April 10, 2023
A Chinese American comic book author faces the truth of his painful childhood in Chong’s inventive metafictional outing (after The Plague, a retelling of Camus’s novel). Benny, the fictional version of author Benson Yu, is raised by his grandmother in 1980s New York City. She dies when he is 12, and he attempts to fend for himself in their Chinatown apartment. Meanwhile, a burly white man named Constantine who believes he’s a samurai warrior has moved into the building, just down the hall from Benny’s grandmother’s apartment. In order to escape the prying eyes of social workers, Benny asks a reluctant Constantine if he can stay with him. Yu frequently intrudes on the narrative, implying that a real Constantine had abused him and claiming that his choice to make Benny 12 rather than a young adult “gets closer to the emotional truth.” After Constantine reappears in Yu’s life, Yu attempts to find catharsis through writing a fictional account of his early years. Chong delivers a convincing account of Benny’s childhood neglect, though the authorial commentary tends to confuse an otherwise vivid story. This will frustrate and move readers in equal measure. Agent: Carolyn Forde and Samantha Haywood, Transatlantic Literary.
June 10, 2024
Chong (Beauty Plus Pity) offers a metafictional story following Benson Yu, a comic-book author who processes the trauma of his youth--childhood sexual abuse, substance abuse, and suicide--through fiction. Benson writes the story of his younger self, Benny. Life is anything but easy for 12-year-old Benny, who grows up in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1980s with his grandmother. His family's poverty leaves Benny hungry and at the mercy of school bullies. Things take a turn for the worse when his grandmother is hospitalized and dies, leaving Benny alone. Seeking shelter, Benny turns to his neighbor Constantine, a white man who believes himself to be a reincarnated samurai. Though Constantine teaches Benny karate and Japanese sword fighting, he is also revealed to be a sexual predator. The narrative shifts between Benny's story and his creator's, blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Listeners will likely be drawn to Benny's story, but the novel's slippery execution may be confusing for some. Narrator Eric Yang does a fine job, and his pronunciation of the Cantonese words scattered throughout the book lends authenticity. VERDICT While the story's premise is unique, the shifting timelines make it a challenging listen. An optional purchase for most libraries.--Katy Duperry
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