From my Winnipeg Review column:
Paul Yee is best known for his works about early Canadian Chinese immigrants, like his Governor General’s-winning picture book, Ghost Train, or his short story collection, Tales from Gold Mountain.
When Money Boy (Groundwood) came out in 2011, I was intrigued. While still set within Chinese immigrant culture, it is a contemporary novel about a teen who is kicked out of his house for being gay. It’s an absorbing read. When we first meet the protagonist, Ray, he is surrounded by every material comfort – a big screen TV, his own laptop and desktop, trendy clothing, lots of friends. But his mother stayed in China and his father has remarried. Ray has a stepbrother who seems to be the favoured son. Ray struggles with school and finds escape in an online Chinese war game.
When Ray’s father discovers that he’s been visiting gay websites, the reaction is abrupt and absolute. Ray is unceremoniously thrown out of the house, his clothing and belongings tossed out on the front lawn with him.
Ray doesn’t feel that he can go to his friends for help. They don’t know that he’s gay and he has no idea what their reaction would be. He resorts to living on the street and bit by bit loses everything that he thought was precious – his wallet, his cell phone, his laptop – and with that, access to the war game that he’s addicted to. Cut off from friends and family and with no means of living, he decides to become a “money boy” – a prostitute.
His life plunges to an unbearable low, but slowly it reassembles itself in unexpected ways, and Ray isn’t the only one to discover the truly important things in life.
This is a well-written page-turner, but more than that, it’s an important book – allowing the reader to step inside the shoes of a gay teen from a rigidly traditional immigrant family and experience for themselves what a difficult life these kids have.
Paul Yee kindly agreed to answer some questions about Money Boy.
Money Boy is quite a departure from the historical fiction that you’re so well-known for. Can you tell me about that?
Yes, I wrote a lot of historical fiction but, to me, Money Boy isn’t really a departure. From the start, my writing raised issues. My early work addressed problems around immigrants being invisible in Canadian history and literature, and around racial minority persons trying to fit into the mainstream. Money Boy has a gay protagonist, and his issues include the various faces of intolerance as well as finding a safe place in today’s world.
How long did Money Boy live in your head?
“…live in your head…” doesn’t work for my writing process. That phrase suggests that a story or character has a life of its own which gets released from the writer’s mind (often his/her subconscious). In my writing, I pick an issue and then work madly to create a story around it. My stories live more on paper than in my head, because I tend to write out, in longhand and on the computer, all brain-storming and problem-solving.
Can you tell me about your research process for this book? How does that compare to the sort of research you did for The Bone Collector’s Son or I Am Canada: Blood and Iron.
I was a history major so accurate setting and details have always been central, in particular where I want to build a story around a social issue that truly exists. For Money Boy, I needed to know about life in China (education, fast food, homosexuality, etc), homelessness in Canada today, as well as MMORPG’s (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), a booming part of computer games that I in my middle age knew nothing about. I’ve visited China several times but only as a tourist. (Actually, showing “research” as “purpose of visit” to China raises red flags to visa officials.) I love research: the big danger is getting swallowed up or distracted by details that don’t relate to my needs but which is just great stuff about our complex world!
What’s been the response of readers to Money Boy? Reviewers? Book ban-ners?
Reviewers like Money Boy because it deals with coming-out from an unusual angle (visible-minority immigrant). As well, in 2011, a rash of suicides focused attention on gay male teens and bullying. But the book was a tough sell. The first publisher who saw Money Boy told me that it was impossible to make money from gay-themed books. It was sobering to learn from librarians that any student seen holding a gay-themed book would likely be teased or harassed about being gay.
In many ways Ray seems younger than his eighteen years. Was it an editorial decision to make him chronologically older?
We had no editorial discussion around Ray’s age. He may seem younger because he’s naïve, fearful, temperamental, and lacking in confidence, which come from his difficult upbringing, immigrant status, and closeted life.
Which character was the most challenging to write? Why?
Chen the owner of Rainbow Sushi was a challenging character to write because he’s a minor figure in the story so he doesn’t get much text, yet I wanted very much to include someone from the flamboyant side of the gay sensibility.
Which character is most like you?
I am most like Ray because I grew up, as an orphan, ashamed of who I was, fearful of authority figures, and entirely lacking in self-confidence.
What is your writing routine?
If there’s a book, I write all day from 8:00AM to 9:00 or 10:00 PM with breaks for meals and dog-walking. I take work outside too: great ideas come to me while riding public transit, or waiting in doctor’s offices or in malls. I can work in public libraries but not coffee shops.
What aspect of being a writer drives you nuts?
What drives me nuts about being a writer is the lack of back-up. That is, if you don’t do the writing, then it doesn’t get done. There’s no assistant or team that steps in, so you always wonder, “Is it safe to take a holiday in the middle of a writing project?
What are you working on now?
Another historical novel.
Do you have advice for an aspiring author?
Read, read, read.
