“You write what you fear”

At the Jaipur Literature Festival, the author spoke about telling a story in multiple voices

- Rutvik Bhandari

Mongrel feels like a novel written from the body as muchas from the mind. Did it begin as a story you consciously wanted to tell?

The story came about because, as an actor, I wasn't being offered roles — or at times, even the opportunity to audition for roles — that reflected my lived experience asa Japanese-British woman. When the Caucasian roles came in, I was told I wasn't white enough. When the Japanese roles came in, I was told I wasn't Japanese enough. Mongrel came out of that frustration, that anger, that desire to be understood. It was a way I could bridge how I was externally perceived to how [internally understand myself.