On May 20, 2022, the US Embassy Malaysia and The Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kota Kinabalu Branch campus, organised an event, Book Talk: Edge Case. The online event took place via Zoom where YZ Chin introduced her New York Times’s Best Seller, “Edge Case”. Approximately 100 people attended, and they consisted of UiTM degree students, lecturers, and members of the general public.
The main goals of the talk were to promote cultural diversity and to broaden understanding of US-Malaysian relations, aside from helping develop knowledge and enthusiasm for reading English novels, as well as to expose participants to the experience of an immigrant who had migrated to the United States of America. Michael Newbill, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, served as the moderator. Mr. Newbill asked YZ a variety of questions, especially about her experiences writing the book as well as the content of the novel itself. This gave the audience some background about the book and what inspired the author to write it.
The author shared her own insights and experiences and the lives of others that had shaped her ideas about the story and characters. YZ Chin also read an excerpt from her novel, which introduced the main protagonist, Edwina, to the audience. The Malaysian-born author shared her own experiences of working in the United States as an engineer and being an immigrant there. She mentioned another distinguished writer, Malaysian-born Shirley Lim Geok Lin, and Susan Fowler, an American and whistleblower on sexual harassment, who had been influential in her writing. These individuals certainly had an impact on her career as a novelist.
During the book event, attendees shared their questions, thoughts, and suggestions with the author’s experiences of working in the United States as an engineer and hor. The comments ranged from praises for the event’s organisation to its usefulness and some conveyed their interest to read the book, while the audience’s questions sought to understand the character’s sense of agency and identity. A student also asked Ms Chin how to become a good writer. Following the event, many attendees provided positive feedback on the book via an evaluation form. They have expressed great hope that such an event will be organised in the near future.