The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong, by Leland Cheuk

The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong

By Leland Cheuk

CCLaP, 2015

301 pages

Sulliver Pong is the youngest member of the Pong family, a multi-generational Chinese American family that lives in “Bordirtoun, USA.” He has escaped a legacy of unscrupulous family members by moving to Copenhagen and marrying a Danish woman. But his family history is never far enough away, and after a surprise visit from his father, Saul Pong, the mayor of Bordirtoun, Sulliver is lured home on the pretense that his mom is ill and needs him. Sulliver’s life will never be the same.

This swooping satire is narrated by Sulliver, who is in jail for an unknown crime he commits after returning to Bordirtoun. He shares the events that lead up to his incarceration, including his father’s attempt to involve him in a dodgy business development, his own attempt to get his mother to leave his father who is a violent philanderer, and various accidents in which Sulliver keeps injuring himself and ending up in the local hospital. The book also includes chapters recounting the Pong family history, narrating the lives of multi-generations of Pong men.

This is a funny book with a great narrative drive. As I turned the pages, I longed to know how Sulliver ended up in jail and hoped he would eventually get out from under his father’s domination, but feared he wouldn’t. This is a book about how we are all bound to our families, even as adults, but Cheuk tackles a lot of other issues, including the history of Chinese immigrants in the US, domestic violence, urban renewal and corrupt local politics. This is an engaging and original family story that challenges the notion of the model Asian-American family and creates some memorable moments as Sulliver finds his way in Bordirtoun as an adult.

Cheuk lives in Brooklyn. I interviewed him last year about “firsts” that happened when he was publishing this book. I also know him in person and have read his short stories, which are also funny and engaging. He is about to go on a West Coast book tour and has a reading in Brooklyn next Monday, February 15th.

 

 

 

 

Debut authors read in Brooklyn

Two writers I know, and who have been a part of my New York-based writers group, are reading in Brooklyn from their debut novels this month.

Sharon Guskin will read from The Forgetting Time at her book launch at the Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO on February 3^rd. The book is about a four-year old boy, Noah, who has nightmares that signal something deeper than a sleep disorder. His mother and a psychiatry professor set off on a journey to find the root of Noah’s dreams.

Guskin will be going on a book tour after the Brooklyn reading, including stops in Wisconsin, Washington State, California and Florida. Check out her tour dates, if you are near any of those cities.

And Leland Cheuk, who I interviewed on the site last year, will be reading at an event sponsored by the NY Writers Coalition at BookCourt on February 15^th. His novel, The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong, recounts a dysfunctional Asian-American family in which a father and son vie for power. Cheuk will also be going on book tour in March, to Seattle and California. You can find his dates on his website.

 

 

 

Leland Cheuk — Interview

I’m excited to share an interview this week with Leland Cheuk whose novel, The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong, is coming out in November. Leland is a member of my writers group and agreed to pilot a series of questions I wanted to try out.

The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong is a black comedy about a dysfunctional Asian-American family. I have read many of Leland’s short stories and can attest to his wit. He sees the world though a comedic story lens. And has a great way with language. I’m excited to share this interview with you.

 

What are some “firsts” that happened during the process of getting your book published?

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The first 30 pages of the novel got me into The MacDowell Colony when I had no writing credits. Soon after, I got my first agent. I’m a believer in listening and paying close attention to what the world is telling you. And those firsts were telling me that the work that I was doing was not just good, but special. It’s so hard to publish a book. Your chances, if lucky, are like always 1-2 percent. Because it’s so hard, you’d better believe deep, deep down that your work is special, otherwise you should probably be spending your time on something more additive to society.

Who was the first person who believed in your as a writer and who helped you think you could do this—publish a novel? And what did they do to let you know they believed in you? How did they support you?

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I had a writing teacher in my early twenties named Paul Cohen. He ran a private workshop in Berkeley and was the first guy who gravitated to the humor in my work as well as the absurdity. Without saying as much, he made me feel like I was doing something special, even though our work has few similarities. Basically, he was a great teacher. We’re still very good friends and share work with each other.

Which part of the book did you write first? Did you start with what the reader will see on the first page?

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I definitely started with what’s in the book: a very self-conscious narrator’s take on multiple generations of his family’s comic misfortunes. In a lot of ways, it’s exactly opposite of what most writing teachers tell you to do. They would tell you to start somewhere immediate, start in scene. But the first 6-7 pages of the novel are all “telling,” and dominated by the first-person narrator’s brooding, darkly comic voice. The last thing I wrote was the 60 pages or so of third-person narration about each of the Pong patriarch’s lives dating back to the 1850s. I wrote those on the advice of my former agent, and I wrote it fast, over two months, after agonizing over the other 260 pages for years and years. And those chapters are actually the ones I’m proudest of, because they’re historical, absurd, and even poignant, and made the present day story more resonant.

And was the title you published with the original title you had for the book or did it have other titles before this one? If so, what was the first title you had for the book and how did you land on the final title?

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I had a horrible title for a long time, and I’m convinced that the title itself led to many, many agent rejections. It was “Sulliver’s Bordirtoun.” Bordirtoun is the fictional town in the book. It was created (misspelled) by the Chinese people who started the town. A friend visited NYC and suggested “The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong,” and once the title changed, stuff started happening with the manuscript. I got an agent, and then went on another five-year run of rejections! I like the title, but to be honest, I still agonize some over it. Like maybe it should be simpler.

Cheuk lives in Brooklyn. The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong will be published by CCLaP Publishing. I really enjoyed these stories he wrote. He will be reading from his book on November 20^th in Brooklyn. He also created a fun book trailer.

Thanks, Leland for talking with Proto Libro….I look forward to reading The Misadventures of Sulliver Pong and hope some of you want to read it too!