Finding the inside track

Liang Hong, a literary critic from Renmin University praises the book for being "well structured and told, revealing a multifaceted history".

Whitehead was born in New York in 1969. He grew up in Manhattan to a well-off family and graduated with a BA from Harvard University's English department in 1991.

He was an avid reader from childhood and his years at Harvard strengthened the literary influences of James Joyce and Thomas Pynchon. He started out as a journalist at the Village Voice, where he found some space for writing fiction.

But although his work has now been recognized with many awards, he has had his own struggle to get where he is now. His first draft for a novel was rejected by 25 publishers and he finally dropped the idea, and his parents repeatedly urged him to "get a real job" until his first novel was published.

"I've been writing for 20 years. And I have books that didn't sell copies," he says.

But writing offers him the most joy, and he's now enjoying his days of writing, traveling and occasional teaching.

His next book is set in Florida in the 1960s, and he is taking his time to finish it.

"Sometimes I'll take a nap and then write a page, and then take another nap and finish another page," he says.

"My daughter once asked if I had a job, and I replied we have food to eat so I'm working."

Cooking is his only hobby besides writing. His first cookbook was about Sichuan food, which a friend's mother brought back from China in the 1980s.

"It's nice to finally have the original version since I'm here in China," he says.

Contact the writer at meijia@chinadaily.com.cn