Trauma and Trappings in Search of the American Dream

Atticus Lish

Atticus Lish talks about his novel, Preparation for the Next Life, which won the 2015 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Zou Lei, a Chinese immigrant, finds herself slaving in New York's kitchens. She falls in love with an Iraqi war veteran. A new life may be possible if together they can survive homelessness, lockup, and nightmares, which may be more prophecy than madness.