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The Double Life of Benson Yu
This work of metafiction follows a graphic novelist losing control of his own narrative as he attempts to write a polished retelling of his fraught upbringing in 1980s Chinatown.
In a Chinatown housing project lives twelve-year-old Benny, his ailing grandmother, and his strange neighbor Constantine, a man who believes he’s a reincarnated medieval samurai. When his grandmother is hospitalized, Benny manages to survive on his own until a social worker comes snooping. With no other family, he is reluctantly taken in by Constantine and soon, an unlikely bond forms between the two.
At least, that’s what Yu, the narrator of the story, wants to write.
The creator of a bestselling comic book, Yu is struggling with continuing the poignant tale of Benny and Constantine and can’t help but interject from the present day, slowly revealing a darker backstory. Can Yu confront the demons he’s spent his adult life avoiding or risk his own life...and Benny’s?
In a Chinatown housing project lives twelve-year-old Benny, his ailing grandmother, and his strange neighbor Constantine, a man who believes he’s a reincarnated medieval samurai. When his grandmother is hospitalized, Benny manages to survive on his own until a social worker comes snooping. With no other family, he is reluctantly taken in by Constantine and soon, an unlikely bond forms between the two.
At least, that’s what Yu, the narrator of the story, wants to write.
The creator of a bestselling comic book, Yu is struggling with continuing the poignant tale of Benny and Constantine and can’t help but interject from the present day, slowly revealing a darker backstory. Can Yu confront the demons he’s spent his adult life avoiding or risk his own life...and Benny’s?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2023
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11895 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 316 reviews
August 27, 2024
API Month
Let’s add metafiction to the list of genres that don’t work for me. I’m confused. Or I’m dumb. I mostly understood Benny’s story. It’s curious how often money is talked about in Chinese culture. I prefer the cash gifts at weddings. Funnily enough, even though western society deems money gifts uncouth, people have started donating to honeyfunds and the like.
The undercurrents of abuse and neglect are certainly there. But once we transitioned to Yu’s sorry, I found myself lost. And then I didn’t care enough to get sucked back in.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books
Let’s add metafiction to the list of genres that don’t work for me. I’m confused. Or I’m dumb. I mostly understood Benny’s story. It’s curious how often money is talked about in Chinese culture. I prefer the cash gifts at weddings. Funnily enough, even though western society deems money gifts uncouth, people have started donating to honeyfunds and the like.
The undercurrents of abuse and neglect are certainly there. But once we transitioned to Yu’s sorry, I found myself lost. And then I didn’t care enough to get sucked back in.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books
January 20, 2023
4.5 Stars
This offering crossed my radar via marketing email. When I investigated the details of this book- skimming several reviews- I was initially put off by some of the meager ratings and talk of something called "metafiction" which I knew nothing about. Apparently, it's the concept of the narrator or character talking about the fiction as it's happening. There were also potential triggers involving child abuse and suicidal ideation. However, this book is a concise 224 pages, consists of the spare/straightforward Asian writing style I've come to enjoy...so with some trepidation decided to take the plunge.
The story is quite poignant and tracks the boyhood of Benny during the early 1980s. He lives with his aging grandmother in Chinatown because his mommy died years ago and he never knew his father because his parents had split up early on. I loved reading about the simple and frugal life they shared together and the feisty nature of his grandmother. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the cultural foods being prepared in the kitchen. I also was interested in the life Benny experienced at school where he had a crush on the girl sitting in front of him in class, admiring her pony tail, but also getting picked on by some mean classmates. He had a rebellious aunt who toured in a punk rock band and couldn't help that much with the family.
The real conflict occurs in the story when Benny's grandmother dies and he's left to his own devices. His aunt is on tour and is practically unreachable. He tries to keep up appearances that all is well by continuing going to school, etc. He can only drag this out so far until Social Services gets involved. And that's when he crosses paths with an unusual male neighbor who fancies himself a Samurai. His name is Constantine and he's a very fascinating character. In the past he's been a patient in the mental hospital, but is now navigating a bit of normalcy by working and living in a small apartment in the same building as Benny.
By reading some other reviews and from a brief warning in the preface to the book I was prepared for the foretold issues of child abuse and suicidal thoughts. However, these were barely implied with no graphic detail whatsoever. At a certain point the book propelled to a bit of flight of fantasy involving the concept of time travel. It became slightly confusing but I surmised that the character of Benny was looking back on his life and trying to work through all the crazy things that traumatized him as a kid. This was the area of metafiction that was being employed. The adult version of Benny was struggling to write a book (at the urging of his therapist) to work through his childhood traumas, but the honesty of what really happened wasn't always easy to commit to paper. It was easier to dress it up a little as fiction.
I seem to be an outlier (as usual), but I found this to be a very compelling read with vivid characters. I was drawn into Benny's unfortunate circumstances, his survival instincts, and his culture. This story took me by the reins and while it was a very quick read, I will remember Benny for some time.
Thank you to the publisher Atria Books / Simon & Schuster for providing an advance reader copy via Edelweiss.
This offering crossed my radar via marketing email. When I investigated the details of this book- skimming several reviews- I was initially put off by some of the meager ratings and talk of something called "metafiction" which I knew nothing about. Apparently, it's the concept of the narrator or character talking about the fiction as it's happening. There were also potential triggers involving child abuse and suicidal ideation. However, this book is a concise 224 pages, consists of the spare/straightforward Asian writing style I've come to enjoy...so with some trepidation decided to take the plunge.
The story is quite poignant and tracks the boyhood of Benny during the early 1980s. He lives with his aging grandmother in Chinatown because his mommy died years ago and he never knew his father because his parents had split up early on. I loved reading about the simple and frugal life they shared together and the feisty nature of his grandmother. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the cultural foods being prepared in the kitchen. I also was interested in the life Benny experienced at school where he had a crush on the girl sitting in front of him in class, admiring her pony tail, but also getting picked on by some mean classmates. He had a rebellious aunt who toured in a punk rock band and couldn't help that much with the family.
The real conflict occurs in the story when Benny's grandmother dies and he's left to his own devices. His aunt is on tour and is practically unreachable. He tries to keep up appearances that all is well by continuing going to school, etc. He can only drag this out so far until Social Services gets involved. And that's when he crosses paths with an unusual male neighbor who fancies himself a Samurai. His name is Constantine and he's a very fascinating character. In the past he's been a patient in the mental hospital, but is now navigating a bit of normalcy by working and living in a small apartment in the same building as Benny.
By reading some other reviews and from a brief warning in the preface to the book I was prepared for the foretold issues of child abuse and suicidal thoughts. However, these were barely implied with no graphic detail whatsoever. At a certain point the book propelled to a bit of flight of fantasy involving the concept of time travel. It became slightly confusing but I surmised that the character of Benny was looking back on his life and trying to work through all the crazy things that traumatized him as a kid. This was the area of metafiction that was being employed. The adult version of Benny was struggling to write a book (at the urging of his therapist) to work through his childhood traumas, but the honesty of what really happened wasn't always easy to commit to paper. It was easier to dress it up a little as fiction.
I seem to be an outlier (as usual), but I found this to be a very compelling read with vivid characters. I was drawn into Benny's unfortunate circumstances, his survival instincts, and his culture. This story took me by the reins and while it was a very quick read, I will remember Benny for some time.
Thank you to the publisher Atria Books / Simon & Schuster for providing an advance reader copy via Edelweiss.
May 2, 2023
I struggled to really “get” this book. I enjoyed reading some details about a twelve-year-old boy’s difficult coming of age in a Chinatown housing project. There’s a metafiction element about a graphic novelist trying to rewrite his narrative after experiencing child abuse and trauma. I think the theme of coping with trauma and trying to rewrite one’s narrative to heal is interesting. Unfortunately the metafiction device employed by Kevin Chong made it difficult for me to connect with the characters; I felt so conscious of the device itself and trying to understand what was happening in the story that I got taken out of the narrative. Wish I had liked this more, though I’d still maybe recommend it to those who feel more comfortable with experimentally-written books/metafiction.
April 6, 2023
Twelve-year-old Benny was living with his ill grandmother in a Chinatown housing project. His mother passed away when he was younger, and he has been raised by his grandmother ever since.
When his grandmother passes away and his aunt is not available, Benny does his best to carry on by continuing to go to school, but he can only do so much. Social services get involved and Benny moves in with Constantine, a man living in his building. Constantine believes that he is a reincarnated samurai.
Yu is the narrator of the story and struggling with it. He is looking back at his life and childhood. This is not going to be an easy read. There are triggers in this book (sexual abuse) and suicidal ideation. Nothing is explicit in the book, but the implications are there.
This was a dark coming of age book that I liked but didn't love. I do like the imagery and the setting. The author did a great job placing readers in Benny's life and in Chinatown. This book was unique and told in an interesting way.
Thank you to Atria Books Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
When his grandmother passes away and his aunt is not available, Benny does his best to carry on by continuing to go to school, but he can only do so much. Social services get involved and Benny moves in with Constantine, a man living in his building. Constantine believes that he is a reincarnated samurai.
Yu is the narrator of the story and struggling with it. He is looking back at his life and childhood. This is not going to be an easy read. There are triggers in this book (sexual abuse) and suicidal ideation. Nothing is explicit in the book, but the implications are there.
This was a dark coming of age book that I liked but didn't love. I do like the imagery and the setting. The author did a great job placing readers in Benny's life and in Chinatown. This book was unique and told in an interesting way.
Thank you to Atria Books Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
April 12, 2023
I want to open by saying that I can tell you very little about this book without spoiling one or more of the surprises it contains. So my brief review is this: "The Double Life of Benson Yu is utterly original and engaging in terms of plot and character. The narrative offers major shifts that are brilliant and unexpected. It crosses time and cultures. Read it!"
Seriously. I don't want to say more, but I do want to recommend this title in the strongest terms possible. Check it out.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own.
Seriously. I don't want to say more, but I do want to recommend this title in the strongest terms possible. Check it out.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own.
Read
December 12, 2022I'm having a hard time figuring out how I feel about this book, so I'm looking forward to reading other reviews of it.
This book contains serious CW for child sexual abuse and suicide. It does indicate so at the beginning of the ARC I received.
For the non-spoiler part of this review:
This book is very meta and reminds me a bit of the kdrama "W" if anyone remembers watching it. The cast of characters is eclectic. Benny is a 12 year old boy who lives with his grandma. His neighbour is a strange white man named Constantine who believes he is a reincarnated samurai (cue strange Japanese references). This feels a bit fetishizing for me of Japanese culture, but then again, I think Constantine is supposed to be one of those white guys. This narrative is actually a comic book story that's being written by a graphic novelist, named Yu. As Yu writes, the reader gets more of an insight to a darker backstory of Yu's life.
The story is actually really clever, but there were some aspects that were just too uncomfortable for me.
Onto the spoilers:
On the Japanese samurai obsession that Constantine has, I didn't love it. I know he's supposed to be a weird white guy with a weird fetish, but being on the receiving end of fetishes as an Asian woman, I just don't love seeing this in a book. I feel like if a reader doesn't have the nuance to parse out that it is super weird, they might think it's normal to have these obsessions, which also makes me uncomfortable.
A lot of food for thought in this book, and I don't know where I land on this, but I can say it made me really uncomfortable. Which is a bit tough for me to handle, because I really want to support a fellow Chinese Canadian author from Vancouver!
Thank you Simon & Schuster for this ARC.
This book contains serious CW for child sexual abuse and suicide. It does indicate so at the beginning of the ARC I received.
For the non-spoiler part of this review:
This book is very meta and reminds me a bit of the kdrama "W" if anyone remembers watching it. The cast of characters is eclectic. Benny is a 12 year old boy who lives with his grandma. His neighbour is a strange white man named Constantine who believes he is a reincarnated samurai (cue strange Japanese references). This feels a bit fetishizing for me of Japanese culture, but then again, I think Constantine is supposed to be one of those white guys. This narrative is actually a comic book story that's being written by a graphic novelist, named Yu. As Yu writes, the reader gets more of an insight to a darker backstory of Yu's life.
The story is actually really clever, but there were some aspects that were just too uncomfortable for me.
Onto the spoilers:
On the Japanese samurai obsession that Constantine has, I didn't love it. I know he's supposed to be a weird white guy with a weird fetish, but being on the receiving end of fetishes as an Asian woman, I just don't love seeing this in a book. I feel like if a reader doesn't have the nuance to parse out that it is super weird, they might think it's normal to have these obsessions, which also makes me uncomfortable.
A lot of food for thought in this book, and I don't know where I land on this, but I can say it made me really uncomfortable. Which is a bit tough for me to handle, because I really want to support a fellow Chinese Canadian author from Vancouver!
Thank you Simon & Schuster for this ARC.
October 17, 2022
What an incredible read! The narrator, Benson Yu, chronicles the story he’s writing about a kid named Benny - a tale that reflects his own cryptic past. But what happens when Benny’s fictional story suddenly clashes with the narrator’s real one? Chong pens such an emotional and engaging story that is equal parts coming-of-age and family drama, and he does so in such a wonderfully unique and meta way.
That being said, amidst the cool 1980s Chinatown setting and the fun nods to martial arts and graphic novels, this is most definitely NOT an easy or light read. There are plenty of trigger warnings ahead, many of which will not necessarily clean up nicely or fully by the end. As long as you can embrace the challenging messiness along the way, this novel will have a great, emotional impact.
My final recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary & historical fiction and enjoys deep character studies.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
That being said, amidst the cool 1980s Chinatown setting and the fun nods to martial arts and graphic novels, this is most definitely NOT an easy or light read. There are plenty of trigger warnings ahead, many of which will not necessarily clean up nicely or fully by the end. As long as you can embrace the challenging messiness along the way, this novel will have a great, emotional impact.
My final recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary & historical fiction and enjoys deep character studies.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
October 22, 2022
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
For some reason, I thought this was a graphic novel when I entered the contest.
An uncomfortable novel about a Chinese American comic book creator and his mentor/molester from his childhood.
Definitely not something I want to read.
For some reason, I thought this was a graphic novel when I entered the contest.
An uncomfortable novel about a Chinese American comic book creator and his mentor/molester from his childhood.
Definitely not something I want to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2025
4.75 stars
An emotionally-rich, high concept literary fiction, even though I pretty much love everything about The Double Life of Benson Yu, a uniquely structured character study about how small childhood incidents can shape us throughout our lives, I can also understand its middling score on Goodreads, as the vent diagram for its target audience is hilariously niche (a person who has interest / basic knowledge in: the Chinese immigrant experience, comic book IP, Japanese samurai cinema, etc.), and the storytelling is intentionally nonlinear and fluid in logic, time and space. Yet for me, the content of this novel is either personally relatable (as a first-gen immigrant), or hitting the spot for its borderline self-indulgent writing gymnastic (I'm still not fulling grasping the 'logic' of the story, but I think its emotional implication is more critical than over-focusing on the 'how's). I don't know who I can recommend this to, so it might just have to remain as a personal fav!
An emotionally-rich, high concept literary fiction, even though I pretty much love everything about The Double Life of Benson Yu, a uniquely structured character study about how small childhood incidents can shape us throughout our lives, I can also understand its middling score on Goodreads, as the vent diagram for its target audience is hilariously niche (a person who has interest / basic knowledge in: the Chinese immigrant experience, comic book IP, Japanese samurai cinema, etc.), and the storytelling is intentionally nonlinear and fluid in logic, time and space. Yet for me, the content of this novel is either personally relatable (as a first-gen immigrant), or hitting the spot for its borderline self-indulgent writing gymnastic (I'm still not fulling grasping the 'logic' of the story, but I think its emotional implication is more critical than over-focusing on the 'how's). I don't know who I can recommend this to, so it might just have to remain as a personal fav!
March 12, 2024
I placed this in my literary fiction category but also shelved it in my Time travel section, which surprised me! A curious read with a wild twist that you sort of see coming, but aren't 100% sure about - until you are. I loved the Samurai stuff too. I'm a fan of both time travel and Samurai so this book pleasantly surprised me with both. I liked it quite a bit. Perhaps you will too. It was a Giller Prize short-listed book for 2023. Lines like: "My life was set to defy the frown of gravity." I found inspired.
May 5, 2023
Review to come!
April 27, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Out April 18, 2023.
3 stars
It’s very difficult to review this book without ruining some major plot points, but I will say that it became a little too meta at the sake of losing out on character and plot development.
The first half of this book was wonderful, and it was so interesting to see a man coping with his childhood trauma by rewriting his story. I enjoyed his descriptions of life in Chinatown and Benson’s life. This part of the book was very introspective and compelling.
The second half of the book kind of lost me and I didn’t see the point of Benson Yu’s shift in time. The characters motives became muddled to me and I lost the point of the book.
Out April 18, 2023.
3 stars
It’s very difficult to review this book without ruining some major plot points, but I will say that it became a little too meta at the sake of losing out on character and plot development.
The first half of this book was wonderful, and it was so interesting to see a man coping with his childhood trauma by rewriting his story. I enjoyed his descriptions of life in Chinatown and Benson’s life. This part of the book was very introspective and compelling.
The second half of the book kind of lost me and I didn’t see the point of Benson Yu’s shift in time. The characters motives became muddled to me and I lost the point of the book.
May 27, 2023
This story within a story debut gave me a lot of Interior Chinatown vibes. I liked parts of this but I did find it a bit hard to follow as the timelines and POVs switch around a lot in a confusing way. This one might be better read as a physical book. I'd definitely give it a second chance because I'm sure I'd pick up more of the nuances that I likely missed listening to it on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
March 6, 2024
This was weird and confusing and I could not put it down. There are certain aspects/characters that remain a bit underdeveloped, but the main cast and the overarching plot was very compelling and mostly makes up for that. Also, the voice actor for this did a phenomenal job, especially with the main characters.
September 13, 2023
4.5 rounded up
Incredibly smart, disorienting, challenging narrative structure but turns kind of story that we see more and more recently in contemporary fiction into something very unique and special. A top contender to win the Giller.
Incredibly smart, disorienting, challenging narrative structure but turns kind of story that we see more and more recently in contemporary fiction into something very unique and special. A top contender to win the Giller.
Read
November 10, 2024this is a perceptive, well-written and descriptive book but it really goes into some dark and gruesome alleys that are kind of like a jarring and inexplicably bizarre turn from the first half of the story, which was more of a charming story of an oddball friendship between a poor, recently orphaned kid and the samurai-practicing protector he meets in his apartment. The bizarre turn happens when it's revealed that this is really a book about a man who was abused sexually as a child, who turns to drinking and fiction to cope with his trauma, except the characters from his comic pages emerge to lead lives of their own in the material world. The book goes into really dark turns that are hard to bear. For example, in one scene, the man meets up with his abuser, now an aged senior, and then suddenly surrenders the child ward in his care to the dude knowingly for him to inflict his abuses on this kid again??! The story really dipped into depressing gorges of story for that scene. In the end the man . I don't know if the takeaway message here is that some traumatized abused people, can't reclaim their life anymore, and just die? Is that what the book is trying to say? Anyways, this book is definitely unique and maybe tries to dwell on the subject of the chronic repercussions of abuse. There were some memorable characters (Mickey, Shirley) whose personalities and daily routines were fully fleshed out in the first half, only to be abandoned in the 2nd half, which got me thinking that maybe the book was originally intended to be one thing and invariably became something else.
October 31, 2023
I’m making my way through the Giller shortlist and not sure what to make of this book. There were parts that I liked and parts that confused me. I can’t even quite decide what kind of book this is. Time travel? Metafiction? It explores some important ideas about trauma and healing, but overall the book didn’t resonate with me. Most of the characters felt flat and I would have liked to get to know them a little better.
August 30, 2024
I just found this a little too muddled for my liking. I could see what was trying to be done, but I just think it could have been executed a bit better. Nice to read something that includes a line about how it would have been ‘better to give birth to a piece of char siu than you’ though!
August 19, 2023
Well, this short book is intriguing and can be a bit confounding. I found Part I to be a bit confusing when chapters roughly shift perspective among three characters, Benny, Benson and the so-called Samurai (Constantine). This could have been easily addressed with chapter headings indicating whose viewpoint follows. But the confusion maybe purposeful as Part II seems to explain what is going on in Part I. And/Or Part I sets up and prepares us for Part II.
The characterization of Benny is particularly affecting. I felt the insecurity and anxiety of the 12 year old as he navigates home with his poh-poh (grandmother), school and Chinatown...and later in Part II when he leaves Chinatown. Constantine is framed in a moving way in Part I. Benson, the comic book author and main narrator, is a consistently distressed figure.
I found the child sexual abuse to be disturbing (it's referred to somewhat vaguely but it's clear especially in Part II). But I thought the scene where an adult acquiesces to a perpetrator's instructions to be alone with a child to be more disturbing. And given who that adult is, the entire scene is all the more effed up. Very!
Much has been said about the narrator writing a story within the book. The story folds in on itself.
And then there is the time travel. But I thought the time travel was poorly framed or explained.
Lastly, I did not buy or accept the explanations for why the victims of child sexual abuse reached out to their abusers. Stockholm syndrome or untreated PTSD? As a result, I think the book overall intentionally has the confusion to reflect the traumatized perspectives. The abusers, in fact, perpetuate their abuse.
One very "p.s" point here: the comic book author paints himself into a corner by the book's conclusion. How can he possibly fix that? Groundhog Day it?
The characterization of Benny is particularly affecting. I felt the insecurity and anxiety of the 12 year old as he navigates home with his poh-poh (grandmother), school and Chinatown...and later in Part II when he leaves Chinatown. Constantine is framed in a moving way in Part I. Benson, the comic book author and main narrator, is a consistently distressed figure.
I found the child sexual abuse to be disturbing (it's referred to somewhat vaguely but it's clear especially in Part II). But I thought the scene where an adult acquiesces to a perpetrator's instructions to be alone with a child to be more disturbing. And given who that adult is, the entire scene is all the more effed up. Very!
Much has been said about the narrator writing a story within the book. The story folds in on itself.
And then there is the time travel. But I thought the time travel was poorly framed or explained.
Lastly, I did not buy or accept the explanations for why the victims of child sexual abuse reached out to their abusers. Stockholm syndrome or untreated PTSD? As a result, I think the book overall intentionally has the confusion to reflect the traumatized perspectives. The abusers, in fact, perpetuate their abuse.
One very "p.s" point here: the comic book author paints himself into a corner by the book's conclusion. How can he possibly fix that? Groundhog Day it?
February 15, 2023
3.77
The Double Life of Benson Yu is classified as metafiction, a narrative structure that reminds you that you are reading or viewing a fictional work. It takes a little while to get into, but I think, once in, Chong is a master weaver of fiction. You might have to allow yourself some speculation and set judgements aside, but it works in an odd way. Chong vibrantly describes 1980’s Chinatown and makes the people and colours come alive in a diaspora way that captures the time and moment.
The tale is of Benny Yu, who lost his mother, never knew his father, and is left to live with his ailing grandmother. After his grandmother goes into hospital and then dies, he is left living alone, before moving in with his strange neighbour, the Samurai; a man who thinks himself a reincarnation of an ancient warrior.
There is a content warning at the beginning of the book and there are some heavy topics, including child abuse but there is never graphic detail. This is a unique work of literary fiction and has a fresh construction, a new way of looking at dealing with childhood trauma and facing our demons up close and personal. Benson Yu is trying to write a new graphic novel on the advice of his therapist, a nice story of young Benny and his mentor Constantine. He isn’t ready to face the truth yet about what really happened. But Benny Yu keeps interjecting. He won’t allow the story to be told this way. Maybe it is time for the truth to finally come out? Perhaps it is time to face his hidden monsters? A dark tale, sparsely told, a twisted coming of age.
The Double Life of Benson Yu is classified as metafiction, a narrative structure that reminds you that you are reading or viewing a fictional work. It takes a little while to get into, but I think, once in, Chong is a master weaver of fiction. You might have to allow yourself some speculation and set judgements aside, but it works in an odd way. Chong vibrantly describes 1980’s Chinatown and makes the people and colours come alive in a diaspora way that captures the time and moment.
The tale is of Benny Yu, who lost his mother, never knew his father, and is left to live with his ailing grandmother. After his grandmother goes into hospital and then dies, he is left living alone, before moving in with his strange neighbour, the Samurai; a man who thinks himself a reincarnation of an ancient warrior.
There is a content warning at the beginning of the book and there are some heavy topics, including child abuse but there is never graphic detail. This is a unique work of literary fiction and has a fresh construction, a new way of looking at dealing with childhood trauma and facing our demons up close and personal. Benson Yu is trying to write a new graphic novel on the advice of his therapist, a nice story of young Benny and his mentor Constantine. He isn’t ready to face the truth yet about what really happened. But Benny Yu keeps interjecting. He won’t allow the story to be told this way. Maybe it is time for the truth to finally come out? Perhaps it is time to face his hidden monsters? A dark tale, sparsely told, a twisted coming of age.
January 30, 2023
Fascinating! Beautiful! Unforgettable!
Benson Yu is writing a graphic novel. His therapist advised him to address the issues in his childhood, his past traumas via writing. Thus we move back in time to the 80's in Chinatown, NYC. Benny lives with his grandma and they are a devoted team scrapping by. When grandma falls ill, Benny's home is put in question and it isn't long before the META of this fiction takes place.
Suddenly Benny is living WITH Benson, in the future (the present). A survivor by nature, he keeps his thoughts to himself and tries to just get by. But childhood trauma comes. back again and again to haunt Benson, This novel is a story within a story of him trying to make sense of it all.
I really loved it. I forgot, and keep forgetting that Kevin Chong wrote this novel, not Benny Yu. What a talented weaver of fiction he is - you will travel through Chinatown, through public and private schools and even visit a party for a college professor - the words so sharp - you will truly feel like you are there.
You will root for Benny, for Benson and for many other characters in the novel If you love creative fiction, unique premises, a bit of speculation or syfy or just love a character driven novel filled with themes of Asian culture, The Double Life of Benson Yu is for you ! #Atria #KevinChong #TheDoubleLifeOfBensonYu
Benson Yu is writing a graphic novel. His therapist advised him to address the issues in his childhood, his past traumas via writing. Thus we move back in time to the 80's in Chinatown, NYC. Benny lives with his grandma and they are a devoted team scrapping by. When grandma falls ill, Benny's home is put in question and it isn't long before the META of this fiction takes place.
Suddenly Benny is living WITH Benson, in the future (the present). A survivor by nature, he keeps his thoughts to himself and tries to just get by. But childhood trauma comes. back again and again to haunt Benson, This novel is a story within a story of him trying to make sense of it all.
I really loved it. I forgot, and keep forgetting that Kevin Chong wrote this novel, not Benny Yu. What a talented weaver of fiction he is - you will travel through Chinatown, through public and private schools and even visit a party for a college professor - the words so sharp - you will truly feel like you are there.
You will root for Benny, for Benson and for many other characters in the novel If you love creative fiction, unique premises, a bit of speculation or syfy or just love a character driven novel filled with themes of Asian culture, The Double Life of Benson Yu is for you ! #Atria #KevinChong #TheDoubleLifeOfBensonYu
October 18, 2023
I can see the quality of the writing, but this was not the book for me.
November 28, 2022
TW: child abuse, neglect, sexual assault of a minor, death
I received this book from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
I will be completely honest, this book was really confusing. I understand that this is a meta fiction so it's gonna be confusing but this was above and beyond confusing. The characters were barely developed, the plot made almost no sense. I wish I could have connected with this book more but I did not.
I received this book from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
I will be completely honest, this book was really confusing. I understand that this is a meta fiction so it's gonna be confusing but this was above and beyond confusing. The characters were barely developed, the plot made almost no sense. I wish I could have connected with this book more but I did not.
November 5, 2023
I enjoyed this, and understood it, a lot more than I thought I would. There were some confusing moments as the narrator's and Benny's worlds seem to collide, when fact and fiction meld together in a seemingly impossible way, but I thought it was really creatively and carefully orchestrated. I like the idea of re-writing your own history, changing details to work through your trauma, giving your younger self the chance you never had.
November 23, 2024
Not easy to keep straight lots of timelines, but I liked it
October 21, 2023
My heart ached for the little boy’s losses and traumas. The structure of the book is very innovative and interesting, I’m not sure as a reader if it helped or hindered the story at the end of the day.
April 18, 2024
[4.5]
January 30, 2024
A bit odd! Time travel and stories that intersect and overlap but done on a small scale. A comic strip artist who draws his own life until his life overtakes the plan. Well told story of coming of age at every age.
January 11, 2024
Great metafiction exploring the intersection of nostalgia and trauma, wrapped up into a ninja action story. Chong effectively conveys feelings of horror without fetishizing trauma; it’s implied, and weighs heavily on the characters’ lives and journeys, without being described in gruesome/extreme detail.
I did find it a bit difficult at the start to keep track of the timelines, but quickly got used to paying attention to the different narrations. Looking back, this may have been an important tool in blurring the lines between the past and present when the timelines eventually collide.
I did find it a bit difficult at the start to keep track of the timelines, but quickly got used to paying attention to the different narrations. Looking back, this may have been an important tool in blurring the lines between the past and present when the timelines eventually collide.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2023
Not gonna lie, this book lost me at one point. The whole idea of the timelines confused me. But I think I get why it’s used. The timeline mess highlights the idea of dealing with trauma in different ways. Although I disagree with how the narrator goes about things, it makes sense that that’s how he copes. I wish there was more exploration of the narrator’s reactions to his experiences, but ultimately, this is Benson’s book, not the narrator’s, so the trauma happens but also doesn’t.
If you’re looking for a trippy trauma story akin to “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, this is the book for you.
If you’re looking for a trippy trauma story akin to “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, this is the book for you.
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