Grace Ostrosky, Arts & Life Editor–
“‘[The mothers] want softer towels, extra lotion, different roommates, no roommates, longer showers, curtains on the windows, locks on the doors,’” Jessamine Chan, the first visiting writer of the semester, read aloud from her debut novel. “‘They want their children. They want to go home.’”
Chan presented at the Beck Series in collaboration with the Department of Women & Gender Studies’ Laura C. Harris Series on Sept. 17.
The event was hosted at the Denison Museum and, surrounded by Denison students, staff and faculty, and members of the Granville community, Chan read from her book, “The School for Good Mothers.”
“The School for Good Mothers” follows Frida Liu, a Chinese-American single mother, who, despite obstacles, loves her young daughter, Harriet, very much. When one parenting mistake puts Frida under close watch of the government, and she is put in a school to determine whether she is fit to be a mother, “Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.”
“The School for Good Mothers” is a New York Times bestseller, a Read with Jenna/TODAY Show Book Club pick, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a longlisted title for the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Carnegie Medal, and one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022.
Chan read from chapter six, which showcased the differences between the mothers in the school, some of whom committed heinous acts while others had one bad day. Through her reading, Chan explored the flawed family court system that vilifies women and non-traditional family dynamics.
In chapter six, Frida and the other mothers are given AI-powered, sentient robot dolls designed to look like their real children. These dolls have cameras and sensors installed to gather data on the mothers’ behavior. In the novel it is explained by the instructors that “In the past…children were removed, then handed back to parents whose behavior hadn’t been corrected. Mistakes were made. Children suffered…Here, the mothers’ progress will be measured in a controlled environment. With this simulation model, their real children will be protected from further harm.”
At the end of the chapter, the mothers gather outside and huddle around a mother who is mourning for her daughter she cannot see on her birthday, due to being in the school. They all share their daughters’ names, and “it sounds like the roll call after an accident…A roster of victims.”
Afterwards, during a Q&A, Chan answered questions from the audience about her book and writing process. She explained that she began writing it in 2014, inspired after reading the 2013 article from The New Yorker entitled “Where Is Your Mother?” and her own thoughts on impending motherhood. Chan wanted to write about an Asian American woman who was “a mess,” multi-dimensional, and flawed.
Chan said “The School for Good Mothers” taught her to love fiercely and then she was also able to funnel love into the book after becoming a mother herself.
Additionally, on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18, Chan visited various creative writing classes to discuss craft with students and allow for one-on-one interactions.
Zoe Ward ‘28, a student taking Dr. Julia Kolchinsky’s Poetics of the Body class, said that “Chan thoughtfully engaged with [the] class, giving [a] deeper understanding of her novel and answering questions about publishing, process, and characters.”