NPR’s Book of the Day

Susan Choi’s ‘Flashlight’ – An Alternate-Universe Family Across Time

Date: January 2, 2026
Host: Scott Simon
Guest: Susan Choi, National Book Award-winning author

Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Simon interviews acclaimed novelist Susan Choi about her newest release, Flashlight. The discussion delves into the novel’s exploration of family, identity, history, and intergenerational trauma. Choi opens up about drawing inspiration from her own background, using the “alternate universe” motif to examine what it means to belong—and not belong—across borders and decades. The interview moves from the book’s central tragedy to its sweeping historical backdrop, the complexities of its characters, and the practicalities of crafting a multigenerational narrative.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Opening Tragedy and Emotional Fallout

• Book Premise: The novel opens with a 10-year-old girl, Louisa, and her father, Cirque, walking along a Japanese beach. A sudden tragedy leaves Louisa alive and her father missing—setting off a decades-long unraveling of family and self.
  • Scott Simon: “Louisa... is washed up by the tide, struggling to breathe. Her father is gone. He couldn’t swim. What happened? What will unfold next for the family?” (01:15)
• Aftermath: Louisa and her mother are left alone, and rather than bringing them closer, the shared loss creates distance.
  • Susan Choi: “She and her mother are left to their own after something really terrible and it does not bring them closer together, at least not for a very long time.” (02:09)

Loneliness, Therapy, and Human Connection

• Louisa’s Coping: Louisa resists therapy, projecting coldness but masking deep loneliness.
  • Scott Simon: “When she is speaking to a psychiatrist, at one point she says, ‘I don’t want friends. I don’t like people asking me questions.’” (02:31)
  • Susan Choi: “She does her best to fend off this child psychiatrist… but at the same time... she’s actually terribly lonely. She does want to talk to somebody.” (02:39)

Family, Identity, Borders, and Belonging

• Cirque’s Backstory: Cirque is an ethnic Korean born in Japan, a product of historic conflict and dislocation.
  • Susan Choi: “I’ve been fascinated by, you know, my own father and grandfather come out of this history of Japan making Korea a colony...I was so interested in what was going on with ethnic Koreans who kind of got washed up in Japan at the end of World War II. They were second-class citizens under this Japanese Empire, but then...they’re citizens of nothing.” (03:18)
• Personal Inspiration: Choi describes the book as an “alternate universe” for her own family, reflecting on feelings of not fully belonging while in Japan as a child.
  • Susan Choi: “Very alternate... My own family spent some time in Japan when I was young...I was sort of expecting to fit in brilliantly...And of course, I didn’t look like anybody there either. Japan cast a dark shadow.” (04:16)

Narrative Structure: Keeping Track of Complexity

• Writing Process: Choi admits the story grew unexpectedly sprawling, prompting her to organize it simply by chronology.
  • Susan Choi: “At some point, I…had this revelation…As an amazing tip, I decided to put the events in chronological order.” (05:13)
  • Scott Simon (humorous): “Wow. That’s like. That’s Tolstoyan.” (05:38)
  • Susan Choi (playful): “I know. It’s a major narrative discovery...I offer this free of charge.” (05:40)

Louisa’s Journey and the Texture of Love

• Character Growth: Louisa is difficult both as a child and adult, deeply guarded but ultimately seeking peace and love.
  • Susan Choi: “She is only slightly less difficult as a young adult than she is as a child... It was so important to me that she find love and some kind of peace. And that’s why we end up following her for many, many decades and many, many pages. But I think she gets there.” (06:00)
• Defining Love: Choi and Simon discuss a memorable line about love’s gradual construction.
  • Scott Simon (quoting the novel): “‘Love is perhaps the sensation of expertise that erupts out of nowhere and as time goes on, accumulates enough soil at its feet as to be standing on something.’” (06:30)
  • Susan Choi: “...That sensation of recognizing someone that you really actually don’t know at all...I think sometimes the experience of falling in love is...believing that we know everything about someone that actually we’ve only just met...And if we do that successfully, we end up learning things.” (06:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On loneliness behind stoicism:

  • “She does her best to fend off this child psychiatrist... but... she’s actually terribly lonely. She does want to talk to somebody.”
    (Susan Choi, 02:39)

• On the root of Cirque’s character:

  • “I was so interested in what was going on with ethnic Koreans who kind of got washed up in Japan... They were second-class citizens under this Japanese Empire, but then...they’re citizens of nothing.”
    (Susan Choi, 03:18)

• On belonging as a mixed-race child in Japan:

  • “I was sort of expecting to like, fit in brilliantly...And of course, I didn’t look like anybody there either.”
    (Susan Choi, 04:16)

• On managing a sprawling narrative:

  • “I decided to put the events in chronological order... I offer this free of charge.”
    (Susan Choi, 05:40)

• On defining love:

  • “Love is perhaps the sensation of expertise that erupts out of nowhere and as time goes on, accumulates enough soil at its feet as to be standing on something.”
    (quoted by Scott Simon, 06:30; discussed by Susan Choi, 06:46)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:15] — Introduction to Flashlight’s tragedy and central mystery
• [02:09] — Louisa’s emotional aftermath
• [02:39] — Insights into Louisa’s loneliness and her guardedness in therapy
• [03:18] — Exploration of Cirque’s ethnic and historical background
• [04:16] — Choi discusses her family and the idea of “alternate universe” fiction
• [05:13] — Choi on the practicalities of writing a sprawling, multigenerational novel
• [06:00] — Louisa’s continued struggles and the hope for love and peace
• [06:30] — Discussion of the novel’s definition of love

Tone and Language

The conversation is thoughtful yet warm, with moments of humor and self-awareness (e.g., Choi joking over her “major narrative discovery”). Both Simon and Choi speak reflectively, connecting literary themes with lived experience, and they balance potent emotion with insight and a gentle playfulness.

Summary Takeaway

This episode offers a rich look at Flashlight—a novel deeply concerned with memory, family, belonging, and the messiness of love. Whether drawing on the entanglements of Korean-Japanese history or the particulars of one family’s grief and growth, Susan Choi’s discussion is thoughtful, personal, and relatable to anyone who has ever wondered where they truly belong.