Jean Kwok emigrated with her family from Hong Kong to New York City when she was five years old. Her latest novel, Mambo in Chinatown , revolves around a clumsy young woman named Charlie Wong. A dishwasher in a restaurant in New York's Chinatown, Wong ultimately finds her own talents in a ballroom dance studio - just as Kwok did in real life: she was a professional ballroom dancer during her college years at Harvard and Columbia. Kwok spoke with about her new book.
Both novels were born from my working-class background. We found ourselves living in an unheated, roach-infested apartment in the slums of Brooklyn. After school, even though I was only a child, I went with my father to work in a garment factory in Chinatown.
When I was little, my family took me to do all of our shopping there. Our workplace, temple, friends and family were there. I now live in the Netherlands with my Dutch husband and kids, but my heart remains in Chinatown.