Hyphenated: An Asian American Book Club - Gold Diggers

8401 Cameron Road,Austin TX 78754

30 August, 2022

Description

“Dizzyingly original, fiercely funny, deeply wise.” —Celeste Ng, #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere Celebrate the contemporary works of Asian Americans with Hyphenated, a year-around book club series hosted by the AARC. Wrap up the summer with us and Sona Shah, Parks and Recreation’s Equity and Inclusion Program Manager, who will lead discussion on Sanjena Sathian’s debut, Gold Diggers. Space is limited. Book is not supplied. Learn more about the AARC at www.austintexas.gov/aarc “A magical realist coming-of-age story, Gold Diggers skewers the model minority myth to tell a hilarious and moving story about immigrant identity, community, and the underside of ambition. A floundering second-generation teenager growing up in the Bush-era Atlanta suburbs, Neil Narayan is funny and smart but struggles to bear the weight of expectations of his family and their Asian American enclave. He tries to want their version of success, but mostly, Neil just wants his neighbor across the cul-de-sac, Anita Dayal. When he discovers that Anita is the beneficiary of an ancient, alchemical potion made from stolen gold—a “lemonade” that harnesses the ambition of the gold’s original owner—Neil sees his chance to get ahead. But events spiral into a tragedy that rips their community apart. Years later in the Bay Area, Neil still bristles against his community's expectations—and finds he might need one more hit of that lemonade, no matter the cost. Sanjena Sathian’s astonishing debut offers a fine-grained, profoundly intelligent, and bitingly funny investigation into what's required to make it in America.” - Amazon About Our Community Partner Sona A. Shah (she/her) is the first Equity and Inclusion Program Manager at the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department. Previously, she managed the City of Austin’s Asian American Resource Center, one of the few City operated cultural centers in the country. Prior to working with the City of Austin, Sona was the Assistant Director at the Center for Asian American Studies at UT Austin where she also taught an undergraduate service-learning course in Asian American studies and social work bridging theory to practice. Sona has over 20 years of public and nonprofit sector work experience. She was born and raised in Houston, TX and has lived on and off in Austin since 1996. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance please contact (512) 974-3914 or Relay Texas 7-1-1.