The Nature of Things

Charles Yu presents his book as if it were a teleplay set in a Chinatown restaurant called the Golden Palace. The restaurant is the setting for a cop show called "Black and White." Yu's protagonist, Willis Wu, is a bit player on that show and through him, the author considers the stereotypes about Asians and Asian-Americans that are stock in trade for Hollywood. His portrayal of these cliches is utterly devastating. Also quite funny. And so we learn about "Background Asian Male," "Dead Asian Man," "Generic Asian Man Number One, Two, and Three," and, of course, "Delivery Guy." These are all roles played from time to time by Willis Wu. The role that he really, really wants to play is "Kung Fu Guy," but he never gets the chance.  We gradually come to see that not only does Wu play these roles on the television show, but he also to some extent inhabits them in his real life. Through these roles, we learn his character. We also...