In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
E. Y. Zhao’s novel Underspin is an immersive and moving debut.
Kirkus wrote of the book:
“A quietly devastating novel . . . Zhao is a master of careful plotting and mystery—the real kind that cottons to morally complex situations . . . A poet of table tennis, Zhao turns this underappreciated sport into a nimbly described choreography of Tomahawk serves, switch-handed chops, and forehand and backhand loops. A smart novel that examines the impact competitive sports have on kids without assigning winners or losers.”
In her own words, here is E. Y. Zhao’s Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel Underspin:
My taste in music might be my biggest insecurity, so I’m slightly appalled I agreed to make a public playlist. I often listen to radio hits or the most popular songs by lesser-known indie artists. (My excuse is the gym.) This is not uncommon among athletes, I believe—see this clip of top tennis players—and something I admire about the best athletes is that they’re not overthinking it. These songs are a combination of soundtrack, characterization, and glimpses into what didn’t make it on the page—as important for my novel-in-omissions as what the reader does get to see.
Voyage voyage – Desireless
I first heard this in Compartment Number 6, a film about a Finnish archaeologist who takes the train across Russia after a bad heartbreak. I listened to it while I traveled Germany solo conducting research for Underspin; it helped render some desultory, solitary weeks more cinematic. Much of Ryan Lo’s life remains a mystery to the reader, including his time off-court in Germany, but I imagine him riding around on local trains, listening to 80s synthpop, staring angstily out the window, and trying to make narrative sense of his own life.
Welcome to Japan – The Strokes
I’d originally written a character inspired by my tattoo artist, Vladimir Bydin, who played Pavement, Joy Division, and The Strokes throughout our sessions. Sadly, Coach Vova didn’t make it through development edits, but in my mind Ryan retained the gentle post-punk energy. In one scene, he does his skincare routine to Fall Out Boy, a juxtaposition I’m sure Strokes enthusiasts will find offensive.
Chanel – Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean is singing about his sexuality, but the lyric about “both sides” also resonates with the book’s ping-ponging structure, its concern with moral ambiguity and the bystander effect. I’m sure Ryan listened to this when he was sad, too.
Slow Dancing in the Dark – Joji
To honor a situationship between two Asian American teens from the coasts, one must play Joji.
Body – Julia Jacklin
Everyone in Underspin wrestles with adolescence, abuse, and aging against the stark background of competitive sports. Julia Jacklin captures the feelings of dissociation, confusion, and resentment that come with having a body, which could turn or be turned against you anytime. (“Well, l guess it’s just my life / And it’s just my body.”)
Das Orgelbüchlein: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 – J.S. Bach
Later in the revision process, I took more liberties with time jumps and long sentences. I had begun reading In Search of Lost Time and watched Tarkovsky for the first time. Both artists work almost exclusively in associative Künstlerromans, always invoking time itself—a characteristic I think all fiction tends toward when you let it speak to itself. This Bach hymn scores the famous levitation scene in Solaris.
Love Talk – WayV
Several characters lose their minds and do questionable things drunk at parties, where the playlists surely included a C-pop hit or two.
E.Y. Zhao is a writer from St. Louis. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Electric Lit, and Chicago Review of Books, among others, and she edits fiction for Joyland Magazine. She holds an MFA in prose from the University of Michigan and a BA in history from Harvard College. Her fiction has been recognized by the Georgia Review Prose Prize, the Le Baron Russell Briggs Prize, and various Hopwood awards.