“A Dance With No End”: Mary H.K. Choi on Mothers, Snacks, and Her New Novel ‘Pool House’

They don’t make ’em cooler than Mary H.K. Choi. You know what makes her so cool? She would vehemently disagree.

The author, essayist, NYC media figure, and recent Subway Takes guest is funny as hell and a brilliant writer. Last night in Austin she was in conversation with another GOAT, Shea Serrano, discussing her new novel Pool House and all of the tidbits, artifacts, memories, and experiences that made their way into the book. As you’ll notice in our conversation, Choi is remarkably forthcoming and candid; there’s nothing she won’t talk about. It’s disarming at first, but she’s so goddamn funny that this vulnerability works as a super power. Pool House functions in much the same way. It’s a novel about a mother, Moon, and her daughter, Stevie, disrupted from their routine by an interloper (Adam) who exposes the increasing fault lines in their world.

Addiction, guilt, trauma, parenthood, celebrity, neglect, and entertainment coil around the plot like a venomous snake. Choi’s ability to marry these deeply real human conflicts with some of the funniest observations I’ve read in some time make Pool House one of the brightest black comedies of the year—maybe even longer!

I spoke with Mary about her expectations for Pool House; balancing writing a novel with script adaptation and other projects; and her thoughts on the infinite universe of snacks.