Seven books about messy families with daddy issues

Gina Chung is a Korean American writer. Born in Queens and raised in New Jersey, she is now based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of Sea Change, a novel about climate change, giant Pacific octopuses, and family, and Green Frog, a collection of short stories that explore themes of Korean-American womanhood, bodies and animals, both of which are forthcoming from Vintage in 2023.

She is a 2021-2022 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School's Creative Writing Program and a BA in literary studies from Williams College. She is an alumnus of several workshops and/or craft intensives, including the Asian American Writers' Workshop, Sevilla Writers House, The Center for Fiction, Kweli, and Tin House.

At Electric Lit Chung tagged seven titles f0r fans of HBO's Succession, books that take "on family dysfunction, daddy issues, and familial power dynamics and how quickly they can change." One title on the list:

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Shipstead’s novel is a gently satirical account of a patrician New England wedding weekend gone wrong, seen primarily through the eyes of Winn Van Meter, the embittered father of the bride whose feelings of confused lust (for one of his daughter’s bridesmaids) and social discontent (for a club that won’t accept his membership application) threaten to occlude the success of the wedding.

At its heart, the novel is also a send-up of masculinity, snobbery, and what Succession’s Roy siblings would call “sad sack wasp traps”—social affairs convened by the moneyed and/or titled primarily for the goal of seeing and being seen. Elegantly written, with a keen eye for the quirks and customs of New England WASP families, Seating Arrangements is perfect entertainment for anyone who enjoys watching rich white people behaving badly.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue