Abraham Chang: 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers

WritersCast

888 Love and the Divine Burden Numbers: A Novel — Abraham Chang — Flatiron Books — Hardcover — 978-1-250-91078-3 — 400 pages — $29.99 — ebook $14.99 — May 7, 2024

I met Abe Chang several years ago when he was gainfully employed at Simon and Schuster as a sales rep. I was immediately impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and the pure joy he exuded as a person, always coming across as an authentic character who combined a sharp eye for detail and a unique sense of humor. I had literally no idea that he was also an accomplished poet, musician and evidently, a terrific novelist and storyteller at the same time.

A few months ago, I heard that Abe had left his job at S&S, and then a short time after that, an email announcing the publication of a new novel called 888 Love and the Divine Burden Numbers appeared in my inbox, and I thereby discovered that Abe is also a novelist. Since I am always interested in the writings of friends and associates, there was no question I would want to read this book.

And now that I have read this very engaging first novel, I am very happy that it reached me. I literally had no idea during all the various business meetings where we talked about how to sell other people’s books, that all along, Abe was writing his own complex and funny book.

While I do not believe that fiction can or should be read literally – novels are not simply memoirs in hiding – we always learn something about an author from their fiction, however indirectly that may be. Reading novels by someone you know can be confusing, as it is always tempting to read between the lines – is this his real family in disguise, was this girlfriend really so utterly cool, and other questions that arise during the course of absorbing the story line. It is crucial to tamp down those kinds of questions and to not think so literally – just read the damn book as if you did not know the author at all.

888 Love and the Divine Burden Numbers is fast paced, quirky and is carefully designed and constructed by the author to carry the reader along a personal journey of discovery as its main character learns who he is and how he can function in a complicated emotionally charged universe. Numbers and their secret meanings chart his path. The book is full of surprises and is impossible to put down.

It’s also full of pop culture references, some of which are central to the experience of the book and which may be unfamiliar to some who are much older than its Gen X author, so be prepared to use your favorite search engine and YouTube to check in on some of the bands and songs Abe includes in the book.

Here’s a quote from the book that might give you an idea of its pop culture infused approach:

“You are obsessed with Robert Smith and company, Morrissey and Marr, and Gahan, and Gore. You spend hours ruminating on their obtuse Anglo references and overanalyzing their overly clever lyrics –how these pasty British men sing of a life through jangly guitars with jutted-jaw irony, and someone manage to reflect your preferred, parallel worldview: repressed, depressed, well-dressed. The chimes in ‘Pictures of You’ give you chills.”

I am certainly now a fan of Abe Chang’s writing. We had a lively engaging discussion about the book and his writing journey which I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.

Official bio: Abraham Yu-Young (Abe) Chang is an award-winning, published poet with an MFA in creative writing from New York University. He has worked in the publishing industry since 2000 and was most recently in charge of Special Sales for Simon & Schuster. He lives in Forest Hills, Queens, with his wife.

Author website

Buy the book from Bookshop.org

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