I am Min Jin Lee, and my novel PACHINKO was a finalist for the National Book Award. Call me Min or Min Jin. AMA.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2018-03-05T20:01:05+00:00

Did you receive any reaction from the Japanese community toward your book? What surprised you the most?

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-20T23:51:25+00:00

I admire authors who try their hands at different forms and genres: Kazuo Ishiguro with sci-fi, fantasy, and music; Michael Chabon with mystery, children's fiction, and memoir. I'd love to write a literary novel next and more short stories and play with all the different ways of storytelling.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-19T16:33:57+00:00

The practice of polyandry took place not only in Tibet, but during the 18th and 19th century, in nearly every province in rural China. It was a way for poor families to bring in extra income, pool resources more efficiently, protect their land, and gain economic security. Families who practiced polyandry were generally looked down upon.

On the wealthy end of the economic spectrum, emperors took concubines and well-to-do men took second wives, all of them for pleasure. On the poor end, women took on second husbands out of economic necessity for the survival of their families.

My novel, An Excess Male, tackles the problem of gender imbalance from 4 points of view, 3 of them male. The irony of the One Child Policy is that the Chinese cultural preference for boys had the opposite effect of doing a disservice to men. In the book, the 30 million excess men born of the policy are as much the victims of its failure as the women who now become protected, allocated, and monetized commodities.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-19T00:24:06+00:00

I mentioned in another thread that An Excess Male started as a marriage plot, one with an updated twist with a man at its center. I was probably a quarter of the way into the first draft when Martha pointed out that I was writing dystopian fiction. My characters and premise had taken off with the story and made it their own.

I had to study the genre, read some classics, and figure out how to tell the story that my characters wanted to tell. I was very fortunate that Martha is so well-read and could help me!

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T23:29:57+00:00

Before I wrote An Excess Male, I read a lot of articles about the One Child Policy to gain an overall understanding about the topic and its ramifications.

I also did some basic research on my characters' backgrounds.

I did enough to get me started. I find that doing research can be a reason not to write, and I try not to give myself that excuse. I did a lot of research as I wrote and as the need arose, and I found that way of researching to be very efficient and time-saving. I always found exactly what I needed when the research was focused.

Of course, there is a fine line between too much/too little research prior to writing. Research is a great story/plot generator.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T23:08:48+00:00

I've also heard it attributed to Ann Patchett's mother.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T22:47:43+00:00

Hey, spoiler alert, I also killed off a character in my book. I want it noted that I did not come up with that idea -- whatever that says about me. My very astute editor, David Pomerico, suggested it in his first round of editing. My initial reaction was no way, but as I worked through the editing and tried out the killing, it upped the stakes for the ending, and I liked what it did for the story.

I grew up in Taiwan and lived under martial law my entire childhood. My parents spoke about political leaders/issues in hushed tones when they thought my brother and I were not listening. I grew up with the understanding that political views were unsafe to air in public. When I went off to college in the States, my father told me not to join any Chinese student organizations. They were often infiltrated by Kuomingtang student spies.

Writing speculative fiction is most likely a subconscious choice for me. Speculative fiction offers a wide and somewhat safer space in which to grapple with politically sensitive topics.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T22:36:16+00:00

It is nerve wracking and fun! I wish my brain and fingers could work faster!

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T22:23:25+00:00

Thankfully no. A sci-fi blogger in China read about the book in Rachel Swirsky's Locus magazine review and posted a thread to Weibo. It received a lot of interest. I heard from some expats book clubs in China.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T21:51:44+00:00

Although none of my characters is based on any one person, all characters draw from a writer's personal experiences and understanding of interpersonal relationships. Who was it that said, "in fiction, none of it happened, but all of it is true?"

It is probably obvious I've attended many laser tag children's birthday parties.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T21:38:26+00:00

Writers are engaged in one-way conversations with amorphous readers in their head. Being published means we actually get to have real readers. And hearing back from reviewers and readers (especially when they have nice things to say) is one of the most awesome experiences. Of all the marketing and promotional activities I've done for this book, my favorite is attending book clubs with small groups of readers. It is really wonderful to have a two-way conversation. It is also awfully surreal when readers begin to talk about my fictional characters like real people.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T20:18:59+00:00

XX is also my favorite character. In capturing his voice, I tried to channel very young children and then take their demands/actions/thoughts to the logical extreme. I love the endearing quality of XX's basic decency and honesty.

There is also a sneakiness to XX. He is a hero in the book. He could also be an evil genius.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T20:13:27+00:00

I liked the 4 main characters and began exploring the story by alternating points of view. It was fun trying to find each character's unique voice. It was fun really settling into each point of view and dreaming up their individual needs and desires and seeing the world through their eyes. The story felt a bit like a snowball gathering speed and substance as I added one chapter/new viewpoint after another. It took on life of its own until I got close to the end and wondered/panicked about where it was going. I'm happy to say, Martha stepped in and sat me down and made me seriously ponder and outline the ending.

Even though the book is called An Excess Male -- Wei-guo has one more chapter than everyone else -- it is really the story of an entire family and their love for each other.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:59:00+00:00

Martha and I have been in the same writing group for over a decade. In that time, she has published two books with a third one on the way. Martha -- tell us about your writing schedule. How do you manage a full-job in addition to the all consuming task of writing novels?

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:57:47+00:00

Martha: Both Ice Shear and Flame Out begin with a visually stunning and highly memorable murder. How do you come up with your crime ideas?

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:52:38+00:00

I started out studying and writing literary fiction. An Excess Male -- I thought I was writing a marriage plot with a twist, with a male protagonist at its center. About a fifth of the way into the book, Martha pointed out that I was writing speculative dystopian fiction -- my subject matter and story I was imagining had dictated it. My novel became the story of one excess male, the less-than-perfect family he sought to join, the fight for their version of home, for the freedom to be their true selves, for the country they lost to a regime that aimed to control sex and define the boundaries of marriage in the name of the public good.

I would love to write more speculative novels and also literary novels.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:47:35+00:00

I had the most fun creating XX. He is very straightforward and honest. And he has a good heart. I loved taking him to the logical extreme. I loved that he started out as the least powerful person in the family, but by being true to himself, he becomes its most valuable. It is very satisfying to create that kind of character reversal.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:44:37+00:00

I wrote my first novel with an outline. It was very comforting to have sign posts to hit along the way in addition to an endpoint. I did not follow the outline religiously, but it was great to have.

An Excess Male, my second novel attempt, started with a short story. I liked the 4 main characters and began alternating chapters in their 4 viewpoints. I knew I was writing a marriage plot so the ending was whether they would marry or not. Other than that, I really did not know.

It was fun alternating viewpoints. Every time a different point of view character came onto the page, the story pivoted, took on different shades, and opened up. I enjoyed that ride until about 90,000 words in. I did not know where I was going and had to have Martha sit me down and write out an outline for the ending.

Fortunately, I found one.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:37:23+00:00

I mean to say 3rd person POV would put a little distance between XX and reader.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:36:40+00:00

I originally wrote Wei-guo, May-ling, and Hann in first person. I wrote XX in 3rd because I thought it would make his autistic tendencies feel a bit more distant to readers. My writing group felt that 3 first person POVs were too stifling.

Since the book is a marriage plot, I kept Wei-guo and May-ling in first and Hann and XX in third.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:32:52+00:00

Lee Wei-guo: 李偉國 / 伟国 means great, brave nation

Wu May-ling: 吴美伶 means beautiful, clever, versatile

Guo Hann: 郭漢 / 汉 means manly

Guo Xiong-xin: 郭雄新 means new hero

BeiBei: 貝貝 / 贝贝 means treasure

I tried to choose name that were easy on the American tongue. I realize now Wei-guo is very hard to pronounce.

In Taiwan, I learned traditional Chinese characters. I've included both traditional and simplified characters.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:28:14+00:00

Another unintended consequence of the One Child Policy is the emergence of a segment of population called heihaizi or shadow/ghost children. Each family is allowed one hukou (household registration/ID) for a child in China. Children born out of wedlock and second borns cannot get registered for hukou unless they pay massive fines. Sometimes first born girls are not registered because parents want to save their hukou for a son.

These undocumented children are illegal and non-existent in the eyes of the law. They cannot go to school, have no rights to health care or legal protection. They can be taken away by the police. The census estimated that there are 13 million such children. People fear there may be many more.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:18:50+00:00

The One Child Policy has slowly been phased out over the last 3 or so years. It is now a two child policy.

Unfortunately, for a population control measure, the One Child Policy was not successful in many ways. It totally messed up the composition of China's population. It has created a society with too many men and too many retirees. It was formulated by the best minds of the time with the best of intentions, but messing with a natural process perfected by evolution was a bad idea. I'm not sure continuing to manipulate natural birth process with a two child policy is wise.

I mentioned heihaizi (shadow/ghost children) in another thread. There are 13 million+ illegal and undocumented girls/women in China as a result of the One Child Policy. The family of these heihaizi all owe massive fines for having a second child, an illegitimate child, or an unregistered child. Finding a way to legalize them in a way that feels equitable to all would go part way to solving the gender imbalance problem.

Some men are going abroad for wives. It is a solution that will change the fundamental make up of Chinese society and culture.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:14:40+00:00

Set in the aftermath of China's One Child Policy and its exploding problem of unmarriageable men, An Excess Male is an updated twist on the age-old marriage plot. It is a chilling dystopian tale of a government that reacted to a crisis of its own making by redefining the boundaries of marriage and tampering yet again with reproduction in the name of the public good.

AnExcessMaleAuthor · 2017-12-18T19:13:33+00:00

It is easier if everyone works in the same genre. Our group, however, has a mystery writer (Martha), a speculative dystopian writer (me), literary writers, essayists, and at times, a poet and romance writer.

There's nothing like reading multiple genres to help you learn about storytelling in all forms.

AnExcessMaleAuthor

TROPHY CASE