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The Sense of Wonder
A look at the ways Asian Americans navigate the thorny worlds of sports and entertainment when everything is stacked against them.
An Asian American basketball star walks into a gym. No one recognizes him, but everyone stares anyway. It is the start of a joke but what is the punchline? When Won Lee, the first Asian American in the NBA, stuns the world in a seven-game winning streak, the global media audience dubs it “The Wonder”—much to Won’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Won struggles to get attention from his coach, his peers, his fans, and most importantly, his hero, Powerball!, who also happens to be Won’s teammate and the captain. Covering it all is sportswriter Robert Sung, who writes about Won's stardom while grappling with his own missed hoops opportunities as well as his place as an Asian American in media. And to witness it all is Carrie Kang, a big studio producer, who juggles a newfound relationship with Won while attempting to bring K-drama to an industry not known to embrace anything new or different.
The Sense of Wonder follows Won and Carrie as they chronicle the human and professional tensions exacerbated by injustices and fight to be seen and heard on some of the world’s largest stages.
An Asian American basketball star walks into a gym. No one recognizes him, but everyone stares anyway. It is the start of a joke but what is the punchline? When Won Lee, the first Asian American in the NBA, stuns the world in a seven-game winning streak, the global media audience dubs it “The Wonder”—much to Won’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Won struggles to get attention from his coach, his peers, his fans, and most importantly, his hero, Powerball!, who also happens to be Won’s teammate and the captain. Covering it all is sportswriter Robert Sung, who writes about Won's stardom while grappling with his own missed hoops opportunities as well as his place as an Asian American in media. And to witness it all is Carrie Kang, a big studio producer, who juggles a newfound relationship with Won while attempting to bring K-drama to an industry not known to embrace anything new or different.
The Sense of Wonder follows Won and Carrie as they chronicle the human and professional tensions exacerbated by injustices and fight to be seen and heard on some of the world’s largest stages.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 17, 2023
65 people are currently reading
6690 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Salesses
22 books528 followersBestselling author of The Hundred-Year Flood and Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, among other books. Craft in the Real World comes out Jan, 2021. I’m adopted.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
December 27, 2022
This novel is brilliantly structured with several interwoven stories— an Asian American basketball star, the reporter who wishes he could have been, a k drama producer with a dying sister. The characters here are very wry about their circumstances in an appealing way. I enjoyed the humor and the emotional notes. In the end, when all the pieces come together the novel leaps to a whole other level of excellence. Definitely going to re-read it. And you will know why when you read The Sense of Wonder. Which you should.
January 11, 2023
In early 2012, Jeremy Lin, the first Taiwanese American in the NBA, led the New York Knicks out of a miserable slump to win seven games in a row. The cover of Sports Illustrated trumpeted Lin’s “sudden and spectacular ascent,” and fans around the world went crazy with Linsanity!
Beyond his opponents on the court, though, Lin also had to contend with racist taunts from the media. A Fox Sports columnist mocked Lin’s genitals. And when the Knicks’ winning streak broke, an editor at ESPN posted a photo of Lin with the headline: “Chink in the Armor.”
For Matthew Salesses, a Korean American writer and avid basketball fan, those responses to Lin epitomized the peculiar species of racism that Asian Americans face in the United States. Soon after the ESPN incident, Salesses published a deeply personal essay in which he wrote: “When the disparagements came — as we feared and maybe suspected they would but hoped they wouldn’t — it was like that first time looking in the mirror. We realized that for all of Jeremy Lin’s accomplishments, we as Asians are still different, are still seen differently than other races by the vast majority of Americans.”
Now, Salesses has transformed his thoughts on Lin into an insightful novel called “The Sense of Wonder.” That long decade of reflection included the death of Salesses’s young wife, the rise of Korean television in the United States and the mass shooting of Asian American spa workers in Atlanta. Ideally, we’re willing to think about the intersection of tragedy, pop culture and anti-Asian prejudice in a way we weren’t a decade ago. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
Beyond his opponents on the court, though, Lin also had to contend with racist taunts from the media. A Fox Sports columnist mocked Lin’s genitals. And when the Knicks’ winning streak broke, an editor at ESPN posted a photo of Lin with the headline: “Chink in the Armor.”
For Matthew Salesses, a Korean American writer and avid basketball fan, those responses to Lin epitomized the peculiar species of racism that Asian Americans face in the United States. Soon after the ESPN incident, Salesses published a deeply personal essay in which he wrote: “When the disparagements came — as we feared and maybe suspected they would but hoped they wouldn’t — it was like that first time looking in the mirror. We realized that for all of Jeremy Lin’s accomplishments, we as Asians are still different, are still seen differently than other races by the vast majority of Americans.”
Now, Salesses has transformed his thoughts on Lin into an insightful novel called “The Sense of Wonder.” That long decade of reflection included the death of Salesses’s young wife, the rise of Korean television in the United States and the mass shooting of Asian American spa workers in Atlanta. Ideally, we’re willing to think about the intersection of tragedy, pop culture and anti-Asian prejudice in a way we weren’t a decade ago. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...
May 21, 2023
The Sense of Wonder begins with Won Lee, the first Asian American basketball player in the NBA. He shocks his team and others by going on a 7-game winning streak while his star teammate, Powerball, is out. This streak is labeled “The Wonder” but when Powerball returns, Won struggles to get the respect he’s earned from his coach, team, and fans.
While fighting for his place, Won also has to deal with Robert Sung, an Asian American sportswriter hung up on his own past playing days and his history with Powerball.
Off the court, Won meets Carrie, a TV producer working on K-drama shows, who frequently travels back & forth between the US and Korea. Carrie is balancing work, while helping her family and her new relationship with Won.
The Sense of Wonder is strongly reminiscent of Jeremy Lin, especially as Won also plays for the Knicks. I enjoyed the basketball focus more than the K-drama aspect, though I liked Carrie and Won equally as characters. I couldn’t put this book down, it was a unique story.
While fighting for his place, Won also has to deal with Robert Sung, an Asian American sportswriter hung up on his own past playing days and his history with Powerball.
Off the court, Won meets Carrie, a TV producer working on K-drama shows, who frequently travels back & forth between the US and Korea. Carrie is balancing work, while helping her family and her new relationship with Won.
The Sense of Wonder is strongly reminiscent of Jeremy Lin, especially as Won also plays for the Knicks. I enjoyed the basketball focus more than the K-drama aspect, though I liked Carrie and Won equally as characters. I couldn’t put this book down, it was a unique story.
unable-to-finish
September 27, 2023This novel had so much promise that I stuck with the audiobook until the 75% point. I wish the focus had stayed on the basketball star Won Lee instead jumping off to the K-Drama tangents. It just didn't work for me and I finally realized it wasn't going to!
September 14, 2022
People keep telling me this is my best book and I just might believe them
February 20, 2023
The Sense of Wonder is a fine example of a relatively short novel tackling some hard issues of today by employing a platform that purports to be about a more genre specific topic. In this case, a second generation Korean of unusual height who is drafted by the NY Knicks. There is much behind the scenes activity about the life of a player who has realized his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA, but it’s real importance lies in experiencing firsthand the problems that ensue between the players, the politics of interracial drafting, and what having an "open relationship" can actually mean. The audio version employs several actors which lent a richness to the characterizations, and some of the descriptions of K-drama rendered by Won's girlfriend, a producer. Highly enjoyable and informative.
April 20, 2023
You don’t need to be a basketball fan to enjoy this fictionalized story of the first Korean-American player in the NBA. Salesses, the author of Craft in the Real World, scores with a structure that encompasses the player’s life on and off the court, his girlfriend’s work as a developer of Korean TV dramas for US audiences, and the anti-Asian prejudices they encounter.
April 8, 2023
WOW!!!
11/10 would recommend this book to myself. thank u matthew salesses for this story!! if u are interested in asian american literature this is a pretty great novel — it covers serious ground but is full of humor, with a bold plot and subtle genre bending (which i love!). i also get the feeling from this book that a lot of the content is pulled from the author’s own lived experiences, interests, and passions, which is cool for a fictional book. this review contains random thoughts, no spoilers, and a crap ton of exclamation points. a lot of other reviews summarize this book much more eloquently so i’d recommend checking them out if ur interested.
what i loved on the surface:
asian american basketball player!! i have never read a book like this!! sports journalism in a novel! nba stars and infidelity! interesting parsing apart of gender and racial power dynamics! relationships and romance subplots! siblinghood!! sisterly love! reflections upon life! and cancer and hope and conversations about these heavy things! and witty cheeky and dirty dialogue! this book was bold and i hope a lot more people read it.
what i loved slightly below surface:
relevant references to the world we live in today! adoption! east/west culture comparisons! the 3-strand braided narrative between our two narrators plus the k-drama plots! the casual representation! the continuing idea of plots and tropes and frames of references - a clever parallel between dramas and real life and a clever nod towards stereotypes! racial dynamics again, also stupid english supremacy!
what i considered:
- lowkey i wished there was more basketball content, but i think the amount included in the book made sense as the point of this book isn’t really about the sport itself after all…
- is it weird if I mention Jeremy Lin in this review since the book called into question comparing asians in sports? but fr, rising aa bball star (taiwanese american) on the Knicks… “Linsanity”… the inspiration for this book is kinda clear…
- there were two lines about white women regarding privilege and i was briefly worried about recommending this book to some of my white female friends but then i realized the portrayal of racism and the doubt and questioning as a poc in sports or relationships is so valid and real and am i rlly trying to shield my white friends from this? i think americans need to read more books by asian authors depicting just life man and stories from their perspective and this is one such book.
- i have only ever watched one k-drama (itaewon class, recommended to me by my friend jake) and hated it precisely bc of tropes. i do hate a predictable plot. however, the portrayal and explanations of k-dramas in this book has rlly opened my mind to the genre, and while i don’t plan to watch another one, i have a newfound appreciation for its existence as an art form, and for films in general
the brief acknowledgements page at the end of the has me screaming crying throwing up - short but rlly touching and makes one of the subplots so much more meaningful! my eyes really hurt from reading this book on a moving bus but i seriously could not put it down
11/10 would recommend this book to myself. thank u matthew salesses for this story!! if u are interested in asian american literature this is a pretty great novel — it covers serious ground but is full of humor, with a bold plot and subtle genre bending (which i love!). i also get the feeling from this book that a lot of the content is pulled from the author’s own lived experiences, interests, and passions, which is cool for a fictional book. this review contains random thoughts, no spoilers, and a crap ton of exclamation points. a lot of other reviews summarize this book much more eloquently so i’d recommend checking them out if ur interested.
what i loved on the surface:
asian american basketball player!! i have never read a book like this!! sports journalism in a novel! nba stars and infidelity! interesting parsing apart of gender and racial power dynamics! relationships and romance subplots! siblinghood!! sisterly love! reflections upon life! and cancer and hope and conversations about these heavy things! and witty cheeky and dirty dialogue! this book was bold and i hope a lot more people read it.
what i loved slightly below surface:
relevant references to the world we live in today! adoption! east/west culture comparisons! the 3-strand braided narrative between our two narrators plus the k-drama plots! the casual representation! the continuing idea of plots and tropes and frames of references - a clever parallel between dramas and real life and a clever nod towards stereotypes! racial dynamics again, also stupid english supremacy!
what i considered:
- lowkey i wished there was more basketball content, but i think the amount included in the book made sense as the point of this book isn’t really about the sport itself after all…
- is it weird if I mention Jeremy Lin in this review since the book called into question comparing asians in sports? but fr, rising aa bball star (taiwanese american) on the Knicks… “Linsanity”… the inspiration for this book is kinda clear…
- there were two lines about white women regarding privilege and i was briefly worried about recommending this book to some of my white female friends but then i realized the portrayal of racism and the doubt and questioning as a poc in sports or relationships is so valid and real and am i rlly trying to shield my white friends from this? i think americans need to read more books by asian authors depicting just life man and stories from their perspective and this is one such book.
- i have only ever watched one k-drama (itaewon class, recommended to me by my friend jake) and hated it precisely bc of tropes. i do hate a predictable plot. however, the portrayal and explanations of k-dramas in this book has rlly opened my mind to the genre, and while i don’t plan to watch another one, i have a newfound appreciation for its existence as an art form, and for films in general
the brief acknowledgements page at the end of the has me screaming crying throwing up - short but rlly touching and makes one of the subplots so much more meaningful! my eyes really hurt from reading this book on a moving bus but i seriously could not put it down
February 1, 2023
Holy crap this was so good! Salesses wove in such complex takes on race, gender, and relationships while maintaining a good sense of humor. This was written in such a thoughtful and fun way, but there was a core of ideas the author played with that gave nuance to all the characters. As someone who doesn’t know anything about basketball, I was hooked the entire time.
May 13, 2024
Appreciated the effort but this felt like a book that was caught halfway in between sincerity and satire, never quite figuring out what it wanted to be. It did prompt me to watch 20 minutes of Youtube videos of Linsanity, which was fun. 2.5 stars.
March 11, 2023
Matthew Salesses’ The Sense Of Wonder uses basketball and k-drama to discuss many topics such as gender, race, the complexities of relationships, and the role media plays in creating certain narratives. The story follows Won Lee a Korean American basketball player who gets drafted into the NY Knicks. He is soon dubbed as “The Wonder” after a seven game winning streak but as his success fizzles out the drama and intensity of his life outside of basketball increases. He’s met with many issues that he must confront like handling an open relationship, and dealing with the media. Who is creating a narrative that is pitting Won against his only other teammate of color. A black basketball star known as Powerball! The tensions that arise from this manipulated narrative not only create cracks in his friendship with Powerball, but jeopardize his basketball career. As Won is aware of the fact he is seen as a less valuable player in comparison to Powerball.
The story is told from two perspectives Won and his girlfriend, Carrie, who is TV producer with the goal of bringing k-dramas to American audiences. She has her heart set on proposing a basketball drama. I found Carrie’s pov to be the most interesting. I learned a lot about the production of k-dramas and structure each k-drama follows. I think using basketball and k-dramas to tell Won and Carrie’s stories was very clever and engaging. I don’t know much about either of those things but I enjoyed learning about them.
Initially I was only gave this book a 3 star but the last few paragraphs of the book got me, making me bump it to a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I won’t spoil the last line, but let’s just say that I’ll have to give this a re-read.
The story is told from two perspectives Won and his girlfriend, Carrie, who is TV producer with the goal of bringing k-dramas to American audiences. She has her heart set on proposing a basketball drama. I found Carrie’s pov to be the most interesting. I learned a lot about the production of k-dramas and structure each k-drama follows. I think using basketball and k-dramas to tell Won and Carrie’s stories was very clever and engaging. I don’t know much about either of those things but I enjoyed learning about them.
Initially I was only gave this book a 3 star but the last few paragraphs of the book got me, making me bump it to a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I won’t spoil the last line, but let’s just say that I’ll have to give this a re-read.
May 2, 2023
Fun characters, fun story, the tiniest and most appropriate amount of heartwarming! Any basketball and/or k-drama lover would appreciate this book. Salesses truly excelled at writing a modern book that doesn’t feel gimmicky - he mentions Siri, and covid, and YouTube, and it never feels corny or takes you out of the story. I enjoyed this read quite a bit and look forward to reading more Salesses!
Read
January 27, 2023The voices of the characters I had created still rang in my ears. 'I didn't choose to live on my own,' they were saying, 'I am on my own because I chose life.' That's how they end up together too: they choose each other because they choose to live. (Carrie and the head canon for her basketball K-drama characters, laying the groundwork for the story's frame of reference.)
I somehow did not expect to find this book as touching as I did, especially the second half, where things came together and clicked for me.
'Don't let anyone kill your wonder,' she said, which at first disappointed me, that she would use her 'last' words to me to pun on my boyfriend's name-- but she meant, she explained later, that to keep our wonder, we had to stop fighting and denying our grief.
I thought the story within a story worked well and the ending was strong.
What Won made Asian Americans feel was mimetic wonder. His story made our own more possible. We loved him because we wanted to love ourselves.
I somehow did not expect to find this book as touching as I did, especially the second half, where things came together and clicked for me.
'Don't let anyone kill your wonder,' she said, which at first disappointed me, that she would use her 'last' words to me to pun on my boyfriend's name-- but she meant, she explained later, that to keep our wonder, we had to stop fighting and denying our grief.
I thought the story within a story worked well and the ending was strong.
What Won made Asian Americans feel was mimetic wonder. His story made our own more possible. We loved him because we wanted to love ourselves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2022
So smart, witty and moving. Matthew Salesses is a master of form, and it’s marvelous to see him switch between traditional modes of sports writing, K-drama, reality TV and, of course, literary fiction throughout The Sense of Wonder. I can’t believe what a keen eye Salesses has for pop culture! This book goes deep into his complex characters’ internal worlds, asking questions like, “What would it feel like to be a basketball phenom?”, “What is the experience of being constantly racialized?”, “What does one do with a lifetime of unrequited love?”, “What power does the media hold over narratives?” After reading this book, I feel like I’ve just watched an athlete at the top of their game sink a 3-point shot. So satisfying!
May 1, 2023
I picked this up after hearing it was a book about a Korean basketball player, modeled after Jeremy Lin’s own time in the NBA, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was more of a touching ode to K-drama. I feel as if the K-drama of it all could have been structured differently because I wasn’t a big fan of the book being sectioned the way it is. I don’t think it did anything for Won’s character. Besides that, I felt that the book touches on very specific modern Korean American experiences that I haven’t read before yet, especially regarding progressive views of masculinity. I want to give this four stars but I don’t like that this book tells me to go back and read it again. It’s the reactance in me. I’m a brat but I’m also serious about this. Good!
December 5, 2022
Won and Carrie are my favorite new fictional characters. Their story of basketball and K-Drama, love and loyalties was deeply moving. Wonderfully paced with great highs and lows, it delivered a gloriously unforgettable adventure full of humor and tears and commentary on what makes a story. Matthew Salesses constantly pushes the boundary on what’s possible in the written form that makes his books unique.
July 20, 2023
Thank you to Net Galley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book piqued my interest as I want to read more story about the Asian American experience by Asian/Asian American writers. The main storyline is following a character who resembles Jeremy Lin. Won Lee the first Asian American in the NBA becomes a sensation or The Wonder as he steps in and stuns the world with a 7-game winning streak for his losing team. Everyone has a different take on his success including his hero and teammate Powerball!, and also when the winning streak ends. Robert Sung is a journalist who covers the story. He is Asian American was a basketball player as well who didn't have as much success as Won. Lastly is Carrie, who produces a K-drama while dealing with her sister's bout with cancer. These story lines didn't really mesh for me but I'm always interested in how Asian American authors see the world.
February 14, 2023
To make sports interesting to me, you have to make it about the DRAMA and iNterPerSonAl soCiaL dyNamIcs of a team. Make the story about a Korean man defending his worth in the NBA, and all the microagressions he - and his ESPN reporter friend and K-drama director girlfriend - face, and you got me hooked!
I like how Matthew Salesses exposes the reader to the genre of Kdramas and attempts to land his prose somewhere near that genre. I like that this book is about high achieving Koreans in the public spotlight!
The plot was gripping and there were great concepts and commentary. It just wasn’t written in a style that I prefer. I wish the characters were more fleshed out (especially the women) and that the drama/connections were more clear.
Overall… fun!
I like how Matthew Salesses exposes the reader to the genre of Kdramas and attempts to land his prose somewhere near that genre. I like that this book is about high achieving Koreans in the public spotlight!
The plot was gripping and there were great concepts and commentary. It just wasn’t written in a style that I prefer. I wish the characters were more fleshed out (especially the women) and that the drama/connections were more clear.
Overall… fun!
April 4, 2023
4.25 a wonderful (hehe) read. the fast pace of an inspirational sports drama (which is extremely not my thing, most of the time), thoughtful musings about asian male identity, a look back at a not so long ago moment in time, and moments of real romance. i had no idea kdramas would be such a big part of this book and i love the respect with which he treats the genre. i loved both won and carrie's narratives! would love to read another Matthew Salesses book. also, i've been enjoying reading more short books this year.
May 22, 2023
3.5 rounded down. Enjoyable and interesting, but nothing stood out enough to make it a 4-star book.
February 1, 2024
9/10 um so this was amazing? Why have I not seen a person talk about it before ever?
A love letter to basketball and K-dramas that reflects the true FERVOR of Linsanity in NY in 2011. Emily Henry found shaking in a ditch because this is the best romantic comedy in years (as if I’m an authority).
Wonderfully paced and structured and the ending is picture perfect I gasped!!! Now want to read more of what Matthew Salesses writes!!
A love letter to basketball and K-dramas that reflects the true FERVOR of Linsanity in NY in 2011. Emily Henry found shaking in a ditch because this is the best romantic comedy in years (as if I’m an authority).
Wonderfully paced and structured and the ending is picture perfect I gasped!!! Now want to read more of what Matthew Salesses writes!!
January 27, 2023
I will preface this: I was in a book slump. Last year I read books I had read as a teenager and I felt lost in them and thrilled and I struggled with adult fiction, to find that sense of wonder, if you will.
This book got me out of it. It was funny, sharp, and relatable, with dynamic characters and difficult stories. I started this book yesterday and if I didn’t have to work I would’ve stayed up to read it. I’m not a huge basketball fan, but I felt as though you don’t have to be to follow this book.
I’m not even sure what about it exactly felt different, but unlike other adult fiction books I read, this one felt conversational, a bit familiar, and consistently funny even when things are dismal. I thank this book for reminding me why I love to read.
This book got me out of it. It was funny, sharp, and relatable, with dynamic characters and difficult stories. I started this book yesterday and if I didn’t have to work I would’ve stayed up to read it. I’m not a huge basketball fan, but I felt as though you don’t have to be to follow this book.
I’m not even sure what about it exactly felt different, but unlike other adult fiction books I read, this one felt conversational, a bit familiar, and consistently funny even when things are dismal. I thank this book for reminding me why I love to read.
November 2, 2022
What happens when the first AAPI NBA basketball player (and soon to be superstar) crosses path with another AAPI journalist and basketball devotee? You get a clever, sly and thought provoking read about desire, will and yes, basketball. This is also about many of the complicated feelings that AAPI and specifically, Korean adoptees have, when one is the first in a traditional non Asian setting. And while this isn't all about sports, it does give insight into the behind the scenes of a sports conglomerate. Plus, there is a K drama as a bonus. For readers of Charles Yu, and Joe Milan, Jr.
I received an arc from the publisher, but all opinions are my own.
I received an arc from the publisher, but all opinions are my own.
March 30, 2023
Won Lee is the first Asian-American basketball player in the NBA and as the only Asian player on his new team, the New York Knicks, he finds himself the odd man out. That is, until he goes on a seven-game winning streak. Inspired by Linsanity back in 2012, Salesses uses the sports industry as a backdrop for the exploration and intersection of racism and pop culture.
And there’s a lot of pop culture references in here both set in the U.S. and in Korea, which I immediately recognized and appreciated. There are also tropes in here, both that we love and crave (like those in Korean dramas) as well as those that are harder to digest (like those in real life). The former is obvious since Carrie, Won’s girlfriend and a K-drama producer, literally talks about these said tropes. The latter is more subtle and artfully done with the dynamic between Won and his childhood hero and now teammate, Powerball, both performing as basketball stars under the tensions of Asian and Black stereotypes.
I really enjoyed the alternating POVs between Won and Carrie, and appreciated the Carrie chapters for what it did. However, there were a couple of instances where I just couldn’t relate to Carrie. And as a Korean-American woman, I really wanted more to Carrie and of her. But maybe what I’m really looking for is an entire book about Carrie. (Aren’t we all?)
Wanting an entire book about a side character should tell you how I feel about this book—it was a lot of fun to read. So much that I wanted more. In under 250 pages, the author packs in a lot. It was fast-paced, witty, and entertaining. But, it was also emotional and moving. And as a Korean-American, I noticed, understood and valued the nuances of the Korean-American experience in this book.
And there’s a lot of pop culture references in here both set in the U.S. and in Korea, which I immediately recognized and appreciated. There are also tropes in here, both that we love and crave (like those in Korean dramas) as well as those that are harder to digest (like those in real life). The former is obvious since Carrie, Won’s girlfriend and a K-drama producer, literally talks about these said tropes. The latter is more subtle and artfully done with the dynamic between Won and his childhood hero and now teammate, Powerball, both performing as basketball stars under the tensions of Asian and Black stereotypes.
I really enjoyed the alternating POVs between Won and Carrie, and appreciated the Carrie chapters for what it did. However, there were a couple of instances where I just couldn’t relate to Carrie. And as a Korean-American woman, I really wanted more to Carrie and of her. But maybe what I’m really looking for is an entire book about Carrie. (Aren’t we all?)
Wanting an entire book about a side character should tell you how I feel about this book—it was a lot of fun to read. So much that I wanted more. In under 250 pages, the author packs in a lot. It was fast-paced, witty, and entertaining. But, it was also emotional and moving. And as a Korean-American, I noticed, understood and valued the nuances of the Korean-American experience in this book.
July 27, 2024
What an absorbing, funny, smart book this is! Yes, it's a book about basketball. But it's also about Kdramas. But also, it's about race and expectations and story and plot and agency and how we are perceived vs. who is doing the perceiving. And it's funny and fast-paced.
I loved toggling between the POV of Won, his girlfriend Carrie, and the unexpected delight of the Kdramas that Carrie is producing. The different expectations and cultures that Carrie and Won chafe against -- with Won trying to make it in the NBA (and, briefly, having a streak ala Jeremy Lin) vs. Carrie trying to produce Kdramas in Korea. The contrast and intersections illuminated what it is to be an Asian American, not quite fitting in either place. Threaded through is smart commentary that I think readers of Salesses' CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD will appreciate.
I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil the fun, but I truly loved it.
I loved toggling between the POV of Won, his girlfriend Carrie, and the unexpected delight of the Kdramas that Carrie is producing. The different expectations and cultures that Carrie and Won chafe against -- with Won trying to make it in the NBA (and, briefly, having a streak ala Jeremy Lin) vs. Carrie trying to produce Kdramas in Korea. The contrast and intersections illuminated what it is to be an Asian American, not quite fitting in either place. Threaded through is smart commentary that I think readers of Salesses' CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD will appreciate.
I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil the fun, but I truly loved it.
April 3, 2023
the repeated collision of the disparate timelines not only detracted from the overall reading experience but also fueled my utter aversion towards all the characters (except for carrie's sister)--and not just because everyone was either unlikeable or completely one-dimensional. the oscillation between basketball, kdramas, romance, and race were jarring and confusing to the point that i found the kdrama sections the most enjoyable since they provided brief respite from Won and Carrie's perspectives. i literally found myself wishing i forgot how to read whenever i returned to their sections due to salesses' inability to establish a clear narrative and theme
June 19, 2023
I could see what the author was going for, starting with a mirror of the Jeremy Lin “Linsanity” basketball phenomenon, setting up genuinely interesting themes about race and masculinity before pivoting into a Korean television drama framework. It’s a really interesting and promising combination. The pacing of the book is carried by switching narrators as well as presenting the chapters as brief vignettes (only a few pages each).
Unfortunately, the end result felt rather unfocused and underwhelming for me. I kept wanting to find an “in” with the story and characters and was disappointed that I couldn’t really click with any of it it.
Unfortunately, the end result felt rather unfocused and underwhelming for me. I kept wanting to find an “in” with the story and characters and was disappointed that I couldn’t really click with any of it it.
March 2, 2023
Absolutely loves some parts of this book ie unsurprisingly the basketball pov. I struggled to be as invested in the k drama pov which probably says more about me than the book itself. The ending changes the way the book reads but I couldn’t get myself that excited or invested in going back and re-examining the plot unfortunately.
September 27, 2023
I need a whole book about Powerball!
March 18, 2023
I just finished this book and I’m struggling to put to paper my thoughts on it. It’s stunning how a book so slim can be so dense and rich in both topic and story.
The inspiration for The Sense of Wonder is quite obviously Jeremy Lin’s sudden and surprising run with the New York Knicks during the 2011-2012 season. This seven game winning streak by a no-name, little regarded player, became a cultural phenomenon and an interesting inflection point in the Asian American experience. The author, Matthew Salesses, fictionalizes this cultural moment and uses it as a jumping off point to meditate on racism, race relations, grief, masculinity, K-dramas, and so much more.
At the heart of the novel is Won, nicknamed by the media as the Wonder, an affable basketball player signed to the Knicks in a blatant marketing ploy to “sell jerseys to Asians”. When a series of circumstances lead to “the streak”, his world and his relationships with his teammates and friends changes and shifts. A symbol of the model minority, Won is “playing an exhausting game designed… to idealize him, dismiss him and exoticize him while he dutifully pretends he doesn’t see color.” As Won’s star grows it affects his relationship with Powerball!, an African American teammate, and the Knicks’ star player, and Robert Sung, a former player turned sports reporter who sees in Won the fulfillment of his aborted dreams.
Switching narratives with Won is his girlfriend Carrie, a Korean American TV producer with intentions of creating a new K-drama that bridges both American and Korean audiences. Several chapters are dedicated to the plot of her produced shows. This is where the book lost me a bit. It’s clear, in fact, it’s explicitly mentioned, that these sojourns away from the main plot are meant to be the novel’s frame of reference, however I feel like I’m still digesting how. In a way I feel like familiarity with K-dramas and the wealth of culture that surrounds them is needed to fully appreciate the complexity of what Salesses is doing. Regardless, the Carrie chapters are still remarkably poignant in emphasizing a character that is both Asian and female who has a life and interiority that is separate and different from her partners. Additionally as someone who celebrates her roots, Carrie’s experiences stand in juxtaposition to Won’s. While he is too Asian for America. Her sensibilities are too American for Korean.
I would place The Sense of Wonder among recent novels by Asian authors that examine the Asian American experience. While Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu and Which Side Are You On? by Ryan Lee Wong mine some of the same topics more explicitly, Matthew Salesses’ novel feels more literary and told through an unapologetically Korean lens. While this might cause some to not quite pick up on all the nuances of this amazing book, if you’re willing to sit with that discomfort a bit, the experience is completely rewarding.
The inspiration for The Sense of Wonder is quite obviously Jeremy Lin’s sudden and surprising run with the New York Knicks during the 2011-2012 season. This seven game winning streak by a no-name, little regarded player, became a cultural phenomenon and an interesting inflection point in the Asian American experience. The author, Matthew Salesses, fictionalizes this cultural moment and uses it as a jumping off point to meditate on racism, race relations, grief, masculinity, K-dramas, and so much more.
At the heart of the novel is Won, nicknamed by the media as the Wonder, an affable basketball player signed to the Knicks in a blatant marketing ploy to “sell jerseys to Asians”. When a series of circumstances lead to “the streak”, his world and his relationships with his teammates and friends changes and shifts. A symbol of the model minority, Won is “playing an exhausting game designed… to idealize him, dismiss him and exoticize him while he dutifully pretends he doesn’t see color.” As Won’s star grows it affects his relationship with Powerball!, an African American teammate, and the Knicks’ star player, and Robert Sung, a former player turned sports reporter who sees in Won the fulfillment of his aborted dreams.
Switching narratives with Won is his girlfriend Carrie, a Korean American TV producer with intentions of creating a new K-drama that bridges both American and Korean audiences. Several chapters are dedicated to the plot of her produced shows. This is where the book lost me a bit. It’s clear, in fact, it’s explicitly mentioned, that these sojourns away from the main plot are meant to be the novel’s frame of reference, however I feel like I’m still digesting how. In a way I feel like familiarity with K-dramas and the wealth of culture that surrounds them is needed to fully appreciate the complexity of what Salesses is doing. Regardless, the Carrie chapters are still remarkably poignant in emphasizing a character that is both Asian and female who has a life and interiority that is separate and different from her partners. Additionally as someone who celebrates her roots, Carrie’s experiences stand in juxtaposition to Won’s. While he is too Asian for America. Her sensibilities are too American for Korean.
I would place The Sense of Wonder among recent novels by Asian authors that examine the Asian American experience. While Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu and Which Side Are You On? by Ryan Lee Wong mine some of the same topics more explicitly, Matthew Salesses’ novel feels more literary and told through an unapologetically Korean lens. While this might cause some to not quite pick up on all the nuances of this amazing book, if you’re willing to sit with that discomfort a bit, the experience is completely rewarding.
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