Susan Choi, winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction, crafts novels that defy expectations and challenge readers to question their own perceptions. Her latest work, Trust Exercise, has been praised as "electrifying" and "thrilling," a testament to Choi's ability to push narrative boundaries. From her debut The Foreign Student to the Pulitzer-finalist American Woman, Choi's novels grapple with themes of identity, power, and the malleability of truth.
Born to a Korean father and Jewish mother, Choi brings a unique perspective to the American experience. "I'm the daughter of an immigrant, I'm the granddaughter of immigrants, I've always been so proud of that," she states, highlighting the personal roots of her literary explorations.
Choi's writing is fueled by a potent mix of curiosity and rage. "I was really irate and unruly with myself," she admits about the creation of Trust Exercise, channeling her anger into a work that challenges societal norms and reader expectations.
A Yale graduate and former fact-checker for The New Yorker, Choi now teaches writing at Johns Hopkins University. She continues to evolve as an artist, driven by the belief that "we never know what we know until after we know it."