# Interior Chinatown

Interior Chinatown is a 2020 novel by Charles Yu. It is his second novel and was published by Pantheon Books on January 28, 2020. It won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. The novel was also longlisted for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was shortlisted for the Prix Médicis étranger. A television adaptation of the novel, created by Yu and starring Jimmy O. Yang, premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2024.

## Summary

The novel uses the narrative structure of the screenplay format to tell the tale of Willis Wu, the "Generic Asian Man" who is stuck playing "Background Oriental Male" and occasionally "Delivery Guy" in the fictional police procedural Black and White but who longs to be "Kung Fu Guy" on screens worldwide. Willis sees his life like a living television series, resulting in an almost metaphysical world that follows television and film logic. People can "die", but come back after a month and a half in a different role. His older brother, simply named Older Brother, was supposed to be the Kung Fu Guy, but left to instead pursue being a lawyer. Willis's parents have also gone through playing different roles, with his father a former Sifu, now another "Old Asian Man".
Becoming fed up with being a background character, Willis loudly proclaims about wanting to be something greater and is given a "recurring guest spot" on Black and White, working with the show's main leads Dets. Miles Turner and Sarah Green, though he is forced to speak with a thick accent. While happy with getting recognized, he still feels out of place due to the rules he has to follow. This changes when he meets Karen Lee and immediately falls in love with her, though he gets "killed" and he has to wait a month and a half before he can see her again. The two get married and have a daughter named Phoebe, whose own personal world resembles that of a typical children's show. Soon, Willis's goal of rising up and becoming Kung Fu Guy, and later "Kung Fu Dad", comes true, but his relationship with Karen ends in divorce, though he still sees her and Phoebe frequently.
Eventually, Willis is put on trial for not appreciating his supposed "progression" beyond being Generic Asian Man and he is represented by Older Brother. Older Brother gives a speech about Asians having to fight for recognition and gets the applause of the audience, only for Willis to be found guilty. Willis finally accepts that despite getting Kung Fu Guy, he is still playing into labels that have been pressed on him by society and that he, as well as other Asians, are more than that and deserve to be recognized as individuals. Willis and Older Brother break out into kung fu against the police and SWAT team before transitioning into Willis's "death". Willis finally leaves Black and White, gets back together with Karen and Phoebe and becomes a regular dad, embracing an uncertain, yet hopeful future.

## Background

Interior Chinatown was published in hardcover, e-book and audiobook format by Pantheon Books on January 28, 2020. The audiobook was narrated by actor Joel de la Fuente.
On January 27, 2020, Yu appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to discuss the book, as well as the lack of on-screen representation for Asian Americans and the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans. Yu also discussed the novel in an interview with Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday on January 25, 2020, and in an appearance on Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) Radio Hour with Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf on February 3, 2020.
In an interview with Timothy Tau for Hyphen, Yu remarked that his influences for the novel included Paul Beatty's Man Booker Prize-winning novel The Sellout as well as the "cyclical structure" of the film Groundhog Day.

## Reception

According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on twelve critics: six "rave" and six "positive". On Books in the Media, the book was rated 3.93 out of 5, based on eight critic reviews. In the May/June 2020 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored a four out of five. The magazine's critical summary reads: "Yu's inventive satire is reminiscent of The Truman Show, where everyone is an actor, the world is a television stage, and the lines between the show and the real lives of the characters blur".
Kirkus Reviews called the novel an "acid indictment of Asian stereotypes and a parable for outcasts feeling invisible in this fast-moving world". Carolyn Kellogg of The Washington Post praised Yu's screenplay format as "the perfect delivery system for the satire of Interior Chinatown". Anita Felicelli of the San Francisco Chronicle called the novel's format "groundbreaking" and wrote that Yu "solders together mordant wit and melancholic whimsy to produce a moving exploration of race and assimilation". Pete Hsu of the Los Angeles Review of Books praised the accessibility of the novel's allegory and its commentary on the human condition, as well as the "meticulously crafted" details of the novel which "render a universe that feels complete to the touch". Josh Denslow of the Washington Independent Review of Books wrote that the story is "told with humor and affection and a deep understanding of human nature".
Jaclyn Fulwood of Shelf Awareness wrote, "Yu's format-bending, deeply felt examination of the American dream is an exercise in encouraged empathy." Ken Smith of the Asian Review of Books wrote, "Though much of his protagonist's insecurities are narrowly focused—not just Asian, but specifically Asian American—his accumulation of concerns becomes surprisingly and relatably inclusive."
The novel was also reviewed in The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times, Booklist, the New York Journal of Books, The Washington Times, The Harvard Crimson, the Chicago Review of Books, and Bookreporter.com.

## Television adaptation

In October 2020, Hulu announced that they would be adapting the novel into a TV series. In 2022, details emerged that Taika Waititi would be an executive producer, Jimmy O. Yang would starring as Willis Wu, and that Charles Yu would be the showrunner. The ten-episode series premiered on Hulu on November 19, 2024.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Result |
| 2021 | Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction | Longlisted |
| 2020 | National Book Award for Fiction | Won |
| 2020 | Prix Médicis étranger | Shortlisted |