为什么一本20年前出版的书仍然在读书会备受关注？ It could be because it’s an engaging story told through the lens of Kansas City history. It’s most certainly because Whitney Terrell’s writing draws in readers even when the subject is difficult.
A native of the greater Kansas City metro area, Terrell wrote “万王之王郡” as a fictionalized retelling of the development of racial covenants, clauses in deeds to prevent people who were not white from buying property, that still affect the demographic make-up of Kansas City today.
If “万王之王郡” is your next book club pick, here are questions answered by Terrell himself you can bring to the discussion:
What inspired “万王之王郡,” and how closely is it tied to Kansas City’s real history?
这本书以堪萨斯城为背景，尽管我虚构了某些地区； 比如将约翰逊县改名为国王县。 I’ve written multiple novels about the city, and I wanted to explore how housing policies shaped its racial and economic landscape. The J.C. Nichols Company’s use of racial covenants played a huge role in segregating neighborhoods, and that history is central to the story.
关于种族契约和郊区发展，为什么直接谈论这些问题很重要？
That’s the point of writing fiction: to say what people don’t say out loud, especially in the Midwest. We’re taught to be polite, but novels are where you confront the uncomfortable. I tell my students: politeness is great in life, but it’s terrible for a narrator. This book was one of the first mass-market works to openly discuss Kansas City’s racial housing policies.
这本书在今天引起了怎样的共鸣？
这些主题仍然具有现实意义。 Since the book’s release, Kansas City has seen shifts: Black leadership in key roles, urban redevelopment in areas like the Crossroads. But there’s tension between that progress and the pull of old power structures. 关于市中心体育场的争论就是一个很好的例子。
对于堪萨斯城以外的读者来说，这本书还能引起共鸣吗？
绝对的。 Racial covenanting and suburban segregation aren’t unique to Kansas City; they’re national issues. 从密尔沃基到休斯顿的读者都能在自己的城市找到相似之处。 这本书受到广泛的评论。 吉莉安·弗林, who is a friend (and fellow Kansas Citian), wrote a really nice review in Entertainment Weekly and it’s accessible even if you’re new to Kansas City’s history.
What should book clubs keep in mind when reading “万王之王郡”?
It’s a serious book, but it’s also funny. The main character is a morally questionable developer, but he’s engaging. Fiction isn’t black-and-white like online debates. It’s messy, human and complex. 我希望读者抛开政治偏见，深入了解这个故事和其中的人物。