Learn How to Write a Novel: Jade Chang to discuss latest book ‘What a Time to Be Alive’ at Vroman’s | Arts & Events

If you love a good dichotomy, pick up “What a Time to Be Alive.” The latest novel by West Hollywood’s Jade Chang features the protagonist, Lola, a woebegone Millennial, who has no job or apparent future. 

As Lola sinks into her nadir, one of her closest friends suddenly dies. After a few drinks Lola delivers a brief, extemporaneous speech that unbeknownst to her is recorded and shared online.

The eulogy goes viral and rudderless Lola is viewed as a sage. The public perception catapults Lola to guru status. Fame follows. Chang goes from having nothing to being catapulted on an unexpected wild ride. Humor blends with darkness. Chang contrasts stereotypical Los Angeles shallowness with depth as she delves into the meaning of life. 

“I was really interested in the glamour and decay,” Chang said while calling from her West Hollywood home. “Growing up in Los Angeles you see quite a bit of contrast. You see these gorgeous homes that are half abandoned and then you see these amazing houses where every room has a perfect view. Glamour and ruin bump against each other. Lola grew up in the back house. I’ve always been interested in the back houses, the pool houses, those free spaces where anything can happen. I wanted to write an LA novel.”

“What a Time to Be Alive,” is amusing, surprising and provocative. Chang will sign and discuss the novel on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Vroman’s Bookstore. Chang will also detail how to write a book with her friend and frequent collaborator Ann Friedman. “It’ll be a fun evening,” Chang said. “It’s always good being with Ann.”

Mission accomplished. Chang excels when writing what she knows. Chang grew up in Northridge during the ‘80s, which was a great time to come of age in the San Fernando Valley.

Youth culture reigned whether you hung out at the Northridge Fashion Center or Sherman Oaks’ Galleria. Kids gathered at arcades or skate parks doing their own thing as KROQ, at its peak, was the soundtrack to many suburbanites’ young lives.

There was another side of Southern California during the Reagan era. Self-help gurus became rich and famous. Tony Robbins, Werner Erhard and Jack Canfield were part of the area’s hub for the Human Potential Movement, which was all about personal transformation.

“I wanted to write a book about the rise of the guru,” Chang said. “But I wanted to write from the point of view of the guru. We often see these kinds of books written from the acolyte’s view or a journalist’s view.”

2016’s “The Wangs vs. the World,” Chang’s debut, won the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and is about the cross-country road trip of Chinese/Taiwanese immigrant Charles Wang and his family, which finds him at his eldest daughter’s house after his bankruptcy. The 2008 financial crisis inspired the book. 

“It’s about rich people freaking out when the money disappears,” Chang said.

Hulu struck a development deal with Chang in 2018 for a television series adaptation of the novel. However, the series never panned out but it was a positive experience for Chang.

“That is a journey that is sadly essentially over,” Chang said. “I sold it to Hulu and it was fantastic getting paid to take a masterclass on making a television show.”

It’s gone well for the former LA Weekly intern, who has made quite a name for herself as a novelist. 

“I like where I’m at,” Chang said. “I look back and appreciate the experiences I’ve had starting while interning at LA Weekly. I had real exposure to actual journalism. It was amazing being at an alt-weekly during the ‘90s, which was such a great era. It’s good to look back but I’m in a good place right now. I really enjoyed writing ‘What a Time to be Alive.’ It was fun writing about this character, who goes through the pitfalls of life and the joy of being someone whose word is taken increasingly seriously. The book was so much fun to do. I enjoyed writing all of the thorny moral moments.”

The satire of the rich is hilarious and spot on. The absurdities of Los Angeles is good for a number of laughs. The flip side, the importance of family friends, rings true. Chang nails it with her sophomore novel.

Truth inspired Chang’s fiction. “At (a) TED (Talk) in 2017, I watched legions of Elon Musk fanboys strain forward the entire time he was onstage, entranced and fervent, and I realized that it felt the same as being at the Vatican on Easter Sunday and seeing the faithful react to the Pope’s appearance on the balcony,” Chang said. “And then I went to Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday and saw the same reaction with self-help gurus like Glennon Doyle. The search for prosperity and purpose via self-improvement is a modern cult that ensnares us all and it’s the cult that fascinates me the most.”