Though Elysha Chang’s debut novel, A Quitter’s Paradise, has been published for more than a year, she finally had the opportunity to return to campus to discuss her novel. A former professor in the Creative Writing Department, Chang taught for four years at Villanova, all of which she spent penning draft after draft of her novel, saying of the drafts, “There must be some shape I can’t see.”
The intimate Q&A, taking place in the Falvey Speaker’s Corner, provided significant information about Chang’s writing process. She was introduced by professor Alan Drew, Director of the Creative Writing Program, and he spoke to her immense talent within the department. She spoke on the challenges of writing a novel while teaching but also in trusting one’s own process of writing. And though she was writing her novel while a faculty member of the University, Chang said it took a total of eight years from the idea to the physical book.
Chang’s book was picked up as the first novel to be published by Sarah Jessica Parker (yes, Carrie Bradshaw herself) and her publishing imprint, SJP Lit.
Dr. Yumi Lee of Villanova was in conversation with Chang for the majority of the event, where she noted that Chang’s work was incredibly “layered.” Chang’s book touches on different aspects of family, career and romance within the main character’s life. But Chang said the book is “ultimately a story about an immigrant family.” The two were in conversation after a reading from Chang’s book, where they not only touched on the creative method, but also the expectations of writing a novel about an Asian-American woman.
When asked during the Q&A portion, Chang alluded to the internal pressures she felt while writing the novel.
“A lot is asked of an Asian-American domestic novel,” Chang said of the publishing world.
One of her large goals while writing was to take apart and reconstruct Asian-American stereotypes, especially pertaining to Asian women. Her novel is multi-faceted, exploring many different themes, especially with Chang coming from an immigrant family herself.
She drew on her own experiences as a child of Taiwanese immigrants, as well as her experiences in the professional world, though she doesn’t work in an animal testing lab like her main character. And through this novel, noting the stereotypes of Asian-American women, Chang made it her mission for the main character to be intentionally unlikeable. She specifically noted that she wanted to deconstruct these stereotypes in a way that hadn’t been done before, but was still interesting to her. And while the reader watches the main character make worse and worse decisions, you can’t help but have sympathy for her situation.
And though this is Chang’s first published project, it won’t be her last. She is working on a non-fiction novel distinctly different from her debut narrative. And as she signed copies of her book for students, she encouraged everyone to continue exploring their writing journeys, and she hopes to return to campus soon.
