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Debut Novel Explores Transgender and Ethnic Issues

For Today I Am A Boy, by Kim Fu

Kim Fu talks about and reads from her debut novel, For Today I Am A Boy.

About the book:

Peter Huang and his sisters—elegant Adele, shrewd Helen, and Bonnie the bon vivant— grow up in a house of many secrets, then escape the confines of small-town Ontario and spread from Montreal to California to Berlin. Peter’s own journey is obstructed by playground bullies, masochistic lovers, Christian ex-gays, and the ever-present shadow of his Chinese father.

At birth, Peter had been given the Chinese name Juan Chaun, powerful king. The exalted only son in the middle of three daughters, Peter was the one who would finally embody his immigrant father's ideal of power and masculinity. But Peter has different dreams: he is certain he is a girl.

Sensitive, witty, and stunningly assured, Kim Fu’s debut novel lays bare the costs of forsaking one’s own path in deference to one laid out by others. For Today I Am A Boy is a coming-of-age tale like no other, and marks the emergence of an astonishing new literary voice.

The music in this program was written and performed by John Floridis.

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Kim Fu
Kim Fu, author of For Today I Am A Boy

Kim Fu is the author of the novel FOR TODAY I AM A BOY, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. She has written for NPR, Maisonneuve, The Rumpus, The Tyee, The Stranger, Prairie Fire, Grain, Room, and Best Canadian Essays , among others. She is the news columns editor for This , a magazine of progressive politics now in its 47th year. Fu lives in Seattle with her husband and their many computers.

Chérie Newman is a former arts and humanities producer and on-air host for Montana Public Radio, and a freelance writer. She founded and previously hosted a weekly literary program, The Write Question, which continues to air on several public radio stations; it is also available online at PRX.org and MTPR.org.
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