‘Kitten’: A Q&A with writer Stacey Yu ahead of Six Bridges Book Festival

With bestselling authors like Ariel Lawhon, Alix E. Harrow, Deesha Philyaw, Sarah Damoff and Annie Hartnett on the docket, the Central Arkansas Book Festival’s Six Bridges Book Festival — running Sept. 27-Oct. 4 — is proving once again that its organizers have their fingers on the national literary pulse. 

But don’t let those big-shot names distract you from the homegrown talent on display. To give you a sense of Six Bridges’ robust ties to The Natural State, we chatted by email with a handful of Arkansas-connected writers appearing at the free festival, which takes place at venues across downtown Little Rock. Head to sixbridgesbookfestival.org for the full schedule and author lineup.

***

Though Stacey Yu now lives in London, her childhood included a short stint in Arkansas. The Natural State also figures into her debut novel, “Kitten” — a “Gen Z parable of existential nihilism,” according to Kirkus Reviews — which features a narrator originally from Little Rock who becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s cat as she visits his wealthy family’s seaside home in New England. 

The premise of “Kitten” is pretty out there — a young woman becomes obsessed with her boyfriend’s cat. How’d you stumble upon this idea and what were the joys and challenges of developing it into a full-fledged novel?

“Kitten” is rooted in my life-long fascination with the childish and the animal — their penchant for grossness and bad behavior, but also their inherent lovability. Their survival often depends on the kindness of somebody who loves them, but they’re not totally helpless; they insist on themselves and their needs. We grow out of all of this peculiar form of freedom, and I wonder if a part of us will always want it back. I’ve always wanted to write a coming-of-age novel about growing out of childhood, and I thought an animal was the perfect device to explore this idea. It allowed me to approach serious, age-old themes with playfulness and humor.

Arkansas was one of the many places you called home during your childhood. When did you live here, what was your experience like and how did that time inform your identity and your writing of “Kitten”?

I lived in Little Rock for two years, from age 5 to 7. I have beautiful, rosy memories of biking down the wide, loping roads with my sister, collecting rocks at the edges of the neighborhood, darting around the wilderness in our backyard. But I was also ostracized at school for being Chinese and non-religious. When I moved to California, where there was a large East Asian population, I was shocked to meet other Asian Americans who had no insecurities about their race. Living in different places with completely different social structures and rules for identity formation has made me a more observant writer, and more tuned into the intricacies of personality and the ways people are constantly negotiating between the world they came up in and the world they’re growing into. 

What’s the most pressing question you set out to pose, answer or engage with when writing “Kitten”?

I wrote “Kitten” to examine the myths and narratives we create, and continue to believe in, about our own childhoods, and the way they interfere with our adult lives. There are many freedoms and safeties unique to childhood that we all grow out of. But there are freedoms and safeties we gain, too, in approaching adulthood. I suppose my key question is: Is adulthood worth it?

This is your first novel. When you think about future book projects, do you imagine them echoing or deviating from the somewhat surreal tone set by “Kitten”? 

My current project is a bit more realist, but who knows about the next one! I love books that have a tint of magic, like Banana Yoshimoto’s works. I try to imbue my writing with that quality, even when it’s grounded in the real world. I’m not sure that I’ll ever dip fully into magical realism or the truly surreal. I’m too concerned with the ways we reveal ourselves in our everyday actions and decisions. 

Who’s the writer (or writers) you’re most excited to encounter at Six Bridges and why? 

I’ve heard such great things about Isabel Klee’s memoir, “Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About.” I feel like it shares similar themes and soft spots with “Kitten,” such as being lost in your 20s and finding your way through an animal, though of course executed very differently.