Constance Wu’s favourite books of all time
When Constance Wu broke through as Jessica Huang in Fresh Off the Boat, she paved the initial stones for a highly successful career. Since then, Wu has drawn acclaim for her performances in Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers. Here, we draw attention to some of the actor’s favourite books of all time.
Wu is a great admirer of the work of Elena Ferrante, particularly their Neapolitan Novels. Discussing the pseudonymous writer’s collection of reads, Wu said: “I’ve heard some (very smart) folks refer to the women in these books as intense or complicated, but they’re not. They’re real and normal. They only feel complicated in context of how we usually hear women’s stories: from the male perspective, or not at all.”
There had been an element of frustration to Wu discovering George Eliot’s Middlemarch; however, after a while, it quickly became one of her all-time favourites. “I was required to read Middlemarch for a Victorian Lit class, and I groaned about it the whole time,” she said. “But when I got to the very last page, it suddenly sank in for me, and I started weeping. Throughout that whole book, I’d been judgmental of the characters’ small, mundane worries, and that last page made me realise that that was the point. The unvisited tombs! Just gorgeous.”
As for the book that Wu has read the most, that is easily J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey, which is comprised of his short story ‘Franny’ and his novella Zooey. Wu said of the work, “I’ve read this book at least 20 times, if not more. It’s about acting and faith—two subjects that are at the core of my personal values. When I’ve lost my way, re-reading this book brings me back to my centre.”
Wu also holds a special place on her bookshelf for Marilynne Robinson’s 2004 epistolary novel Gilead. “Dusk is my favourite time of day,” she said, “and Gilead has a sort of suspended dusk-like quality to it. An old preacher’s life is nearing its end, and he writes his story for his young son to read when he’s older. The images, feelings, and words of this book sit on the heart like a warm salve.”
Elsewhere, we know that Wu is a big fan of Lily King, particularly Writers & Lovers and Five Tuesday in Winter. Of the former, Wu said, “There’s a line that says how feelings are physical, so write them that way. It reminded me of the sense memory exercises you learn in Method Acting, and it is a good way to write. She’s such a good writer.”
Check out the complete list of Constance Wu’s favourite books of all time below.
Constance Wu’s favourite books:
- The Great Fires – Jack Gilbert
- Middlemarch – George Eliot
- Five Tuesdays in Winter – Lily King
- Consider the Lobster – David Foster Wallace
- Arrow of God – Chinua Achebe
- Oh William! – Elizabeth Strout
- Commonwealth – Ann Patchett
- The Great Believers – Rebecca Makkai
- Writers & Lovers – Lily King
- Franny and Zooey – J.D. Salinger
- Gilead – Marilynne Robinson
- Bad Feminist – Roxane Gay
- The Complete Poems – Emily Dickinson
