Being fully immersed with Roman and Greek mythology as a youth, Vancouver author Katrina Kwan searched for more exposure to the culture behind her Chinese heritage. Kwan will bring The Last Dragon of the East to the Vancouver Public Library’s central branch on Oct. 16 and join in conversation with author Sarah Suk.
“As long as we follow our hearts and do the right things, we will hopefully end up feeling at home – not only with ourselves but with people around us,” says Kwan, about her debut story.
Writing The Last Dragon of the East allowed Kwan to achieve her goal of diving into her own roots. She hopes readers not familiar with these myths will be intrigued to learn more.
Invisible red thread
The invisible red thread is not a superstition. It is a romantic East Asian belief that stems from a Chinese myth about love and fate. And it is the core of Kwan’s fantasy tale, but it didn’t come to her naturally. Born and raised in Vancouver as a first-generation Canadian, she grew up with a western education.
“I stumbled upon the red thread of fate. I was aware of it, from the anime I watched as a kid, but didn’t know the origins of it,” she says.
Wondering about what stories her Chinese parents read and listened to when they were growing up, she decided to explore on her own.
“Doing my research, I found out one version of the original myth. I thought, I don’t know if I can retell the specific myth because it’s so short, but maybe I can use it as a building block in my own world,” she explains.
Although the red string is invisible in the original myth, the protagonist in her story, Sai, was born with the ability to see these threads between soulmates. It becomes his superpower to be a matchmaker. However, his own thread is always grey and unknown to him, until one day it finally starts to move when he goes on a challenging journey to hunt down a dragon.
“This book is more than just a romance. It’s an adventure,” points out Kwan, “It’s about understanding our place in the world.”
She describes her main character Sai as someone “relatable, often using humour as a defense mechanism.” And while most male figures in fantasies are tough and strong, Sai’s unusual softness – not a weakness – brings out a new but equally powerful definition of masculinity.
Kwan has just finished another fantasy which also incorporates Chinese myth, The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox, a dark story inspired by the myth of Houyi and the Ten Suns.
For more information about the Vancouver Public Library event, see https://vpl.bibliocommons.com/events/66c36e5c7cf6463600e36012
