Lucy Tan’s novel ‘Tiger’s Mouth’ explores friendship and power

Lucy Tan thinks she grew up while writing her latest novel, “Tiger’s Mouth.” Her debut novel, “What We Were Promised,” released in 2018, was well-received and critically acclaimed. But, when she came up with the idea for a second story about three young women growing up in a tourist town in Wisconsin, she got feedback that no author wants to hear – the book wasn’t “sellable” enough. “That really tripped me up,” Tan said. “For a really long time, I was like, ‘How am I gonna do this?’ Because previously the way I’d been writing was, I’m inspired, I’m interested in something, and I’m just going to move forward with the full belief that everyone else will also be interested in it.” But, in forcing herself to think of an idea that was both artistically fulfilling and commercially successful, Tan thinks she became a better writer. And out of approaching her craft from both of those angles, she came up with the idea for “Tiger’s Mouth,” which comes out on Nov. 17. “You would think that once you write a book, you’ll know how to do it next time. And that’s just not true. The bar kind of keeps on getting raised,” Tan said. “That is both scary and also wonderful, because I want to keep being ambitious. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of what I feel like I can do and scaring myself a little bit.” “Tiger’s Mouth” is about the friendship between two young men both named Jack – one, a working class boy from Queens, and the other the son of a billionaire tech giant – and how their relationship evolves over the years. The Avondale Estates indie bookstore The Book Bird is hosting an event with Tan and Jenna Bush Hager at Agnes Scott College on Nov. 14 . Author Emily Giffin will moderate a conversation about Hager’s media imprint Thousand Voices and “Tiger’s Mouth.” Much like her first novel, “Tiger’s Mouth” tackles themes of class and privilege. But, taking from her second book that never sold, Tan also really wanted to write a friendship story. The novel takes a close look both at how friendships evolve over time and how power imbalance comes into play. Tan wanted to push the boundaries of her two main characters’ relationship, exploring how their stations in life might pull them apart. “That felt like a really interesting puzzle to me, and it felt like something that could be really propulsive on the page,” she said. Tan’s writing is character-driven, a trait she pinpoints back to her childhood interests. When she was younger, her other dream besides becoming a writer was becoming an actress. She eventually decided writing would be a better avenue for her, but her love for acting helped her achieve that dream. “The way that I approach writing is not dissimilar to the way that I approached acting, which is that it all comes from the character first,” Tan said. “What I need is the point of view in order to get into whatever story I’m telling.” Growing up, Tan saw books as a way to understand the world around her. The first book she remembers reading that made her realize that being an author was a job someone had was Ralph Ellison’s “The Invisible Man,” but the first series she remembers devouring was the “Baby-Sitters Little Sister” books, a spin-off of “The Baby-Sitters Club.” “I loved being able to inhabit this world where I knew everyone,” she said. “I’m an only child, so it felt like a family to me. It felt like friends.” Tan was born and raised in the U.S., but her parents are originally from Wuhan, China . Being first generation, she said, books like “Baby-Sitters Little Sister” offered her an entryway into a world that still felt new. “American culture was still kind of a question mark to me,” she said. “I think the way that I started to understand it was through books.”