AILSA CHANG, HOST:
For the billionaire Taiwanese American family the Sun Clan, the future of the patriarchy rests on the shoulders of women. Well, one woman in particular - Roses Sun, who believes the family fortune can only survive by producing a male heir with the clan's last name. The stakes are high because if no heirs remain on Earth, Roses believes that the family will be punished by so-called hungry ghosts. And so she pressures her favorite nephew, Wayward, who is gay and single, to have a son. What follows is twist after twist in a new novel by Justinian Huang called "Lucky Seed." It's a story about family subterfuge, intergenerational resentments and how love can survive dysfunction.
Justinian Huang came on down to NPR West to hang with me and talk about his new novel. It's so great to have you here, Justin.
JUSTINIAN HUANG: It's amazing.
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: What an amazing summary.
(LAUGHTER)
HUANG: Do I need to say anything? I can go now, right (laughter)?
CHANG: Well, the first thing you have to explain for us is this whole plot...
HUANG: Oh, wow.
CHANG: ...Was kind of like an art-imitates-life thing, right? Like...
HUANG: Yes.
CHANG: ...You told me the first time that we met, weeks ago...
HUANG: Yeah.
CHANG: ...That you are the character Wayward in this story.
HUANG: Loosely.
CHANG: You were the one.
HUANG: Yes.
CHANG: Loosely. Loosely.
HUANG: Loosely (laughter).
CHANG: But something like this kind of happened to you.
HUANG: Absolutely.
CHANG: You were the chosen one in your family to have a baby.
HUANG: Yes. Well, you know, picture it.
CHANG: Yeah.
HUANG: Summer 2021. The matriarch of my mom's family, my mom's big auntie, summons me to her lair in West LA, and she says to me that unless I have a baby boy to carry on the family lineage - because our family had no baby boys - that we would all become hungry ghosts in the afterlife.
CHANG: Had you ever heard the concept of hungry ghosts before?
HUANG: I did know what hungry ghosts were, as, you know, crazy of a concept that sounds like.
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: You know, hungry ghosts...
CHANG: Wait. Explain for people. Yes.
HUANG: Sure, sure. Hungry ghosts are this belief - an ancient belief system that if you don't have descendants to remember you after you pass on, you starve in the afterlife. I just had never heard it applied in such a pragmatic...
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: ...Like, literally, like, inheritance drama way.
(LAUGHTER)
HUANG: I was pretty gobsmacked, for sure (laughter).
CHANG: And I guess you were the only male in this generation?
HUANG: So the funny thing is that we just don't have any boys in my mom's side of the family that have their last name.
CHANG: Got it.
HUANG: But I was the only gay boy.
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: And I think aunties, being brilliant, are like, we can control the gay boy, right?
(LAUGHTER)
HUANG: There isn't - right? There isn't, like, a - I won't have, like, a wife that they had to go head-to-head with, right? They're just...
CHANG: (Laughter) Exactly.
HUANG: (Laughter).
CHANG: Exactly. This can be our plan...
HUANG: Yes.
CHANG: ...And he will execute. I noticed that in the acknowledgments...
HUANG: Yeah.
CHANG: ...At the end of this book, you mentioned that one of your favorite relationships in this story about the Sun Clan is between Wayward and his mother, Iris.
HUANG: Yeah.
CHANG: How they find their way back to each other. And you said that your own mom inspired the character of Iris. How so?
HUANG: She sure did. When I first started this book, my mom and I actually weren't on the best terms. We were - because this request that my big auntie had made of me - that her aunt had made of me - you know, the whole family was infighting and there was a lot of drama, basically. And it was - there was a lot of factors and a lot of splinters. And as I was writing this book, at first I always thought that the central relationship would be the romance between the main character, Wayward, and his on-and-off boyfriend Jamal (ph).
CHANG: Yeah.
HUANG: But then I realized - you know, like, you're always looking for a central relationship. I realized, no, it's actually between generations. It's between...
CHANG: Yes.
HUANG: ...Wayward understanding where his mother is coming from and why she acts the way she does. And as I wrote this book, I fell back in love with my mom because I was like, she's brilliant, and she does...
CHANG: Wow.
HUANG: Yeah. So, you know...
CHANG: Well, you wrote in those acknowledgments...
HUANG: Yes.
CHANG: ...Being the son of a brilliant woman can be complicated.
HUANG: Definitely.
CHANG: Can you say more about that complicated part?
HUANG: Oh, boy, yes. I mean, I think that when I was a little boy, like, she and I were so inseparable. I think she wanted to protect me because I think she knew deep down that I was gay, and she wanted to protect me from the world, right? And then, as you get older and you're like, Mom, I don't need you to protect me anymore, you start pushing them away. And then, like, it becomes a tug of war, so much of your 20s, I think...
CHANG: Yes.
HUANG: ...Between sons and mothers. I think that's a lot of that going on, for sure...
CHANG: Absolutely.
HUANG: ...You know? I think now that I'm coasting into the rest of my life, and she's just been such a big support to me, I say that she's the muse of this book, really.
CHANG: You know, I feel that so much of this story, as much as it exalts family, it also feels like the central message is even if your family is your blood, it does not mean that they are who you need to be. And that is an idea that's very close to my heart...
HUANG: Yes.
CHANG: ...As much as I do love my family.
HUANG: Of course (ph).
CHANG: And I was wondering, how long did it take you to get there, to know that you can love your family but also bend towards another path?
HUANG: I love that question. I think the moment I realized I was gay, I was like, oh, I need - there needs to be a departure. The umbilical cord needs to be cut, right? I think that the first time I kissed a boy - right? - which was in college, freshman year. I remember stepping back, and he wanted to kiss some more, and I was like, I need to process this moment.
CHANG: Oh, I thought you were about to say, I need to go ask my mom about it.
(LAUGHTER)
HUANG: Oh, my God.
(LAUGHTER)
HUANG: Oh, my God. That's hilarious.
(LAUGHTER)
HUANG: Oh, my gosh. I probably almost did, right?
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: Gosh. It took a few more years before I came out to her, you know?
CHANG: OK. So spoiler alert for Justinian's personal life - your beautiful baby has arrived. Congratulations, new dad.
HUANG: Thank you. Oh, my gosh.
CHANG: And here's the big kicker. She's a girl.
HUANG: Yes.
CHANG: She's not a boy.
HUANG: She's not a boy.
CHANG: (Laughter) Your daughter, Pip, came a few weeks early. She's magnificent. I've been watching these adorable videos on Instagram.
HUANG: Thank you.
CHANG: How did your aunties react when they found out you were having a girl and not a boy?
HUANG: So, you know, ultimately, I said no to the whole boy situation. Like, I - this was - it was in 2021 when my aunt made this request of me. But I ultimately said no because I didn't want the family to be fighting. And then when - I always promised my mom, like, we will try for another grandchild for you, right? But here's the thing, Ailsa. I'm a girl dad (laughter).
CHANG: I love it. I can see it...
HUANG: Yeah.
CHANG: ...In those videos.
HUANG: Yeah, absolutely. I'm such a girl dad.
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: You know, I wouldn't know what - I mean, I don't want to be gendered at all, of course, and, like, I'm really excited for her to be whoever she wants to be...
CHANG: Sure.
HUANG: ...You know?
CHANG: Or whoever they want to be.
HUANG: Whoever they want to be - whatever, you know? Like, I - I'm just excited to shepherd them into this world, right?
CHANG: Yeah. What do you most hope for, for Pip's future?
HUANG: Oh, my gosh. I want Pip to be joyous.
CHANG: Yes.
HUANG: Because happiness and joy are different things.
CHANG: How so?
HUANG: Happiness is what you feel on a day to day. It's very external. Joy means that you love yourself and that you accept yourself.
CHANG: You're at peace with who you are.
HUANG: Precisely. I just want Pip to be joyous. That's it, you know? That's all I want. That's all I want for her.
CHANG: That's all...
HUANG: Yeah.
CHANG: ...Any of us could ever want.
HUANG: Truly.
CHANG: Justinian Huang's new book is called "Lucky Seed." Thank you so much, Justinian, for visiting with me at NPR West. And congratulations again, Dad.
HUANG: A dream come true on multiple levels.
CHANG: (Laughter).
HUANG: This is wonderful. Thank you so much, Ailsa.
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