Ocean Vuong

Well, first of all, I learned that everything is about deception, right? We didn't cook anything. The entire thing was a series of microwaves in various, you know, it's taking frozen sacks of food in giant plastic bags, reheating it, and then presenting wholesome home-cooked meals. But what I learned was, you know, we have this idea of American life being the nuclear family.

But I think a huge portion of how this country is formed is through circumstantial family. labor, this arbitrary cobbling of strangers thrown together. And then we have to kind of sacrifice relationships with our own family in order to be here. And yet, intimacies arise despite that, because human beings, no matter where they are, will find bounding relationships.

But I think a huge portion of how this country is formed is through circumstantial family. labor, this arbitrary cobbling of strangers thrown together. And then we have to kind of sacrifice relationships with our own family in order to be here. And yet, intimacies arise despite that, because human beings, no matter where they are, will find bounding relationships.

And a month in, you'll start to know whose cough belongs to who. You'll know when, you know, Joe's drugstore deodorant will wear off at which hour, right? I'm like, we're at the third hour. I'm going to start to smell his BO underneath the deodorant. And there's nothing more intimate than that. But you also, you're so dependent on each other.

And a month in, you'll start to know whose cough belongs to who. You'll know when, you know, Joe's drugstore deodorant will wear off at which hour, right? I'm like, we're at the third hour. I'm going to start to smell his BO underneath the deodorant. And there's nothing more intimate than that. But you also, you're so dependent on each other.

I'm not a soldier, so I would never compare it to war, but it's just kind of like going through a battle sometimes, especially when you're about to close and a purple bus pulls up and it's a bunch of Catholic school kids after their prom and you're slammed. And you have to depend on each other. And there's a kindness that arises out of that. There's also a deep frustration. What frustration?

I'm not a soldier, so I would never compare it to war, but it's just kind of like going through a battle sometimes, especially when you're about to close and a purple bus pulls up and it's a bunch of Catholic school kids after their prom and you're slammed. And you have to depend on each other. And there's a kindness that arises out of that. There's also a deep frustration. What frustration?

Frustration. That underneath it all, every employee kind of knows that this is not it. This is not the way out. And it's kind of the elephant in the room. And the manager is paid just a little more than us. I think at that time, they were paid maybe $13 to $15. We were paid $7 to $15. So, you know, almost double. But the suffering that they went through... showed us it wasn't enough.

Frustration. That underneath it all, every employee kind of knows that this is not it. This is not the way out. And it's kind of the elephant in the room. And the manager is paid just a little more than us. I think at that time, they were paid maybe $13 to $15. We were paid $7 to $15. So, you know, almost double. But the suffering that they went through... showed us it wasn't enough.

Like my first, I watched someone get promoted and then turn it down, right? It was like, we had this ceremony. We're promoting somebody and it was a grand thing where the manager came out. We closed the store and said, all right, you know, we're going to promote Jennifer today and welcome Jennifer. And she's just like,

Like my first, I watched someone get promoted and then turn it down, right? It was like, we had this ceremony. We're promoting somebody and it was a grand thing where the manager came out. We closed the store and said, all right, you know, we're going to promote Jennifer today and welcome Jennifer. And she's just like,

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. I think it's interesting because... the fast food restaurant in a way obfuscates the worker's humanity because everyone's in a uniform. You're just hands. Your most valuable asset are your hands, not your personhood. And I think there's, what I'm interested in this novel and in my life in general is when humanity breaches these moments.

Yeah, yeah. I think it's interesting because... the fast food restaurant in a way obfuscates the worker's humanity because everyone's in a uniform. You're just hands. Your most valuable asset are your hands, not your personhood. And I think there's, what I'm interested in this novel and in my life in general is when humanity breaches these moments.

To this day, I think it's almost 20 years ago now, But till the end of my life, I will remember this one moment. I was being trained by this man named Ruben. One day we were cleaning the freezer. And I don't know what to do with this fact, but it's just, I didn't put it in the book because it's too dramatic.

To this day, I think it's almost 20 years ago now, But till the end of my life, I will remember this one moment. I was being trained by this man named Ruben. One day we were cleaning the freezer. And I don't know what to do with this fact, but it's just, I didn't put it in the book because it's too dramatic.

You know, sometimes life is like both cornier and more dramatic than any fiction you can do. But it's been haunting me for forever. I'm 19. And we have our backs together. It's like maybe like six foot wide. And it's almost touching. And we're just cleaning. And we're talking about family. And he stops and he says this thing. He has his back to me.

You know, sometimes life is like both cornier and more dramatic than any fiction you can do. But it's been haunting me for forever. I'm 19. And we have our backs together. It's like maybe like six foot wide. And it's almost touching. And we're just cleaning. And we're talking about family. And he stops and he says this thing. He has his back to me.

He says, you know, it's something I can never tell my wife. I was like, oh, my God. And he says, I have three sons. And I only love one of them. And all I know how to do is just give affirmative. Like, I don't know how to receive this, you know. And I said, oh, okay, all right. Why, you know? He just says, you know, there's nothing. I have no real connection with the son that I love.