Alice Evelyn Yang on her debut novel, a magical realist reckoning with the legacy of a Chinese-American family, A BEAST SLINKS TOWARDS BEIJING: "In both the first and last chapters of my debut novel, an azalea bush appears, bookending the story. In Chinese culture, the azalea is known as the homecoming flower. I didn't know this before I wrote my book, which, at its core is a homecoming story; I only knew that, in the first house of my childhood, there were azalea bushes lining the driveway. Come spring, they bloomed in a riot of colour, and I would squat on the warm cement while my father and I weeded the garden. In the summer, we continued the ritual. Once the azaleas had peaked, I would sit in the shade of their leaves, cradling roly polys in my hands. We did this in silence. I never wanted my parents to speak Chinese in public, thinking that the foreign language that spilled out of their mouths would brand me. Researching and writing A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing was an act of r...