Size Matters: The Small World of High School
Rachel DeWoskin made a name for herself as a sex goddess on a Chinese soap opera, then parlayed that into a sharp, funny memoir followed by two nuanced novels. The latest, Big Girl Small, traverses the perils of high school from the “shorter” perspective of singer Judy Lohden. Read on as DeWoskin shares her thoughts.
On how Judy Lohden’s character came to her
“I watched The Wizard of Oz so many times with my 4-year-old, and felt tremendous empathy for the little people in that movie. I wondered what it would feel like for my daughter if she were a dwarf. What if she wanted to be Judy Garland, but involuntarily identified with the little people? This thought plagued me, so I wrote a book about a girl who is small, wildly talented, different from everyone else and brave.”
On what dish her new book resembles
“Hot pot, because it’s crazy and spicy and complicated; because it’s do-it-yourself; and because it’s feasting for hours with friends, listening, watching the color of cooking crawl up individual slices of food. I’d hope my book is as delicious, as full of contradiction and heat. But hold the duck blood, please.”
On her book being compared to John Hughes’ movies
“I’ll take it!”
… and her favorite John Hughes scene
“How about that beautiful part in Breakfast Club when Ally Sheedy asks Molly Ringwald, ‘Why are you being so nice to me?’ And Molly Ringwald says, ‘Because you’re letting me.’”
On reaching a Chinese audience
“I would love Chinese versions of my books. China gave me a place to grow up, taught me a new language and a million new ways of looking at the world. (Not to mention fed me fabulous food and provided an endless supply of life experience and pirated DVDs). I just signed up for a Weibo account, so I can be in written touch with Chinese readers of all sorts of books.”
On Beijing, then vs. now
“I try not to noble-savage my Chinese friends by begrudging China its modernity or Frappuccinos. To me there's something unsavory about Westerners pining for a version of China that was less shufu and free for its citizens. I loved Beijing in the 1990s, even before you could get MAC make-up and new releases in fiction, and I love it now. More art, more books by Chinese writers distributed globally, more freedom, more access, more exchange programs for kids, onward with our engagement!”
Rachel DeWoskin appears at The Bookworm on Jun 28 to discuss Big Girl Small.
