Gunga Din Highway

Ever want to become an actor? Longman Kwan dreams of playing Charlie Chan in the movies but instead finds himself stuck in dead-end roles, quite literally, as minor Chinese characters who die. Providing hilarious insight into Longman's patient humor, the novel is also filled with references to pop culture icons--TV, actors, movies. The Village Voice calls Chin a "literary gangster" with a method to his madness. His novel indeed takes us on a furious tour of four decades, from the '50s to today, showcasing the lives of a dreamer father and his cynical son.