Book Talk: “Cinema Love,” with Debut Author Jiaming Tang

Perrot Memorial Library presents Debut Author Jiaming Tang for a book discussion and signing of his book, Cinema Love, on Wednesday, May 22, at 7 pm in the Program Room, Radcliffe Children’s Library, Perrot Memorial Library.

In Cinema Love, Tang introduces readers to Old Second. Today, he lives a humble life in New York’s Chinatown with Bao Mei, his wife of thirty years. They rarely address each other by name, as a grunt is enough for them. It’s the kind of communication that is common in couples who have experienced tough times and trauma together. Yet, unlike those other couples, they share an unusual past. Back in China, before they emigrated, they frequented The Workers’ Cinema: a run-down theater with secrets of its own.

The Workers’ Cinema is a place where men come to meet each other and cruise for love. While classic movies played, courtships and friendships began. In the box office, Bao Mei sold tickets to the men, including Old Second, guarding their secrets and identities. She takes the work seriously despite the low pay, befriending the men and turning away their suspicious family members. But when the theater’s future is threatened, and Old Second’s secret is discovered, he and Bao Mei find themselves headed towards an uncertain future in America.

The story follows Old Second and Bao Mei along with other immigrants from rural China, as they adjust to their new lives in America. From crowded boarding houses to backbreaking work in restaurants across the tri-state area and garment factories, Tang explores what it’s like to be an outsider, even amongst those who share similar backgrounds. The novel also dives into the consequences of homophobia and racism, and the lengths people will go to to keep the old ways alive.

Jiaming Tang is a queer immigrant writer. He holds an MFA from the University of Alabama, and his writing has appeared in AGNI, Lit Hub, The Masters Review, Joyland Magazine, and elsewhere. He is a 2022-23 Center for Fiction Emerging Writer Fellow and lives in Brooklyn, NY. Cinema Love is his first novel.

Please register for this free program.

Copies of Cinema Love are available for purchase from Athena Books.

For more information, please contact Lisa Thomas at 203-637-1066 x20 or at lisat@perrotlibrary.org.