Choices in life are often boil down to a simple pull-push dichotomy, and consequences are determined by how much ground is lost, or gained, in that tension. Korean-American author Siel Ju knows that push-pull all too well. In her new book, Cake Time, Ju writes of a young female protagonist who has to make decisions in real-time that may put her in unexpected jeopardy. The novel is not one of a traditional chronology: Chapters are divided like short stories, connected only by the protagonist and her recurring dilemmas across decades of her life. As a teenager, for instance, she looked for a ride from the abortion clinic between AP exams. As a college graduate, she attended a swinger’s party with a handsome stranger. As a woman in her 30s, she grappled with the discovery that her lover had a secret daughter. Ju, along with two Asian-American authors, Brynn Saito and Andrew Lam, will be speaking at Diesel in Oakland. The author will be available to discuss and sign her new novel.
Author Siel Ju at Diesel, A Bookstore
