Readers > Everybody Reads > 2007 > About the Author > Author's Message
Author's Message
Judy Fong Bates
I am honored that Midnight at the Dragon Café has been chosen by the Multnomah County Library for its Everybody Reads 2007 book. The Chinese restaurant seems to be a fixture of many small towns in North America. But in spite of seeming ubiquitous, it is at the same time invisible. Separated from the town by language and culture, the families living inside are often viewed only in stereotypical terms: hardworking, quiet, law-abiding. Midnight at the Dragon Café is an attempt to lift that veil, if only a little, so that the reader might have a glimpse of the complex lives "behind that kitchen door," hidden from the customer's view. On one level Midnight at the Dragon Café could be seen as an immigrant story, but it is my hope that readers will look beyond and see that its themes of love, betrayal, sacrifice, hope and forgiveness are in fact universal, and that all families, whether native-born or immigrant, share in their desire for place and belonging.
I look forward to meeting with readers when I visit Portland. Thank you to everyone involved in organizing the various events around this book. And once again, many thanks for choosing Midnight at the Dragon Café.
-Judy Fong Bates, October 2006