Over the Shoulder

A Reader's Guide

 

I. A Conversation with Leonard Chang

Q: This book seems to be a departure from your previous two novels, isn't it?

A: To some degree, yes. I think many of the themes and issues explored here echo my other books, but I wanted to try something different--a new approach, a new mindset. I need to challenge myself in order to be excited about a project, and the challenge here was keeping my thematic concerns while working within a form--the crime novel--that required adherence to a method: a crime is committed and we must find out more. At the same time I wanted those elements I always look for in a good novel: compelling, interesting characters, relevant themes, good writing. I need to be affected on many levels.

Q: So the levels you went after in this novel were...?

A: A strong story that would propel the reader along with Allen and Linda, an investigation that would be as intriguing to the observer as well as to the investigator. I want the readers to identify with them and what they are searching for. At the same time I tried to go deeply into Allen's character, exploring what he is concerned about, what issues of the past and of his current life come into play as this crisis appears and shakes him up. There's also the need for human connection and interaction in him, and his growing relationship with Linda begins to open him up in a way that I don't think he's familiar with.

Q: What's going to happen with them?

A: I don't know. You act as if I have control over these things. Often I don't feel as if I do. Yes, they're both lonely, maybe even isolated, and they offer each other things they haven't really found before, but I'm going to let them work with each other at their own pace.

Q: You talk as if they're real.

A: They are to me. I dream about them sometimes. Once, so I'm told, I even talked about one of my characters in my sleep. That startled me, but it makes sense. I spend so much time with these people that of course they will take form in front of me. They will, as Faulkner once said, stand up and cast a shadow. I see glimpses of them on the street.

Q: The investigation you just spoke of--this is an investigation of the past in many ways, and it's odd that Allen is so cut off from everyone and everything, including the past. Was this intentional?

A: Absolutely. Part of this stems from generational differences among immigrants. With each successive generation, the past becomes more removed and impenetrable, and this is exacerbated by the differences in culture and language. So, Allen's parents immigrated from Korea, and this immediately sets up a kind of veil between him and them, which is made even thicker by Allen's inability to speak Korean. Their early deaths of course sealed this division, but it still extended to his aunt, for example, or to his father's friends and colleagues.

Q: Yet race and ethnicity aren't emphasized here, and this isn't a novel about the immigration experience.

A: No, it's not, at least not directly. I think that since Allen's parents were immigrants and his investigation is not only of his father but of where his father worked and what had happened there, we inevitably get some of these issues of acculturation and the decidedly American attempt to get a better life. Along these lines, since Allen is Korean American, and much of what he's exploring has to do with his and his family's removed past, issues of race and ethnicity arise, but clearly the focus is on Allen as an individual, a son, an orphan, a man searching for answers about those around him and those before him.

Q: But race is unavoidable, and Allen even encounters some bigotry.

A: He does. Everyone does, and not just racial and ethnic minorities. Bigotry itself doesn't discriminate and is an equal opportunity weapon aimed at anyone or anything different. I wrote quite a bit about that in my first novel, which dealt with interracial tensions and racism from all corners.

Q: And your second novel?

A: My second novel was about the intersection of class and anger, of an alienated and frustrated white man striking out at the world and, in that particular case, striking out at a Korean American man, his boss. There, race was subordinated to other issues but clearly a factor in some underlying anxiety. For this novel, my concerns were slightly different. I'm focusing on Allen Choice as an individual, and not as a necessary part of any whole--racial, ethnic, or otherwise. In fact, he's disconnected from almost everything. His story is not one of racial or ethnic assimilation; his is one of human connections, with those around him, with those before him in the past, and with, in many ways, himself.

Q: And put in the form of a mystery. Did you have any models for this novel? Any inspirations?

A: Some of my favorite novels are mysteries, and even those writers you wouldn't normally associate with the mystery--Camus, Faulkner, even Melville--have at the center of their novels a search, a need for understanding, a desire for completion, and this is the heart not just of mystery novels but something true of all of us. We search for solutions, we move towards comprehension and sort out the intricacies of small problems, big problems, personal problems, problems of all statures that affect and hinder us. As for models, the aforementioned writers are long-term influences, as is Hemingway, and contemporary writers such as Updike, Russell Banks, Richard Ford, Margaret Atwood, and many more, but for this novel in particular I revisited Ross Macdonald, Dashiell Hammett, and a few other classics. I also, oddly enough, brushed up on some old Philosophy texts, Descartes and Sartre in particular, because I remembered a certain tone in their writings that affected me as a student, a contemplative and self-assured exploration of ideas and arguments that helped me get in the right frame of mind.

Q: And how did you go about writing this novel?

A: The same way I wrote the others: after many false starts and unusable drafts, after frustrating mornings when it seemed that my brain was being squeezed of all its juices and I just wanted to bang my head on the desk a few times. As with most of my writing, I end up throwing much more away than I actually use, and this can be a painful and disheartening process. I hate waste of any kind, and seeing those hundreds of pages of drafts go into the recycling bin seemed horrifying. However, I must add, that this is a perfectly natural process, and it's not really waste if it leads you somewhere, if it's a journey to find the right way to tell a story.

Q: Don't you like writing?

A: I do. Perhaps I overstated the difficulties. It can be tough, very tough, but when it finally works, when the writing seems to be synchronized with your intentions and desires, when you suddenly see a character's true nature emerge, and you begin laughing when they make a joke, and wincing when something bad happens to them, then there's nothing else like it. You begin to enter this world, their world, and it's not unlike the pleasure you received as a seven-year-old immersed in a novel while sitting on the front steps of your apartment building, oblivious to the cars driving by, the neighbors yelling at each other, because you're completely taken by the characters and the situation, and you're no longer on those steps but in a distant land, on a ship, on another planet, anywhere else but those front steps. I became a writer because I've always loved reading, and so sometimes I become a simultaneous writer and reader of my work, and then it's wonderful.

 

II. Topics and Questions for Discussion

1. One of the narrative decisions made here by the author was to write this novel in the first-person point-of-view. How does this affect your understanding of Allen, as well as the other characters? What is withheld, if anything? How would this novel have been different from, for example, Linda's point-of-view? Is the author following any kind of convention with this choice? What other novels use this strategy, and how is it effective?

2. Closely linked with the first-person point-of-view is voice. How is voice related to point-of-view, and what do you think of Allen's voice in the novel, the way he sounds coming off the page? Does this have anything to do with the present tense? Why is this written in the present tense? What other novels are written in this style? What would change, if anything, if the novel had been written in the past tense?

3. What category, if any, would you place this novel in? That is, what section of the bookstore would this novel be shelved? The author's previous novels have been labelled, among other things, "literary fiction," "ethnic fiction," "crime," "mystery," and even in one case, "cooking." Does this matter, and how do labels alter your expectations of a novel? How and why does this novel fit into any category or genre, and does it help your understanding of the novel?

4. Much of the novel is set in Silicon Valley. What role, if any, does this setting play in the story, and how does technology influence the characters' lives? How different of a novel would this be with another setting? What is the role of setting and environment in most novels, and how closely are they linked to story and character? What are examples of other novels where the setting is the most important element, or the least important, and why?

5. What role does work have in this novel; specifically, how do jobs, careers, and the notion of daily work affect how the characters think and act? Closely linked to work is money, so how does money factor in to the characters' decisions? Many novels often dismiss the notion of work conveniently (characters often seem to have money, or their jobs are never demanding), but this often lets the characters concentrate on other matters. Is this the case here? What would be different if, for example, Allen had a paid, extended vacation, or if Linda were happy with her job?

6. Do the race and ethnicity of the characters matter in this novel? What role, if any, does Allen's race play a part in his definition of himself? When does he think about race, and why? What does his inability to speak or understand the Korean language mean, and how does this affect the story?

7. What seems to be the notion of "family" in this novel, and how do the characters view their own families? Does your own notion of "family" affect your reading of this novel and the characters? How, if at all, does your own family reflect or contrast the families presented here? Does your family affect your outlook? Do the characters' families in this novel affect their outlook? Why or why not?

8. How do you interpret the sense of isolation that many of these characters have? When, if ever, do the characters feel connected or less lonely, and why do you think they are portrayed in this fashion? Consider the times when the characters are alone, with others, or in large groups, and contrast their thoughts and feelings, keeping in mind the context and their emotional states.

9. How is the motif of inheritance and leaving a legacy woven into the novel, and what does it mean to the characters? What kinds of inheritance, material or psychic, monetary or emotional, do the characters receive, and how does this affect their outlook, their judgements, and their opinions? Does this conflict with the sense of isolation that many of the characters feel? Why or why not? Does this concur with your own experiences with legacies and inheritances?

10. What are the generational conflicts in the novel? Do the older characters think differently or have different concerns than the younger characters? Does this relate to your own experiences with older and younger generations?

11. Why does Allen formulate his "philosophy of removement"? Does this help or hurt his motivations and actions? Does this world view apply to other characters, and if so, how? Who resists this view of life, and how does he or she effect change? How is this tied to the previous questions of generational differences and notions of legacy and inheritance?

12. Are there symbols or motifs in this novel that may or may not reflect some themes? What roles do the walking stick, the medical textbooks, or even the cars the characters drive play in the definition of characters and themes? Why is the folktale of the blue frogs introduced?

13. One critic once called the author's previous work, "Asian American Noir," referring to the popular artistic mode of literature and film in post-World War II America, where thematic elements such as crime and transgression were presented through the use of light and dark motifs in a highly stylized form of expression. One example is both the novel and movie, The Big Sleep. Is this term, noir, meaning "night" or "black," applicable to this novel with respect to tone, mood, descriptions, setting, story, or characters? Why or why not?

14. What did you think of Allen's relationship with Sonia? Was it understandable? Was it objectionable? How did both these characters as well as others react to it? What function did it serve for the narrative?

15. How did you feel about Allen listening to the taped conversations of Linda? Would you have listened to as much as he had? Would you have listened to more? Did it affect your affinity towards Allen or Linda?

16. How did you feel about the ending? Was it a surprise, or did you predict this early on? How did you feel about the note on which Linda and Allen left their relationship? Did you want more? What do you think will happen next? Where will they go from here?

 

III. Author Biography

Leonard Chang was born in New York City on Christmas day, and grew up in Merrick, Long Island.

After high school, Leonard Chang studied at Dartmouth College, but took time off after his sophomore year to intern briefly with the Peace Corps in Kingston, Jamaica. He soon returned to the United States, where he continued his studies in Philosophy at Harvard University, and graduated with honors. From there, he attended the Master's of Fine Arts program at the University of California at Irvine, and received his M.F.A. in 1994. His first novel, entitled The Fruit 'N Food, was published in 1996 and won the Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction that year, and is now taught at colleges around the country. His second novel, Dispatches from the Cold, published in 1998, won a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award for Literature, and has been optioned for a film.

In addition to novels, he writes short stories, essays, and book reviews, and his work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including The Crescent Review, Prairie Schooner, Confluence, Crab Orchard Review, Bamboo Ridge, and Lynx Eye. He currently teaches at the graduate writing program at Antioch University in Los Angeles. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is working on a new novel. For more information, visit his web site at www.LeonardChang.com.

 

 

IV. Excerpts of reviews of Leonard Chang's novels:

 

On Over the Shoulder:

"A truly impressive achievement. Over the Shoulder is a rich and engrossing novel, a thriller with the head and the heart of a fine work of literature."

-- Gary Krist, author of Chaos Theory

"Leonard Chang's new novel is a riveting noir thriller, with something more to offer: a well-informed look at the culture of Korean assimilation on the West Coast. Over the Shoulder is a strong and serious work, as well as being excellent entertainment."

-- Madison Smartt Bell, author of Master of the Crossroads

"Leonard Chang's Over the Shoulder is a fascinating novel. Lyrical and thoughtful at the same time, it is as intense and unpredictable as a ricochetting bullet; it is a gripping tale that explores the neverending mysteries that link the past and the present in all of us."

-- Michael Connelly, author of A Darkness More Than Night

"Readers...will be delighted with the speed, intensity and worldly wisdom of this story, from which none of Chang's accustomed subtlety of insight has been lost. Over the Shoulder is at the one time obsessively readable and intellectually satisfying, and Chang's highest achievement to this point."

-- Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List

"Engrossing and fast-paced...Mr. Chang...creates characters who earn our quick attention and sympathies; and he describes events and emotions with equal grace."

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Every once in a while, a reader is introduced to an unfamiliar author and is overjoyed by the discovery. Chang's third book is dark and complicated, with a Hitchcockian flair...Realistic racial and family tensions make this a winner."

-- USA Today

"Chang succeeds brilliantly. Over the Shoulder is one of the most exciting and innovative works to come out of Asian American and noir fiction in a long time."

-- KoreAm

"Chang's intricately constructed plot moves easily from the minutiae of protecting a client to the cultural rootlessness affecting his hero. Choice's dual journey--of self-discovery and the uncovering of his partner's killer--makes for an absorbing blend of literary novel and crime thriller."

-- Publishers Weekly

"Chang unfurls a thriller that's content to grab you by the neck and shake hard.... A smoking Korean-American Presumed Innocent..."

-- Kirkus Reviews

 

On Dispatches from the Cold:

"Chang narrates his passionate, downbeat tale with naturalistic distance and an authentic, even microscopic grasp of the...dead-end world Farrel inhabits...Chang is an exceptionally talented writer..."
-- Kirkus Reviews

"In his provocative second novel, Chang deftly varies a formula used by Hitchcock in Rear Window: a man in a position of enforced idleness becomes obsessed with the activities of a total stranger...In clean and vernacular-accurate prose, Chang painstakingly evokes the working-class lives of both characters, as well as their ethnic prejudices and misunderstandings. The deliberately slow pace of the narrative accentuates the impact of the step-by-step account of Gorden's descent into murderous rage, building to the narrator's disastrous intervention. In the end, the trajectory of both their lives acquires an air of tragic inevitability."
-- Publishers Weekly

"Chang's gift for unsentimental storytelling is indisputable..."
-- Library Journal

"Chang's pacing hums. He possesses a master storyteller's sense of timing and economy."
-- Lit

"With stark and spare prose that sets off handsomely the complex narrative structure, Leonard Chang's brave new novel deftly showcases a compelling drama set against the backdrop of a blue-collar New England... In this richly imaginative novel, what is most refreshing is how very ordinary Chang's Korean characters are in the sense that their character development is not confined to their ethnicity... They are fully realized, and thus their entanglement with Farrel Gorden is all the more powerful and relevant. Truly, Chang must be commended for daring to step outside the conventional themes that plague popular Asian American literature...a powerful and complex novel..."
-- KoreAm Journal

"...compelling. Gorden's maniacal rampage revolves around a fine axis of twisted emotions...Chang's second release is a rich geometry that keeps your pulse from getting too sluggish."
-- A. Magazine

"Attention to narrative craft and subtleties of community and character help Chang's work stand out from higher-profile market clutter and glutter. Chang's novels are remarkable for their ensemble play and the meticulousness with which volatile situations are imagined. Dispatches from the Cold doesn't foreground race but weaves it into a complex, larger narrative and social fabric. The result is a reality that's recognizable but sorely missing in fiction."
-- The San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award for Literature Citation

 

On The Fruit 'N Food:

"The Fruit 'N Food is a book of densely-compressed inter-racial and inter-generational conflicts that implode with frightening truth...Chang's writing is strong and his talent lies in creating scenes with bristling, raw energy, and gritty dialogue that stays true to black and Korean speech, and nervous breakdowns painted with hallucinatory colors...Chang records and displays with sharp accuracy the sordid race relations of America...A moving and stylish interpretation..."
-- KoreAm Journal

"Chang's unabashed representation of the tensions between African Americans and Asian Americans is trenchant and unsettling...His fictional characters and their sensibilities are more honest and sincere than their real-life prototypes dare to be."
-- Kimchinet

"Leonard Chang's novel reveals the truth about the difficulty of bridging cultural conflict and the necessity of doing so. His is a complex vision of the roots of urban anger, subverting the stereotype of the Asian as the model minority."
-- Jervey Tervalon, author of Understand This

"This is a gripping novel with much to say about urban relations, and it deserves to be read by a wide audience."
-- MultiCultural Review

"In The Fruit 'N Food, Leonard Chang has constructed a narrative voice to match the unblinking surveillance cameras hovering above the cluttered checkout counters of convenience stores. The airy angle reveals unerringly the minute and utterly banal gestures that accompany desperation and rage. Chang is patient and precise. His knack for dismantling sentiment and rendering the real is stunning."
-- Michael Martone, author of Safety Patrol

"Chang produces an effortless vision of how the monotony of a family-run business, with its crises and impossible hours, leads to frustration and, eventually, madness. Quotidian moments turn into bombs...Almost unbelievably, Chang actually ratchets up the tension to Stephen King-style levels...Chang writes of the pressures of a crushing, frustrating melting pot with a distinctive voice and a clear eye, and, regardless of how poorly Tom and his companions end up, he issues a call to acknowledge the unity that strife forges."
-- OC Weekly

"Leonard Chang depicts the crisis of racial tension in our inner cities with strength and urgency. The leanness of the writing is matched by a willingness to raise difficult questions. The Fruit 'N Food is a powerful debut."
-- Michael Golding, author of Simple Prayers

"The Fruit 'N Food is a thoroughly enjoyable, wonderfully written, socially relevant piece of contemporary fiction. Chang writes with a simple elegance that immediately draws the reader into his work."
-- Pacific Reader

"Leonard Chang's debut novel is powerful, true to life, originally conceived and beautifully written. Chang, a new voice for our time, restores my faith in the power of the novel to illuminate a way of life. He deals in a startling and disturbing way with the constantly recurring American themes of race, ethnic strife, class conflict, and the dream for a better life. Chang also sheds light on American youth, proving to be a new talent, beginning what I predict will be a long and meaningful career as a writer of serious fiction."
-- Ernest Hebert, author of The Dogs of March

"The Fruit 'N Food unflinchingly explores the causes of ethnic hostilities, lending new insight into the senselessness of social violence...a powerful and important novel."
-- Riksha

"Leonard Chang's first novel is a remarkably poised and strong performance, a sharp-edged account of a Korean youth spinning off the 'model minority' track into an urban nightmare. Chang writes with searching clarity of a new generation of Americans confronting hard times and ethnic warfare in the streets."
-- Judith Grossman, author of Her Own Terms