Author Chang will discuss “The Family Chao” at Readers’ Books

Novelist Lan Samantha Chang will be at Readers’ Books on Friday, Feb. 25 to discuss her latest novel, “The Family Chao,” with Bay Area author Angela Pneuman. According to an announcement from the event, the book is “a giggling, searing, and profound portrait of a singular immigrant family grappling with trauma, grief, race, love, and longing.”

Chang is the author of a collection of short fiction films, “Hunger”, and two novels, “Inheritance” and “All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost”. The director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Chang lives in Iowa City. She is also a recurring faculty member of the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. Pneuman is the executive director of the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference and the author of a short story book, “Home Remedies,” and a novel, “Lay It on My Heart.”

Here is a synopsis of “The Family Chao” provided by Readers’ Books:

“The seemingly pleasant, mostly white town of Haven, Wisconsin has been home to a Chinese restaurant, Fine Chao, for nearly four decades. The Haven diners happily consumed Fine Chao’s inexpensive food while praising the Chao parents for raising good, accomplished sons. However, behind the scenes, the three sons each struggle differently with their father’s often monstrous bad behavior and their mother’s self-sacrifice. When Leo, the family’s handsome and tyrannical patriarch, is found dead, presumed murdered, on Christmas morning, the simmering tensions between his sons’ aspirations and anguish come to a head.

The event begins at 6 p.m. at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St. For questions, call 707-939-1779.

Readers’ requires all event attendees to wear masks at indoor events, regardless of their vaccination status.