There is such a thing as too much quality time in Weike Wang's 'Rental House'

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: "There is Such a Thing as Too Much Quality Time in Weike Wang's 'Rental House'"

Released on December 9, 2024, NPR's "Book of the Day" episode delves deep into Weike Wang's latest novel, "Rental House." Hosted by Andrew Limbong and featuring an insightful interview with Wang conducted by Scott Simon, the episode explores the intricate dynamics of family coexistence set against the backdrop of a temporary vacation home.

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Introduction to "Rental House"

Andrew Limbong opens the episode by highlighting the transformative nature of family vacations, emphasizing how a change in environment can subtly shift family dynamics. This premise sets the stage for discussing Weike Wang's "Rental House," a novel that intricately examines family relationships through the lens of a temporary getaway.

Andrew Limbong (00:02): “The family vacation has a way of recontextualizing things. You take your family...put them in a different place...suddenly the dynamics are ever so slightly different.”

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A Tense Gathering in Cape Cod

Weike Wang begins by narrating a pivotal scene from "Rental House," where heightened family tensions culminate in an explosive moment. Set in a rental house in Cape Cod, the scene depicts a family gathering that turns chaotic, illustrating the fragile veneer of coexistence.

Weike Wang (01:15): “A woman sits around a campfire with her husband Nate and her in-laws...she picks up a hatchet. She digs it into a flaming log and throws both into the rental house.”

As the smoke clears, the family's reaction underscores the strained relationships and unspoken tensions that have been building over the vacation period.

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Exploring Family Dynamics and Tensions

In the ensuing discussion, Wang elaborates on the novel’s exploration of family dynamics during extended periods of togetherness. The characters endure the pressures of limited space and constant interaction, leading to moments of frustration and conflict.

Weike Wang (02:21): “They've had to be together in this cramped space with their big sheepdog for an extensive period of time, spending quality time together. And I think it's a frustration that a lot of people can relate to.”

Wang emphasizes the universal nature of these familial frustrations, making the novel relatable to a broad audience.

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Character Development and Relationships

The conversation shifts to the relationship between the protagonists Kirou and Nate, whose meeting at a Halloween party sets the stage for their complex relationship. Their backgrounds—Kirou from an immigrant family and Nate from a rural, working-class lineage—create an intergenerational and cultural contrast that enriches their interactions.

Wang (03:21): “He's the first in his family to go to college...they are actually very similar in that they're kind of both black sheeps of their family, but they're also incredibly different.”

This dynamic highlights themes of identity, ambition, and the struggle to balance personal aspirations with family expectations.

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Historical Context and Familial Legacy

Karu probes into how the historical experiences of Kirou's family in China during the Cultural Revolution influence their present-day lives. The legacy of immigration and the pursuit of assimilation deeply affects the characters' desire for stability and security.

Karu (04:07): “They immigrated...they really want safety, we really want security...they don't really talk about the past.”

This reluctance to discuss past traumas underscores the ongoing impact of history on familial relationships and individual identities.

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Themes of Self-Reliance and Comfort

The conversation also touches on the character of Kirou’s father and his disdain for conveniences like dishwashers, symbolizing his belief in self-reliance and the rejection of excessive comfort as a sign of complacency.

Weike Wang (04:38): “He feels like using the dishwasher is a sign of too much comfort.”

This characteristic trait serves as a metaphor for the broader themes of the novel, emphasizing the tension between self-sufficiency and the desire for ease in modern life.

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The Role of Conflict in Fiction

Wang discusses her philosophy on character development, emphasizing the necessity of conflict and obstacles to foster growth and depth in fiction.

Wang (05:08): “You have to put obstacles in front of your characters. You have to be able to push them through uncomfortable situations.”

She draws parallels to classic literature, illustrating how challenges shape characters and engage readers by presenting relatable dysfunctions.

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Temporariness and Coexistence

A thought-provoking moment arises when Wang reflects on the title "Rental House," suggesting that many of life's problems are temporary and that living with them is a natural part of human experience.

Wang (05:52): “The words rental house are meant to remind us that so many of our problems, irritations, and anxieties are something that we take on in our lives and then grow out of them.”

This insight highlights the novel’s exploration of transient relationships and the ebb and flow of familial issues.

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Embracing Differences and Mutual Respect

Wang shares her personal reflections on family diversity, drawing from her own mixed heritage. She underscores the beauty and creativity that arise from embracing differences, despite the inevitable conflicts they may cause.

Wang (07:07): “We love our differences. We hate our differences...It can also be beautiful.”

This sentiment encapsulates one of the novel’s core messages: that coexistence, while challenging, can lead to deeper understanding and innovation.

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Conclusion: The Beauty in Coexistence

As the episode wraps up, Wang reiterates the novel's central theme of coexistence, celebrating the intricate balance of love and conflict within families. Her insights provide a nuanced understanding of how temporary settings can illuminate enduring familial bonds and challenges.

Wang (07:42): “Coexistence can be bumpy sometimes, but it can also be beautiful.”

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Final Thoughts

NPR's "Book of the Day" effectively captures the essence of Weike Wang's "Rental House," offering listeners a comprehensive overview of the novel's themes, character dynamics, and emotional depth. Through engaging dialogue and thoughtful analysis, the episode invites both avid readers and newcomers to explore the complexities of family life as portrayed in Wang's latest work.

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Notable Quotes:

• Andrew Limbong (00:02): “The family vacation has a way of recontextualizing things...”

• Weike Wang (01:15): “A woman sits around a campfire with her husband Nate and her in-laws...”

• Karu (04:07): “They immigrated...they really want safety, we really want security...”

• Weike Wang (05:52): “The words rental house are meant to remind us that so many of our problems...”

• Weike Wang (07:07): “We love our differences. We hate our differences...”

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This summary captures the core discussions and insights from NPR's "Book of the Day" episode on Weike Wang's "Rental House," providing a detailed and engaging overview for those interested in the novel's exploration of family dynamics and coexistence.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The family vacation has a way of recontextualizing things. You take your family, or any family really, and put them in a different place, a different environment, and suddenly the dynamics are ever so slightly different. I'm sure a lot of us can relate and it's the basis of the new novel by Wikey Wang titled Rental House. And in this interview with NPR's Scott Simon, Wang talks about why she picked a vacation as the lens she uses to examine family and how while coexistence can be bumpy, it can also be beautiful. That's ahead.

[Scott Simon]

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[Wikey Wang]

Here'S a scene that might resonate this week. A woman sits around a campfire with her husband Nate and her in laws at a rental house in Cape Cod. It's several days into their togetherness when all of a sudden, or maybe it's been building for a long time, the woman picks up a hatchet. She digs it into a flaming log and throws both into the rental house.

[Karu]

Someone screamed, it wasn't Carew. When the smoke cleared, three people stood in the kitchen scrutinizing the wet piece of burnt wood and the black streaks it had left. One by one, they turned their wax heads to Karoo. Why were they looking at her like that? Why the confusion, the fear? She, for one, had neither. Her head was perfectly clear. At least they could get back to that seedless watermelon and the task of coexistence. A fire alarm flashed and blared somewhere. The large security deposit she'd paid was gone. A one star review awaited her upon checkout. Blame me, she thought, I'm the bad one. In the meantime, she sat back down by the fire and beckoned for her chosen family to come out and join her.

[Wikey Wang]

Rental House is the new novel from Wykee Wang. She joins us now from our studios in New York. Thank you so much for being with us.

[Karu]

Thank you.

[Wikey Wang]

Why does Kirou throw that burning log into the house?

[Karu]

So this is the scene that I read for Kirou happens in the middle of the book, this climax moment. And she had just Spent a month at a Cape Cod vacation home. First couple of weeks were with her parents and second couple of weeks with her in laws. Over that period of time, the tensions in the family have boiled. And they've had, you know, to be together in this cramped space with their big sheepdog for an extensive period of time, spending quality time together. And I think it's a frustration that a lot of people can relate to how we want to be with our families. But then in those moments of disagreement in conversations, it can be incredibly challenging.

[Wikey Wang]

Yeah. I don't wanna overlook the meet cute that Kiryu and Nate have at a Halloween party.

[Karu]

Right. It is the first one of the first parties she attends in college. She shows up poorly dressed and they meet. She starts interrogating him. What do you want to do with your life? Things like that. He's kind of fascinated by her. She's sort of like a light bulb for him. He's the first in his family to go to college. He comes from a rural working class family and he and Karu meet at Yale. So it's this kind of huge intergenerational jump in class for both of them because she comes from a immigrant family. So they are actually very similar in that they're kind of both black sheeps of their family, but they're also incredibly different.

[Wikey Wang]

And Kirou's family lived in China under the Cultural Revolution. How does that stay with them?

[Karu]

Well, that was during a formative period for the parents and they immigrated in my mind probably in the 80s to the states where they had Kuru. And I think it's the sense of immigration and then assimilation and the sense of, we don't want turbulence, we really want safety, we really want security. And so that what's staying with them. Carew and her family don't really talk about the past. They want all of that to be just packaged up. And she's always curious about that.

[Wikey Wang]

Why does Crew's father have such contempt for dishwashers?

[Karu]

I think that touches on his sense of. Part of this book is the sense of pulling yourself up from your bootstraps, doing things on your own, being very proactive. And for some reason he feels like using the dishwasher is a sign of too much comfort.

[Wikey Wang]

You've given interviews in which you've said, I think one of the hallmarks of fiction is making your characters suffer.

[Karu]

Yeah, a little bit.

[Wikey Wang]

Well, help us understand. I'm sure you say that with love. Actually, I'm not sure that's true, but.

[Karu]

Go ahead, say that with love. Another Way to say this, that I would say it in class, is you have to put obstacles in front of your characters. You have to be able to kind of push them through uncomfortable situations. Right. I think about Jane Austen, Emma, in which Emma starts handsome, clever, rich, and the entire story is about how she is humbled. That idea of pushing characters through some sort of suffering, some sort of trial by fire, is innate to any writing. And it's also fun for, I think, readers to read Dysfunction. It's not your dysfunction, it's someone else's dysfunction. And that can be entertaining.

[Wikey Wang]

Didn't occur to me until a couple of days after I finished your book, but this stays with me now. Are even the words rental house meant to remind us that so many of our problems, irritations and anxieties are something that we take on in our lives and then grow out of them?

[Karu]

Yeah, there's a sense of temporariness for the rental house. I think that's also why I picked choosing the lens of vacation. That there's this, like, controlled period of time that I can look at this family and look at the intensity of their issues. And then those issues either stay with them and they do. There are certain issues that don't leave them, but then they come in waves. There's a peak and there's a trough. And that, I think, is family life. That I think is marriage. Dealing with problems that come again and come back and recede, but then push forward.

[Wikey Wang]

Let me dear to suggest something to you on this holiday weekend. And I say this from a family that is absolutely mixed. Myself, my parents were a mixed marriage. Our family is from all over the world, China and France. This is America. We're all different. In fact, I'd say the differences are part of why we love each other.

[Karu]

I agree with that. And it's one of these things that in a family like this where there are differences, there are differences in opinion and values. When you're in a family, you also can't disengage. You have to be around these people. And it's not just family. It's friends. It's your neighbors, it's your community. We love our differences. We hate our differences. There's a sense of embracing and I think mutual respect and sort of the word I wrote, coexistence. It can be bumpy sometimes, but it can also be beautiful. And also for me, you know, this kind of creates a lot of creativity in terms of new ideas.

[Wikey Wang]

Wyke Wang, her new novel, Rental House. Thank you so much for being with us.

[Karu]

Thank you.

[Scott Simon]

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