Losing Faith in The Incendiaries (ft. R.O. Kwon & Alexander Chee)

The Incendiaries is a dark, glittering, and obsessive new novel from R.O. Kwon. It’s a fractured love story, a inside look at a campus cult, and a literary thriller. It’s also already a bestseller.

The Incendiaries follows the journey of a Korean American college student who falls under the spell of grief. As she finds new love, she’s also lured to violence in a Christian cult tied to North Korea.

R.O. Kwon spoke with Alexander Chee, author of Edinburgh, The Queen of the Night, and the new essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. R.O. told him about growing up Korean and Christian, and shares an unpopular opinion: that books should be shelved with the spine facing inwards. She also talks about losing her faith, both in religion and in art.