I don’t think of myself as a mystery or thriller writer, honestly. I am in awe of mystery writers and don’t think I have what it takes to write such a book. Celeste Ng Read Quote
With the first novel, I had to tell myself, ‘No one is ever going to read it, so you might as well just write it.’ With the second, I was pretty sure someone was going to read it. Celeste Ng Read Quote
I am a first-generation Chinese-American; my husband is white. We have a little boy, so I think a lot about what it’s like when people from different cultures and backgrounds start families, and how the world sees them. Most of my friends are in interracial relationships, and I just wonder what the world is going to look like for their children. Celeste Ng Read Quote
As a historically voracious reader – pre-baby, I averaged a book every week or two, and when I was a kid, I’d routinely read a book a day – I never understood how some people could not read. When I heard people say they didn’t have time to read, in my head, I simultaneously pitied and ridiculed them: there was always time to read. Celeste Ng Read Quote
Of course, as a kid, I had no idea what was practical: I wanted to be a paleontologist, then an astronaut. Celeste Ng Read Quote
I was freelance proof-reading, freelance editing, creating illustrated slides for doctors’ presentations – just so I’d have enough money to take the time to write. That’s how I got by. Celeste Ng Read Quote
Narratively speaking, innocent misunderstandings are disappointing. Arbitrary events are also disappointing. The stories that really grab our attention involve not accidents but people doing things on purpose – to get things they desperately want. Celeste Ng Read Quote
My parents came to America in the late 1960s because my father studied for a Ph.D. in Indiana. My mother joined him later. We had ancestors who came over at the turn of the century. One worked in a laundry, as is typical of Chinese-American immigrants. Celeste Ng Read Quote
Taste is idiosyncratic, so I don’t love everything people recommend me, and I don’t love everything my friends love. Celeste Ng Read Quote
