Lan Samantha Chang on THE FAMILY CHAO

"But I do feel like I was on a quest as a writer, for my work to get bigger. I just wanted it to contain a larger portion of the world than it started off with… I tried to make it large in its emotional scope, as well as in the amount of action that happens in it." Lan Samantha Chang did, in fact, have as much fun writing our February 2022 B&N Book Club pick, The Family Chao, as we had reading it. She joins us on the show to talk about her post-immigrant novel, the brothers Chao themselves and the debt they owe to The Brothers Karamazov, wanting to throw away the rules of writing she'd been taught, Philip Roth's fiction, a dog called Alf, and more. Featured Books: The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).