The Double Life of Benson Yu

This evocative and innovative novel, deemed metafiction by Canadian author Chong (Beauty Plus Pity), defies space-time to interweave the narrator’s own past and present. Growing up in what could be San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1980s, Benny is a smart kid who has lived with his grandmother since his mother died. When his grandmother also dies, Benny avoids social services and hides out in the apartment of a karate enthusiast named Constantine who lives in his building. Benny is discovered by the authorities and is sent to live with his distant father. A mysterious social worker, Macy, takes Benny to his father’s house—in the future, which is also the present day. The future Benny is a successful comic-book artist, completely aware that his son from the past is also himself. The presence of his past self allows the future Benny to grapple with his experience of child abuse at the hands of a former karate teacher who is similar to but not the same as Constantine. Confronting this abuser is a key moment around which the narrative turns.