10 Questions with Kit Fan
'Writing is about living with chaos on your own terms'
Kit Fan’s latest novel Goodbye Chinatown (World Editions) is set between London and Hong Kong in the years following the territory’s return to Chinese rule, and follows a young chef trying to reinvent her family’s struggling Chinatown restaurant. Kit will speak at Libreria on 2 June.
What gave you the idea for your book?
Food, glorious food! Also, the crossroads between Chinese food and fusion cuisine. Also, migration and reverse migration: people come and go, often not knowing whether they’re coming or going.
How long did it take to write?
Four years-ish. First draft started in spring 2021 and version nine, the final version, was signed off by my editor in summer 2025.
Were any other writers or artists inspiring you while you wrote?
I love Timothy Mo’s iconic novel Sour Sweet but I wanted to refocus London Chinatown away from seediness. I re-read Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe while writing Goodbye Chinatown. The refined, memorable food at A.Wong is inspirational. I owe debts to many brilliant writers of food: Fuchsia Dunlop, John Lanchester, Nigella Lawson, Jay Rayner, Felicity Cloake, Yotam Ottolenghi…
What do you tell yourself when the going gets tough?
That all things beautiful have an ending.
How much do you revise?
Voraciously and fastidiously. The book went through nine substantial drafts. I cut 35,000 words and rewrote the ending. Fiction-writing is a collaborative endeavour, and my editor has been indispensable and impeccable.
How did you first get published?
I wrote a story ‘Duty Free’, sent it to the then Guardian/4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize and got shortlisted. I kept at it, won a Northern Writers Award for Fiction, and Matt Turner, an agent at RCW, believed my writing and helped me find my wonderful publisher.
What’s the last really good book you read?
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.
What’s a book more people should read?
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Matsuo Bashō.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Writing is about living with chaos on your own terms.
Favourite place in London?
Seven Dials: standing at the intersection is like being lost and found simultaneously, very close to my early memory of beauty.