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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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China Boy author Gus Lee speaks to sophomores

Gus Lee, author of the renowned China Boy, appeared before sophomore English classes today, stressing the importance of following one’s dreams and holding onto beliefs.

Lee prompted discussion of the book by inquiring how many of the students thought that he had tried to convey a message through the novel and how many thought he had written it solely as a memory of his mother. Students were split, and thus provided Lee with the opportunity to express the motivation behind his writing.

Quoting Toussaint, a character in China Boy and a personal friend, Lee provided students with a lesson for life. "Each of you has a dream," Lee said. "The key to your life is to hold onto it and to develop it."

Lee also urged students to read all they can, as reading, in his opinion, is a key step in forming literary style. "Do writers emulate other writers?" Lee asked students. "Absolutely," he promptly responded.

In the future, Lee plans to release a compilation of China Boy and its sequel, Honor and Duty. When writing the first version of China Boy, Lee said that he refrained from including all the details of his experience out of fear and respect for his father. Producers have now offered to create a movie of the two books, so Lee has taken to writing the story of his childhood in full detail.

On a comical note, Lee opened by apologizing to all the students. " I apologize because I never knew that China Boy would be published," Lee said. "I also never knew that it would become required reading, so I apologize again to all of you."

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