“The term "Chinese" doesn't even really do justice to the people, because what is currently China really represents dozens of countries that have been absorbed by wars over the centuries -- as if Europe itself were a single country.”

~ Ed Lin

By Catzie Vilayphonh  |  Send to Friend

Would it be any coincidence that this feature with Ed Lin, accomplished Chinese American novelist and good friend, also be happening on Chinese New Year? Or it is just pure good luck? You see Ed is not just any writer and friend, no, Ed Lin is the very reason I am writing.

Back when I was a disillusion-teenager, Ed gave me several books, including my favorite, Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka and introduced me to the way of the word. Living in New York, and not having published his first novel yet, Ed had been part of a writing-performing workshop for "lost Asian American souls". When the workshop made its way to Philly, I joined and we met when we were invited to see the the New York crew in action. Ed and I bonded over the fact that our parents were supposed to name us something else (his being Howard, mine being Cathy) and got along so well despite having 11 years in age difference. We kept in touch through emails, as most pen pals would, but rather than repetitive question-and-answering back and forth, Ed shared his stories like a short story chapter in a big book of adventures. I think I only wrote one "chapter" of my own life story in response, but I never did finish that book. I started dating, Ed got married and we lost touch. When we found each other again, Ed published his first novel Waylaid in 2002 and saw the release of his newest book This Is A Bust, this past November. I had the very fortunate honor of reading them both.

 

Catz: Why did you decide to become a writer?

Ed: I never really decided -- it was something I've always felt compelled to do. Back in high school we once had an assignment to write 200 words or so everyday for creative writing, but I found myself going page after page racking up like 500 - 700 words to the astonishment of my teacher and me.

C: Who are your influences?

E: Herbert Simmons (author of Corner Boy, Man Walking on Eggshells), Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon), Chester Himes (all his so-called Harlem Cycle novels), Norbert Davis (an old pulp writer), John Coltrane (you can literally hear his search for the truth in his solos), James M. Cain, old text adventure games by this company called Infocom, and old "Twilight Zone" episodes. But it goes without saying that without the prior class -- Shawn Wong, Maxine Hong Kingston, Frank Chin -- there would have been no writer known as Ed Lin.

C: Your book was very Chinese. I've learned more about Chinese history and culture from your book than all my years of having known Chinese people, which also includes all my Asian American Studies. You know, at first I thought the funny little anecdotes of the way Chinese people do things -- from grin-grimace that is the typical awkward situation face, the love of cheap bargains that never includes a funeral because it's bad luck, even the way in which they gossip-- I felt it may have been too overt. It must've been the Asian self-critical thing in me, because after reading a couple chapters, the cultural references became the tone in such a way that even though you're letting us in on all these "secrets," there's so much more to know.

E: There are just so many things about being Chinese. The other day, I was directing this two-person scene for a play reading. the actress was Korean and the actor was Chinese. The Korean woman mentioned that she bought a prop herself and it didn't cost much -- it was "only $10." and me and the Chinese guy immediately shot looks at each other. "$10 is a lot to Chinese people!" I shouted. Thing is, the term "Chinese" doesn't even really do justice to the people, because what is currently China really represents dozens of countries that have been absorbed by wars over the centuries -- as if Europe itself were a single country. There are all these crazy regional dialects, cultures (not to mention Taiwan) that often stand in opposition. I wanted to show how these complexities were condensed into Chinatown, rather than just another generic portrait. "Chinese" is so generic, it kinda has to be broken down into "Cantonese" or "Fukien" or "KMT" (Kuomintang or Chinese Nationalist Party), or "communist," or "daoist" or "confusionist"...

I did lie in the book a little, though. The UHF stations weren't that powerful and even though there was some support for communist china as opposed to the KMT it wasn't nearly as strongly expressed as it is in the book.

C: I would also like to add that your story is very New York. I think I've made a mental map of where everything happened even though it took place in the '70s. I know you grew up in Jersey, but do you consider yourself a native New Yorker?

E: I'm totally a native New Yorker. I spent my first three years growing up in Howard Beach by JFK and the sounds of the planes landing haunted my dreams for years after we had moved to Jersey and then to Pennsylvania. Also, I've now been in New York for 20 years solid, having arrived for school and never leaving. New York is great because it's America and yet also each individual neighborhood is like some joint in another country.

C: Let's talk about the storyline. I found it interesting that you made it a not-detective story. The main character, Chow, is a cop, not a detective, still there's a dead body involved so there's a mystery to be solved. But it's also very surprising. Aren't people meant to pay for their crimes?

E: Ah, but what is the crime?

This woman being killed by her husband is one thing, but what about the larger crime -- the fact that Chinatown exists with sweatshops, smuggling, prostitution and gambling parlors? Chow himself wasn't fully functional to solve the murder until he kicked the bottle.

But how can he stop the stealing of the waiters' tips? it's something that continues because at the root of it, people want to leave China for America. even when their relatives here tell them how bad it is. They feel like they're being lied to by people who have it good. Once they're in the US, they work horrible jobs such as waiting tables or in a sweatshop. The Chinese underworld takes advantage of the desire to come over and the NYPD (and the US government in a larger sense) likes it because it keeps Chinatown running for the tourists. That's the bigger crime.

C: I thought everything going on at the time were reflections of the complexities of being "Chinese" and American -- waiters versus restaurant owners, older emigrated elders versus American-born kids, for example. And then there are these internal struggles fought by Chow within himself. He's a cop but a drunk, a wanna-be detective that gets assigned to writing traffic tickets and showing face at party functions because he's the posterboy of the NYPD getting along with Asians; but also an anti-communist who gets used as the example of "what the enemy looks like" while in military training for Vietnam. Was it hard researching all this background info?

E: It was pretty easy doing the research, in terms of finding people to talk to and things to read. The Vietnam war has an incredible archive of writing and I spoke with several NYPD members who were Vietnam-era vets. Because America lost the war, it is a focus of this country's self-examination.

C: How much of it is inspired by your life? You know, that scene with the teenager having to cleaning the filthy bathroom sounds oddly familiar...

E: A lot of the book is inspired by my own life. In fact, the opening in a barber shop is based on me getting my hair cut in Chinatown. I go to this Mandarin place but I only speak English, so they think I can't understand what they're saying. One woman cutting hair said, "Look at this hair! It's not even Chinese hair, it's too curly!" So I thought, wow, how could I be even more alienated? Then, aha! A Chinese cop would be totally shunned!

C: I noticed that you mentioned Chow's partner, Vandyne, was stubborn about eating fried rice -- even though he's told it's made from leftover day-old white rice -- because he grew up eating the "shitty" fried rice in Philly. You taking swipes at us?

E: Naw, no swipes! Vandyne's stubborn about trying different foods. He won't eat "motherfuckers" (lima beans) and based on what he says about food made in China (that standards are lower in the canned foods), he's a little scared it could make him sick. He knows what he likes and he sticks with it; almost like a commitment. Which is why he's a lot more stable than Chow and has a solid marriage.

He happens to be from Philly because a lotta drafted soldiers came out of the inner city in Philadelphia. I remember reading this account in Bloods (a book about the black experience in Vietnam) that at this one Philly church, they asked three veterans to come up to the mike to talk to the congregation about what it was like and each of the three came up one by one and just cried and were unable to speak.

C: Is your wife Cindy (Cheung, who played Young-Soon Choi in M. Night Shamalan's Lady in the Water) more famous than you?

E: Cindy is not only more famous than me -- she's much more talented and better-looking!

C: Tell me about your band Raven Steals the Light, and why you're so into blogging about music.

E: Shoot, my band hasn't practiced for more than a year! A lot of bands don't get along, but we get along great. We just don't play, although we all sat down to dinner before Christmas. I'm into blogging about music because music is a form of communication that existed before language. Our brains are wired to respond to rhythm and melody. That's why it's easier to study and learn things that involve music.

If I had been able to be in a band that practiced and played out regularly, I don't think I'd be writing novels. My novels are kinda like my solo gigs. Um, anybody out there need a bassist?

 

Happy New Year Eddie.

Ed Lin will be at The Kelly Writers House in West Philly February 12th reading excerpts from This Is A Bust. For more info, check him out online at edlinforpresident.com.