Page 173
“A Conversation with My Father” by Grace Paley can be found in The Collected Stories (FSG). A charming audio version of the story, read by novelist Ali Smith, is online at the Guardian.
Page 177
Amelia’s literary crushes: John Irving (her favorite is A Prayer for Owen Meany) and Ann M. Martin (The Baby-Sitters Club series). Amelia’s favorite Baby-Sitters Club book is Super Special #1: Baby-Sitters on Board.
Page 179
The list of stories A.J. recommends to Maya:
“The Beauties” by Anton Chekov
“The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield
“A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger
“Brownies” and “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by Z.Z. Packer
“In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried” by Amy Hempel
“Fat” by Raymond Carver
“Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway
Page 179 – 184
“My Grandmother’s Hands” by John Furness and “The Journey” by Virginia Kim are not real stories. However, “A Trip to the Beach” by Maya Fikry can be found on page 189 of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.
I read this a couple of years ago; but now I’m reading it to my son. Even at 12 he loves me reading to him at night.
Lovely book. I can’t figure out why a Korean girl, Virginia Kim, would write about a baby being adopted from a China. I suppose that could have been her family’s configuration, but it’s unusual enough to warrant an explanation. Otherwise, it seems like the surname was chosen in error.
Love these literary guides, but I’m dying to know what “exquisitely erotic” novel embarrassed Maya so when A.J. pressed it into her English teacher’s hands?!