The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

• Genre: Cross-genre short stories (science fiction, fantasy, noir, and magical realism)
• Originally Published: 2011
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 950L; grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 15 separate stories; approx. 464 pages; approx. 15 hours, 41 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: This collection of stories features primarily Asian protagonists facing immigrant experiences, implications of advanced technology, and other challenges.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic violence and murder; sexual assault; suicide

Ken Liu, Author

• Bio: Born in Lanzhou, China, in 1976; worked as a software engineer, a corporate lawyer, and a high-tech litigation consultant before becoming a full-time writer; frequently speaks at conferences on topics ranging from cryptocurrency to futurism to the mathematics of origami; lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts
• Other Works: The Grace of Kings (2016); The Hidden Girl and Other Stories (2020); The Veiled Throne (2021); Speaking Bones (2022)
• Awards: Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and Locus awards for various stories in the collection

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Storytelling as a Universal Constant
• The Essence of Memory and Erasure of the Past
• The Immigrant Experience in America



STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of cultural issues and genre as a context for reading the stories in collection.