$15.95
ISBN: 9780544925472
Availability: Not On Our Shelves. Usually arrives in 1-5 Days
Published: Mariner Books - November 1st, 2016
Many times, if there is hype about someone or something, I tend to fall back. When Alexander Chee came to the store in February, the buzz was that he has twenty thousand Twitter followers—and he does! Based on that data, I assumed that Chee did not require or desire our attention, that he would be contained and rescued from the oft-romanticized artist’s struggle.
Now, I have no idea how I could have thought this. When he read, his gentle tone and the decadence of QUEEN reminded me of when I was a girl and would listen to The Nutcracker on cassette tape. I’d imagine what it would be like to see the ballet—the ladies in their flowing costumes, the food and presents and candy, everything large, everything colorful.
After the event, when we were picking up chairs, Chee said hello and asked me how I was or thanked me for working. It’s a small thing but also something many authors do not do, and not the way he did. Leaning against the table at the front of the store where we stage our readings, Chee gave me a long look and listened to whatever it is I managed to chirp in his direction. He did not check his phone, ask about where to get a good drink. It had flipped somehow, where perhaps he had come to meet us rather than the other way round.
I added him on Twitter that night and have never regretted it.
