading experiences, a “segmented” life of English, Urdu, and Punjabi   At about 12:35, Dur e responds to Pete's inquiry about the ways in which Urdu as a language informs her writing in English    At about 15:05, The two discuss “I love you” as an interesting use of language logic, particularly with regard to a line from the book   At about 16:50, Dur e responds to Pete's questions about books and writers that changed her trajectory and how college exposed her to specific writers and genres   At about 18:20, Dur e highlights contemporary reads that thrill and inspire her, and talks of Peter Ho Davies, Nishanth Injam, and Julie Buntin as inspiring mentors    At about 20:05, Dur e gives backgrounds on the book's genesis    At about 23:40, Pete recounts some key early lines from the book and focuses on the skillful   At about 25:20, Dur e gives background on Kelly, the narrator, Hira's, host mom and her motivations and reader feedback on the character    At about 27:55, Dur e talks about her curiosity in exploring power dynamics between Kelly and Hira   At about 29:20, The two discuss Hira's desires to leave    At about 32:40, Dur e gives background on the exchange program that was the basis for Hira's fictional program    At about 36:50, Dur gives unbelievable stats about the history of tuberculosis and how it's shaped our world   At about 38:20, The two talk about Hira's parents and the ways in which their attitudes are representative of ideas about class    At about 43:50, Dur e responds to Pete's questions about why Hira's parents let her go to the States   At about 46:30, Pete asks Dur e about a memorable scene involving a car ride and Dur e gives the real-life parallels    At about 49:00, Pete compliments Hira for her nuanced writing   At about 50:30, Pete wonders about Hira's place as an outsider and as welcomed in her Oregon town   At about 52:40, Pete outlines Hira's creeping sickness and Dur e reflects on ideas of blame for the sickness    At about 55:30, Pete brings up Ali and Hira's relationship and her views of the relationship    At about 57:30, Pete asks Dur e to distinguish between the way Hira and Hamid act as exchange students, and this brings up discussion of a “frustrating” thing about Hira for Dur e   At about 1:00:20, Dur e and Pete marvel over similarities between Hira's quarantine and the world of Covid and talk about the ramifications of Hira's tuberculosis diagnosis and recovery    At about 1:02:20, Ideas of home are discussed that dovetail with independence    At about 1:03:10, Ideas of gender roles are discussed through the lens of a scene involving a scarf in the book   At about 1:05:20, Saima Sitwat shoutout!   At about 1:06:15, Dur e blithely talks about her upcoming project   At about 1:07:00, Dur e gives backstory on her love for the book's US cover   At about 1:08:20, Dur e shouts out places to buy her book and social media/contact info    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!      NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.    Please tune in for Episode 169 with Justin Tinsley, the author of It Was All a Dream: Biggie and the World That Made Him, and Host of ESPN's 30 For 30 Nipsey Hussle original podcast, The King of Crenshaw. He is Sports and Culture Senior Reporter at Disney's Andscape and weekly guest on ESPN's Around the Horn     The episode will air on March 7.

This week's show is a celebration and exploration of revision. The old adage is that revision is writing, and Peter Ho Davies has some gorgeous and rich advice around the process and the discovery that comes with this part of the writing process. Revision is a world all its own, an opportunity to go to even deeper depths in your writing. Befriend revision, love revision, embrace revision—and join us for this conversation as a jumping-off point.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi Everyone, "Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. Today I'll be talking about the short story "Chance" with the author, Peter Ho Davies. ***Content warning: This episode deals with pregnancy/childbirth, miscarriages/abortion*** Please read the story first and then listen to the podcast, available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, Anchor, as well as several other platforms. "Chance" was first published in Glimmer Train and then later in Catamaran and Drum. It's also the first chapter in his 2021 novel, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself. I'm excited about this episode because after we delved into the creation of the story, Peter shared some insights into how a story morphs into a novel. As usual, if you have any suggestions about writers/stories/people to feature on this podcast, please let me know! I'd love to hear your comments about the discussions as well. If you would like a written transcript of this podcast, please contact me at www.kellyfordon.com Enjoy! Kelly Please find a link to the story at www.kellyfordon.com

Shelly Oria has just produced an anthology of writings on reproductive freedom that is available now from McSweeney's Books, in partnership with The Brigid Alliance. Spanning nearly every genre of writing, the collection greatly broadens the parameters for how we might speak of reproductive freedoms and fight for their continuation even in this particularly bleak time. She is joined by the novelist, Kirstin Valdez Quade, author most recently of The Five Wounds. It was an honor to talk to Shelly and Kirstin about their hopes and fears for a future after Roe vs Wade and the potential for writers to enter the fray as defenders of the right to abortion, but also to be issuers of a clarion call for the many other natural rights that are being trammeled upon. Please consider supporting I Know What's Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom by purchasing it directly from McSweeney's or your local bookstore. The work within is moving, empathetic, horrifying, touching, and unforgettable. Books Recommended in this episode:  Peter Ho Davies, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself Torry Peters, Detransition Baby Lydia Conklin, Rainbow Rainbow  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Nell Zink joins Eric Newman and Kate Wolf to talk about her latest novel, Avalon. The book is a coming of age novel centered on Bran, a young woman abandoned by her parents, left to fend for herself on a Southern California farm where she helps raise and sell exotic plants amid the looming presence of a biker gang. When Bran meets Peter, a college student thick on theory and philosophy, she glimpses the possibility of a lush new world of ideas and possibility. The two share a tortured and sweet romance through which Bran enters the world of ideas as a young writer coming into her identity, a relationship that promises an escape to a new life she glimpses just on the horizon. Also, Shelly Oria, editor of the anthology, I Know What's Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, returns to recommend four books (the first three by contributors to the anthology): Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach; The Stars are not yet Bells byHannah Lilith Assadi; American Estrangement, a short story collection, by Said Sayrafiezadeh; and A Lie that Someone Told You about Yourself by Peter Ho Davies.

Author Nell Zink joins Eric Newman and Kate Wolf to talk about her latest novel, Avalon. The book is a coming of age novel centered on Bran, a young woman abandoned by her parents, left to fend for herself on a Southern California farm where she helps raise and sell exotic plants amid the looming presence of a biker gang. When Bran meets Peter, a college student thick on theory and philosophy, she glimpses the possibility of a lush new world of ideas and possibility. The two share a tortured and sweet romance through which Bran enters the world of ideas as a young writer coming into her identity, a relationship that promises an escape to a new life she glimpses just on the horizon. Also, Shelly Oria, editor of the anthology, I Know What's Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, returns to recommend four books (the first three by contributors to the anthology): Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach; The Stars are not yet Bells byHannah Lilith Assadi; American Estrangement, a short story collection, by Said Sayrafiezadeh; and A Lie that Someone Told You about Yourself by Peter Ho Davies.

Hannah gives us the behind-the-scene details of getting a literary agent (aka "book pimp"), after 14 years of working on it, and chats up her "Nora and Wes Save the Summer" (not to be confused with "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"), looking to normalize social and emotional learning for younger kids. Plus, Sam's reading of "Hench" leads to an extended discussion on behind-the-scenes superhero novels, which leads eventually into why Hannah doesn't like graphic novels, why no one seems to care that Jimmy Page was regularly bedding underage girls in Los Angeles, space books where "going to look for a new planet to live on" is a thing, the difference in approach between "Diary of a Young Girl" and "MAUS," Hannah's difficulty finishing books, and then stories where it's unclear whether either Sam or Hannah saved someone's life. Eventually we remember to tell you that Peter Ho Davies will be a guest at our March 1 Book Club meeting. 

Peter Ho Davies is the author of three novels including A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself, The Fortunes, and The Welsh Girl. He has also published two short story collections, The Ugliest House in the World and Equal Love. His new book is called The Art of Revision: The Last Word. He is currently on faculty at the University of Michigan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“…So much of American media is, As long as we have each other, it doesn't matter what happens, we're going to be fine. I don't always think that's true. Circumstances can really tear families apart. But, you know, I'm not going to write Succession.” Weike Wang follows up her acclaimed debut novel, Chemistry, with the deadpan, darkly comic Joan is Okay. She joins us on the show to talk about how (and why) work becomes home for Joan, family and grief and William Faulkner, the horror of Mickey Rooney's yellowface performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and much more.  Featured books: Joan is Okay and Chemistry by Weike Wang, Convenience Store Woman by Sayata Murata, The Stranger by Albert Camus, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, and The Art of Revision by Peter Ho Davies. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

Acclaimed novelist Nadifa Mohamed joins hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the crisis around migrants passing from Belarus into Poland and thus into the E.U. Mohamed analyzes the crisis, engineered by Russian-backed strongman Alexander Lukashenko, in the context of Europe's historical antipathy toward immigration, and reads from her Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, The Fortune Men, the fictionalized account of a Somali immigrant named Mahmood Mattan, set in Cardiff, Wales during the 1950s. She discusses how attitudes toward immigration shaped Brexit and the U.K.'s draconian new Nationality and Borders Bill, which will potentially affect the lives of around six million people, including the novelist herself.  To hear the full episode, subscribe 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. Check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub's Virtual Book Channel, Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel, and our website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf and Hayden Baker. Selected readings: Nadifa Mohamed The Fortune Men The Orchard of Lost Souls Black Mamba Boy Others: Bich Minh Nguyen on the Refugee Experience of Holiday Narratives (Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 2, Episode 7)  This Is Who We Are: Gish Jen and Peter Ho Davies on the Long History of Anti-Asian Racism in the US (Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4, Episode 14)  #Families Belong Together: A Conversation with Edwidge Danticat and Cristina Henriquez (Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1, Episode 20)  Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman The Mahabharata Double Dynamite  Quo Vadis The African Queen Anger boils as UK Parliament endorses ‘obscene' nationality bill (Al Jazeera, Dec. 10) UK Parliament Business Legislation Parliamentary Bills Nationality and Borders Bill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Steve and Dana are joined by author and co-host of Slate's Working podcast, Isaac Butler. First, the panel reviews Clint Eastwood's most recent film Cry Macho. Next, the panel discusses the neoliberal parable that is Amazon's docuseries LuLaRich. Finally, the panel discusses the advantages and pitfalls of eBooks. In Slate Plus, the panel discusses their favorite film credit sequences. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: Generally: Explore.Org, a live nature cam network. More specifically: Dana's favorite live cam “The Mississippi River Flyway Cam” on the Raptor Resource Project in Brice Prairie, Wisconsin. Isaac: The novel A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself by Peter Ho Davies, about how a big early decision impacts a couple's married life afterwards. Steve: A pound the table endorsement: the essay by the feminist critic Vivian Gornick in Harper's Magazine called “Put on the Diamonds: Notes on humiliation” -- in which she thinks out loud about what humiliation and loneliness are. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe. Outro music is “Ruins” by Origo. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts, a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest, full access to Slate's journalism on Slate.com, and more. Sign up now at slate.com/cultureplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Steve and Dana are joined by author and co-host of Slate's Working podcast, Isaac Butler. First, the panel reviews Clint Eastwood's most recent film Cry Macho. Next, the panel discusses the neoliberal parable that is Amazon's docuseries LuLaRich. Finally, the panel discusses the advantages and pitfalls of eBooks. In Slate Plus, the panel discusses their favorite film credit sequences. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: Generally: Explore.Org, a live nature cam network. More specifically: Dana's favorite live cam “The Mississippi River Flyway Cam” on the Raptor Resource Project in Brice Prairie, Wisconsin. Isaac: The novel A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself by Peter Ho Davies, about how a big early decision impacts a couple's married life afterwards. Steve: A pound the table endorsement: the essay by the feminist critic Vivian Gornick in Harper's Magazine called “Put on the Diamonds: Notes on humiliation” -- in which she thinks out loud about what humiliation and loneliness are. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe. Outro music is “Ruins” by Origo. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts, a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest, full access to Slate's journalism on Slate.com, and more. Sign up now at slate.com/cultureplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Steve and Dana are joined by author and co-host of Slate's Working podcast, Isaac Butler. First, the panel reviews Clint Eastwood's most recent film Cry Macho. Next, the panel discusses the neoliberal parable that is Amazon's docuseries LuLaRich. Finally, the panel discusses the advantages and pitfalls of eBooks. In Slate Plus, the panel discusses their favorite film credit sequences. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: Generally: Explore.Org, a live nature cam network. More specifically: Dana's favorite live cam “The Mississippi River Flyway Cam” on the Raptor Resource Project in Brice Prairie, Wisconsin. Isaac: The novel A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself by Peter Ho Davies, about how a big early decision impacts a couple's married life afterwards. Steve: A pound the table endorsement: the essay by the feminist critic Vivian Gornick in Harper's Magazine called “Put on the Diamonds: Notes on humiliation” -- in which she thinks out loud about what humiliation and loneliness are. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe. Outro music is “Ruins” by Origo. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts, a bonus segment in each episode of the Culture Gabfest, full access to Slate's journalism on Slate.com, and more. Sign up now at slate.com/cultureplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode: Jamilah, and Elizabeth Isaac Butler answer a letter from a concerned mother who worries that she's not able to fill the void of her step-daughter's biological mother.  Then, they share some advice for a listener whose son is having trouble reacting appropriately to gifts he doesn't like.  In Slate Plus: 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee.  Recommendations: Elizabeth recommends the Brickit App: an app that helps you find your missing Lego pieces. Jamilah's daughter Naima recommends cooking turkey legs for your kids! Isaac recommends reading A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself, by Peter Ho Davies.  Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes.  Podcast produced by Morgan Flannery.  Hosts  Elizabeth Newcamp is a co-host of Mom and Dad Are Fighting. She's a traveling mother of three boys who chronicles her misadventures at Dutch, Dutch, Goose. Jamilah Lemieux is a writer, cultural critic, and communications strategist based in Brooklyn, New York. Isaac Butler is a writer, theater director and host of Slate's podcast Working. He's the author of The Method and the co-author of The World Only Spins Forward. Social @JamilahLemieux on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamilahLemieux @dutchdutchgoose on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dutchdutchgoose/ @parabasis on Twitter https://twitter.com/IsaacButler Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on MADAF each week, and no ads. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode: Jamilah, and Elizabeth Isaac Butler answer a letter from a concerned mother who worries that she's not able to fill the void of her step-daughter's biological mother.  Then, they share some advice for a listener whose son is having trouble reacting appropriately to gifts he doesn't like.  In Slate Plus: 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee.  Recommendations: Elizabeth recommends the Brickit App: an app that helps you find your missing Lego pieces. Jamilah's daughter Naima recommends cooking turkey legs for your kids! Isaac recommends reading A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself, by Peter Ho Davies.  Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today's show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes.  Podcast produced by Morgan Flannery.  Hosts  Elizabeth Newcamp is a co-host of Mom and Dad Are Fighting. She's a traveling mother of three boys who chronicles her misadventures at Dutch, Dutch, Goose. Jamilah Lemieux is a writer, cultural critic, and communications strategist based in Brooklyn, New York. Isaac Butler is a writer, theater director and host of Slate's podcast Working. He's the author of The Method and the co-author of The World Only Spins Forward. Social @JamilahLemieux on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamilahLemieux @dutchdutchgoose on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dutchdutchgoose/ @parabasis on Twitter https://twitter.com/IsaacButler Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on MADAF each week, and no ads. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning writer Peter Ho Davies talks about the intentionality of having children, how to celebrate our children's emerging individuality, and what it's like raising a child with disabilities. Peter's new novel is A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself.

Peter Ho Davies, the 2017 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards winner for fiction, joins The Asterisk* to discuss how racism and stereotypes play into the notion of a model minority, what it's like being a professor – in the midst of a pandemic – and his next book. Davies grew up in Coventry, England, the son of a Welsh engineer and a Malaysian Chinese dentist. His first novel “The Welsh Girl,” longlisted for the Booker Prize, explores questions of Welshness. He sees his second novel, “The Fortunes”, as “examining the burdens, limitations and absurdity of Asian stereotypes.” “The Fortunes is a boldly imagined work of fiction in which historic figures—Chinese, Chinese-American, ‘white'—come to an astonishingly vivid, visceral life through the power of Peter Ho Davies's prose,” writes Anisfield-Wolf juror Joyce Carol Oates. She went on to contend that it bends genre and race in ways that make it “a prophetic work in 2017.” Little did she know just how prescient it would turn out be… Davies sat down with The Asterisk* in June of 2020 from his home in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he lives with his wife, Lynne Raughley, and son, Owen. He is a professor of creative writing in the English Language & Literature department at the University of Michigan, and his latest novel, “A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself," came out in January of 2021.

In this week's episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by acclaimed writer Gish Jen and novelist Peter Ho Davies to reflect on recent and historic violence against Asian Americans. First, Jen reads her recent New York Times op-ed about the generational differences in how Asian Americans see anti-Asian racism. She also imagines a way forward, explaining that we need to elevate and recognize stories of trauma as well as strength in Asian American experiences. Then, Davies talks about Asian representation in literature and films, and reads from his novel The Fortunes, and its section about the tragic 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, which prompted major shifts in Asian American political organizing. Davies also discusses his latest book, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself. 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: Gish Jen “The Generational Split in How Asian-Americans See the Atlanta Shootings,” New York Times The Resisters The Girl at The Baggage Claim Tiger Writing World and Town The Love Wife Who's Irish? Mona In The Promised Land Typical American   Peter Ho Davies A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself The Fortunes The Welsh Girl Equal Love The Ugliest House in the World  Others: “Covering the Atlanta massacre from inside the Korean community,” by Shinhee Kang, Columbia Journalism Review “Jay Leno Apologizes for Years of Anti-Asian Jokes,” by Daniel Victor, New York Times Media Action Network for Asian Americans Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil Madame Butterfly by Puccini M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Passing by Nella Larsen Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore Rising Sun, film by Philip Kaufman The Karate Kid, film by Robert Mark Kamen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, film by Steven Spielberg  The Duke of Deception by Geoffrey Wolff The Great Santini by Pat Conroy “Adam Purinton Pleads Guilty In Olathe Bar Shooting, Still Faces Federal Hate Crime Charges,” by Andrea Tudhope, KCUR  Kundiman Asian American Writers' Workshop – The Margins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we properly define cultural appropriation, and is it always wrong? If we can write in the voice of another, should we? And if so, what questions do we need to consider first? In her new book, “Appropriate: A Provocation,” creative writing professor and Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal addresses a young writer to delineate how the idea of cultural appropriation has evolved—and perhaps calcified—in our political climate. What follows is an exploration of fluctuating literary power and authorial privilege, about whiteness and what we really mean by the term empathy, that examines writers from William Styron to Peter Ho Davies to Jeanine Cummins. “Appropriate” presents a new framework for one of the most controversial subjects in contemporary literature.

What would you do if a prenatal test yielded potentially catastrophic results? Peter Ho Davies and Zibby discuss this question that’s at the center of Peter’s latest novel, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself. Their deeply honest conversation covers the uncertainties of parenthood, the blurry lines between fiction and fact, writing advice, and more.

Peter Ho Davies's latest book is A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself. His previous novel, The Fortunes, a New York Times Notable Book, won the Anisfield-Wolf Award and the Chautauqua Prize, and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. His first novel, The Welsh Girl, a London Times Best Seller, was long-listed for the Booker Prize. He has also published two short story collections, The Ugliest House in the World (winner of the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize, and the Oregon Book Award) and Equal Love (finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a New York Times Notable Book). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Comey’s “Saving Justice,” arrives three years after his first book, “A Higher Loyalty.” Joe Klein reviews it for us, and visits the podcast this week to discuss, among other subjects, how the new book is different from the first.“It doesn’t differ very much at all, actually,” Klein says, “except for one thing: He rehearses all of the confrontations he had with Donald Trump in both books, but in the second book he places that in the context of the need for truth and transparency in government, which I think is a valuable thing. The book is a repetition of the first book, but it’s not an insignificant repetition because of the context that he’s now placed it in.”Elisabeth Egan, an editor at the Book Review, is on the podcast to discuss the latest selection for our monthly column Group Text: “A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself,” by Peter Ho Davies.“What I found especially compelling about this book in this moment, when we’re all still kind of confined to our houses,” Egan says, “is that it was very reassuring to read about parental worry in a moment when we’re all flying blind. But you have this worry with a lot of funny lines and funny observations about parenthood.”Also on this week’s episode, Alexandra Alter has news from the publishing world; and Parul Sehgal and Jennifer Szalai talk about books they’ve recently reviewed. Pamela Paul is the host.Here are the books discussed by the Times’s critics this week:“Kill Switch” by Adam Jentleson“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Bryan Washington, Natalie Haynes, Trauma in fiction with Rebecca Watson & Peter Ho Davies

On today's episode, I sit down with Peter Ho Davies, author of Equal Love, The Ugliest House in the World, and The Welsh Girl. His latest novel is The Fortunes.

The National Endowment for the Arts' Literary Arts Director Amy Stolls joins me for a conversation about books that can see us through difficult times. From children's books to YA to short stories to novels...and oh yes, there's poetry too, we discuss the many ways books can bring the world to us as we shelter in place. Amy and I also talk about the almost magical power of books to open ourselves to imagined worlds in other universes and then intensely inhabit the perspective of a single human being in a barren landscape. And, Amy is known as the agency wit--so it's a fun podcast! The books we discussed are below: Metropolitan Stories: A Novel by Christine Coulson Culinaria Italy: Pasta Pesto Passion edited by Claudia Piras The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman Here by Richard McGuire In the Distance by Hernan Diaz Severance by Ling Ma At the Same Moment Around the World by Clotilde Perrin The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies Barn 8 by Deb Olen Unferth The Murderer's Ape by Jacob Wegelius All the Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva American Journal: Fifty poems for our Time, selected and introduced by Tracy K. Smith  

The National Endowment for the Arts' Literary Arts Director Amy Stolls joins me for a conversation about books that can see us through difficult times. From children's books to YA to short stories to novels...and oh yes, there's poetry too, we discuss the many ways books can bring the world to us as we shelter in place. Amy and I also talk about the almost magical power of books to open ourselves to imagined worlds in other universes and then intensely inhabit the perspective of a single human being in a barren landscape. And, Amy is known as the agency wit--so it's a fun podcast! The books we discussed are below: Metropolitan Stories: A Novel by Christine Coulson Culinaria Italy: Pasta Pesto Passion edited by Claudia Piras The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman Here by Richard McGuire In the Distance by Hernan Diaz Severance by Ling Ma At the Same Moment Around the World by Clotilde Perrin The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies Barn 8 by Deb Olen Unferth The Murderer's Ape by Jacob Wegelius All the Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva American Journal: Fifty poems for our Time, selected and introduced by Tracy K. Smith  

Amanda and Jenn discuss good “relationship reads,” Asian authors, classic retellings, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by the Read Harder Journal, But That’s Another Story podcast and Life, Death, and Cellos by Isabel Rogers. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.   Questions 1. Hi! So I’m a part of this book club and we are in need of a new book. All the members of our book club are recent college grads and have just entered adulthood. Most of us have just moved to a new city and are in the process of finding our place, launching our careers and figuring out what we want to do with our lives. Collectively we often feel a sense of ‘being lost’. There are so many options in this world and decisions we need to make and those choices can be overwhelming. We would love to read a book that resonates with the struggles, excitement and growing pains of the season we are currently experiencing. We also would love to read something that can serve as a source of hope for us-hope that we will figure out how to approach this season and who we want to be in this world. Also, we prefer to read novels. Thank you so much! –Emily   2. Hi! In the last month, I have been reading If We Had Known by Elise Juska, Vox by Christina Dalcher, The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang, and Red Clocks by Leni Zumas. I didn’t set out to read books surrounding heavy and/or politically-charged issues, and I generally wouldn’t characterize my reading life as trigger warning heavy. However, I really enjoyed reading these books that aren’t strictly reality but are still very real and can help me think through real and pressing issues. Can you recommend more novels like these? Please no white male authors because its 2019 and I’m tired of hearing men talk—thanks! –Tally   3. I’m looking for a book I can listen to on audio with my husband. We have listened to A Walk in the Woods, Ender’s Game, the King Killer Chronicles, The Expanse series etc. He is a history buff who loves fantasy, classic adventure literature (like the Count of Monte Christo) and long history books like The history of Salt, Heart of the Sea, McCullogh presidential biographies etc. I am an ex-English major. Recently on audiobook I have enjoyed Spinning Silver, A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, My Lady Jane, Becoming by Michelle Obama and The Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah. I love your weekly recs! Thanks in advance. –Sarah   4. Hello, book friends! And help! I just finished a reread of Kristin Cashore’s trilogy (Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue) and now I’m flailing around at just how great they are, and how I’ve never read anything that feels quite like them. I love how the characters take care of each other. I love the characters! They’re very likeable people, and I also love how practical they are. I like how these books are books with romance in them rather than books about romance. Same for the magic–it’s mostly very low key, but is still unique and interesting. I am so desperate to find other books that feel the same way these do! They don’t have to be YA, though I would prefer sticking to secondary fantasy worlds. Extra super special brownie points if the main character is queer! THANK YOU! –A   5. Hi Jenn and Amanda, Thank you for this amazing podcast and all the recommendations that you make. One of my main reading goals this year is to continue reading more diversely and as part of that I want to read fewer American authors. American authors always end up making a big chunk of my reading and I am trying to change that to broaden my perspective. So, could you please recommend any books by Asian female authors? No Asian-American ones as I feel that would still be cheating. I have read the more popular authors like Arundhati Roy, Han Kang, Celeste Ng, Mira Jacob, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kamila Shamsie etc. I read all kinds of genres, fiction or non-fiction, and would love to hear your recommendations. Thanks a lot! –Nikhila   6. Hi, looking for some books I could give my sister. She reads mostly fiction, mixing classics and modern picks. Some favourites of hers include Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, His Dark Materials, The Book Thief, The Last Runaways. This year she loved Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Spinning Silver and Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries. I gave her Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites and she really liked it but found it hard because of how sad it is. I keep thinking of and giving her books I think she will love but they are often pretty bleak, and she would love some less depressing books to throw in the mix (I gave her Ferrante, her best friend gave her A Little Life, she will need something in between) They don’t have to be all light and fluffy but at least a happy ending would be great. Thank you! I love the show, you have made my tbr almost impossible, which is the best problem to have.   7. I’m looking for a fun book to listen to on audio with my husband on a roadtrip. The problem is that we have quite different interests–I love literary fiction and popular fiction: Crazy Rich Asians, Outlander, The Goldfinch, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman. He mostly reads nonfiction–Stephen Pinker, books on objectivism, and comparative religions. Some books we’ve listened to together and liked are The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James, and The Martian by Andy Weir. I know this is kind of a tough one, so thanks in advance! You guys are awesome. –Aaryn   Books Discussed Upstream by Mary Oliver Becoming by Michelle Obama Startup by Doree Shafrir (rec’d by Rebecca) Chemistry by Weike Wang (tw: family emotional abuse) Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez How Long Til Black Future Month by NK Jemisin The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker (tw: rape, gendered violence) On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee (narrated by BD Wong) The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner Witchmark by CL Polk The Good Women of China by Xinran, trans. By Esther Tyldesley The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya, translated by Asa Yoneda (tw: body horror) Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye Pride by Ibi Zoboi Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies

As students and game days return to Ann Arbor, we’re celebrating something else that makes this city great: local authors! Recorded live at Literati: Raymond McDaniel launches his latest collection The Cataracts; Eric Smith shares a scene from his YA-novel The Girl and the Grove; Jasmine An discusses Chinese-American movie star Anna May Wong and her chapbook Naming the No-Name Woman; and Peter Ho Davies reads from his novel The Fortunes. Shelf Talking Produced by: Mike & Hilary Gustafson, and John Ganiard Theme Music: “Orange and Red” by Pity Sex (2016, Run for Cover Records)

featuring Margot Lee Shetterly, J. Courtney Sullivan, Peter Ho Davies, and moderated by Adrienne Brodeur filmed on June 20th, 2018 at Belly Up - Aspen, Colorado

The novel begins with the friendship between two young, Asian American boys in a small, Midwestern town who bond over their outcast status and shared love of comic books. Meanwhile, in an alternate or perhaps future universe, a team of superheroes debates the efficacy of protest and swaps stories of artistic ennui on their lunch breaks. Recalling the work of Tom McCarthy and Valeria Luiselli, Eugene Lim gleefully toys with narrative conventions—blending Hollywood chase scenes with sharp cultural critiques, hard-boiled detective pulps with subversive philosophy. Unfolding like the revelations of a dream, Dear Cyborgs weaves together the story of a friendship’s dissolution with provocative and lively meditations on creativity and political dissent. Praise for Dear Cyborgs  “Eugene Lim’s Dear Cyborgs is a mad badass fan letter to comicdom and a chastening reminder of how America’s greatest fantasy doesn’t involve superheroes with superpowers but the prospect of a fair and honest political life. Go read it in the streets.” —Joshua Cohen, author of Book of Numbers “Eugene Lim tells his sly superhero tales in a kind of hard-boiled deadpan—a voice at once incongruously comic and playfully soulful. Beneath the dry wit there’s an ache of loneliness, an echo of every comic-book reader’s yearning for the camaraderie of the super team, the intimate enmity of the nemesis.” —Peter Ho Davies, author of The Fortunes “Eugene Lim’s Dear Cyborgs is a secret tunnel fresh with cool, strange storms. What is it to be super? What is it to be beyond? Dear Cyborgs is ripe with mysteries, heroes, even heartache.” —Samantha Hunt, author of Mr. Splitfoot “[An] entertaining reflection on art, resistance, heroes, and villains . . . [Dear Cyborgs] is eerily reflective of our fractured times, darting from subject to subject with the speed of a mouse click. A colorful meditation on friendship and creation nested within a fictional universe.” —Kirkus Reviews Eugene Lim is the author of two novels, Fog & Car and The Strangers. His writing has appeared in Fence, the Denver Quarterly, Little Star, Dazed, The Brooklyn Rail, and elsewhere. He is the founder and managing editor of Ellipsis Press and works as a librarian in a high school. He lives in Queens, New York. Harold Abramowitz is from Los Angeles.  His books include Blind Spot, Not Blessed, Dear Dearly Departed, Man’s Wars And Wickedness: A Book of Proposed Remedies & Extreme Formulations for Curing Hostility, Rivalry, & Ill-Will (with Amanda Ackerman), and UNFO Burns A Million Dollars. Harold co-edits the short-form literary press eohippus labs, and writes and edits as part of the collaborative projects, SAM OR SAMANTHA YAMS and UNFO. Janice Lee is the author of KEROTAKIS (Dog Horn Press, 2010), Daughter (Jaded Ibis, 2011), Damnation (Penny-Ante Editions, 2013), Reconsolidation (Penny-Ante Editions, 2015), and most recently the essay collection The Sky Isn’t Blue (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016). She currently lives in Los Angeles and is Editor of the imprint #RECURRENT for Civil Coping Mechanisms, Founder & Executive Editor of Entropy, Assistant Editor at Fanzine, and Co-Editor (w/ Maggie Nelson) of SUBLEVEL, the new online literary magazine based in the CalArts MFA Writing Program. She can be found online at janicel.com. Karen An-hwei Lee is author of the poetry collections Phyla of Joy (Tupelo 2012), Ardor (Tupelo 2008), In Medias Res (Sarabande 2004), and a novel, Sonata in K (Ellipsis 2017). Currently, Lee lives in San Diego, where she serves in the university administration at Point Loma Nazarene University. Event date:  Wednesday, July 26, 2017 - 7:30pm

Eudora Welty recalls the time her mother saved Dickens; David Sedaris ponders the unsettled dead in his essay LETTER FROM EMERALD ISLE; Nadja Spiegelman reads Sharon Olds's poem THE BEETLE; and Peter Ho Davies's short story THE ENDS tells a tale of Nazis, gallows, and basketball.

Nickolas and James have an honest conversation about the publishing industry and Nickolas's young career, which has featured three great books, including his most recent novel, THE HEARTS OF MEN. They touch on subjects ranging from how Nickolas started taking writing seriously to becoming an Eagle Scout to attending Iowa to Gordon Lightfoot to Cormac McCarthy's table tennis skills. Plus, Nickolas's agent Rob McQuilkin.  - Nickolas Butler: http://nickolasbutler.com/ Nickolas and James discuss: Iowa Writers' Workshop  Square Books  Cormac McCarthy  Canterbury Booksellers  Jim Harrison  POACHERS by Tom Franklin  THE NEW VALLEY by Josh Weil  IN THE LOYAL MOUNTAINS by Rick Bass  Dean Bakopoulos  Jeremiah Chamberlin  LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding  Kent Haruf JIM THE BOY by Tony Earley FIGHT CLUB by Chuck Palahniuk  - Rob McQuilkin: http://www.mmqlit.com/ Rob and James Discuss:  EO Wilson  Louisa May Alcott  Jhumpa Lahiri  THE HEARTS OF MEN by Nickolas Butler  Lexi Wangler   Eve Gleichman  SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler  BENEATH THE BONFIRE by Nickolas Butler  PLOUGHSHARES  OUTSIDE VALENTINE by Liza Ward  Maria Massie  Megan Lynch Tom Perrotta  Peter Ho Davies    - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Sly, funny, intelligent, and artfully structured, THE FORTUNES by Peter Ho Davies recasts American history through the lives of four Chinese Americans and reimagines the multigenerational novel through the fractures of immigrant family experience. Spinning fiction around fact, Davies uses stories—three inspired by real historical characters—to examine the process of becoming not only Chinese American, but American. Released just this fall, THE FORTUNES has garnered swift and widespread critical acclaim. Davies, who is also faculty in the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program, will read from his novel and discuss the challenges of writing fiction inspired by real people and how his own experience of becoming American since immigrating 25 years ago informed the book. PETER HO DAVIES is the author of two novels, THE FORTUNES and THE WELSH GIRL (long-listed for the Man Booker Prize), and two short story collections, THE UGLIEST HOUSE IN THE WORLD (winner of the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize) and EQUAL LOVE (A New York Times Notable Book). His work has appeared in HARPERS, THE ATLANTIC, THE PARIS REVIEW, THE GUARDIAN, AND THE WASHINGTON POST among others, and has been widely anthologized, including selections for PRIZE STORIES: THE O. HENRY AWARDS and BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES. In 2003 GRANTA magazine named him among its Best of Young British Novelists. Davies is also a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a winner of the PEN/Malamud Award. Born in Britain to Welsh and Chinese parents, he now makes his home in the US. He has taught at the University of Oregon and Emory University, and is currently on the faculty of the Helen Zell MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This series is presented in partnership with: African & African Diaspora Studies at Calvin College Ambrose @ WMCAT The Asian Studies Program at Calvin College Brazos Press The Calvin Center for Community Engagement & Global Learning The Calvin College Campus Store The Calvin College Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion The Calvin College History Department The Calvin College Office of the Provost The Calvin College Department of Sociology & Social Work Heyns Fund The Calvin College Student Life Division The Calvin Theater Company The Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice Event and Tech Services at Calvin College The Paul B. Henry Institute at Calvin College Schuler Books and Music

Tim Minchin's latest musical Groundhog Day is his follow-up to the best-selling triumph of Matilda. Based on the hit film, will this also be a hit? Pedro Almodovar's 20th film, Julieta, is based on 3 short stories by Alice Munro. It was intended as his English language debut to star Meryl Streep. HBO's new TV-noir series The Night Of... tells the story of a Pakistani-American who - after a night of drug-fuelled sex - awakes to discover a corpse and is accused of the murder. Peter Ho Davies' novel The Fortunes tells 4 tales of Chinese-Americans through the 20th and 21st centuries Kaleidoscope: It's Me To The World, is the newest exhibition at Modern Art Oxford. Celebrating 50 years of contemporary art, performance and experimental visual culture Tom Sutcliffe's guests are David Hepworth, Kit Davis and Susan Jeffreys. The producer is Oliver Jones.

 Home Leave (Grand Central Publishing) Chris Kriegstein is a man on the move, with a global career that catapults his family across North America, Europe, and Asia. For his wife, Elise, the hardship of chronic relocation is soothed by the allure of reinvention. Over the years, Elise shape-shifts: once a secretive Southern Baptist, she finds herself becoming a seasoned expat in Shanghai, an unapologetic adulterer in Thailand, and, finally, a renowned interior decorator in Madison.  But it's the Kriegstein daughters, Leah and Sophie, who face the most tumult. Fiercely protective of each other-but also fiercely competitive-the two sisters long for stability in an ever-changing environment. With each new move, the girls find they can count on only one thing: the consoling, confounding presence of each other.  When the family suffers an unimaginable loss, they can't help but wonder: Was it meant to be, or did one decision change their lives forever? And what does it mean when home is everywhere and nowhere at the same time? With humor and heart, Brittani Sonnenberg chases this wildly loveable family through the excitement and anguish of their adventures around the world.   Praise for Home Leave “It's hard to believe that this astonishing novel is Brittani Sonnenberg's first--she writes about family with such wisdom, humor, and native daring. Here is Persephone's journey, undertaken by an entire family, the Kriegsteins, who ricochet through time zones, moving from Berlin to Singapore to Wisconsin to Shanghai to Atlanta, together and alone. Sonnenberg's prose is so vital and so enchanting that you will read this book in the dilated state of a world-traveler, with all of your senses wide open. Her family members are so well-drawn and complex that you'll close this book certain they exist.”—Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove “Brittani Sonnenberg, like the best storytellers, shows us what we carry and what we leave behind as we travel across time zones (from America to Germany to Singapore), as we sit in airports, alone with the aloneness, as we love, live, grieve, and then try to live once more. Authentic, beautiful, bravely-told, Home Leave is alive with characters you want to protect and hold—characters you won't want to leave behind.”—Nami Mun, author of Miles from Nowhere “Home Leave is a remarkable debut, notable for the insightful intimacy of its characterization and a restless formal invention which perfectly evokes the uncertainties of expatriate life.”—Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl  Brittani Sonnenberg was raised across three continents and has worked as a journalist in Germany, China, and throughout Southeast Asia. A graduate of Harvard, she received her MFA in fiction from the University of Michigan. Her fiction has been published in The O'Henry Prize Stories 2008 as well as Ploughshares, Short Fiction, and Asymptote. Her nonfiction has appeared in Time, the Associated Press, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NPR Berlin. She has taught creative writing at the University of Michigan, Carleton College, and the University of Hong Kong. She is currently based in Berlin. Home Leave is her debut novel.  

Physics, hope, and speculation come together beautifully in this moving story about a couple dealing with the chance that their fetus has a rare genetic mutation. In "Chance," Peter Ho Davies raises complex questions about what is certain and what is random, and about how and if our efforts affect the course of our lives.