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SYNOPSIS
POTATO QUEEN starts off in Manila, Philippines, where a young Juancho Chu is living vicariously through reruns of US television sitcoms and dreaming of a life in the less oppressive land of America.
As a young man, Juancho makes his way to San Francisco to establish a life for himself in the United States. While working at a travel agency, ironically selling tours to “exotic” locales like the Philippines, Juancho works toward his US citizenship.
It’s not long before he begins making friends and discovering the gay nightlife that San Francisco has to offer. Along comes Gerald, a white man who is attracted to Asian men – a “rice queen.” Juancho finds that he is usually attracted to white men, thus dubbed a “potato queen.”
Juancho and Gerald seem to be perfect for each other, but complications along the way include a variety of very willing Asian men and a surprisingly down-to-earth white porn star.
Will Juancho and Gerald remain “just friends"? Will Juancho secure the US citizenship he has always dreamed of? Will he actually meet the porn star he used to watch on the big screen in dark movie houses? Find out in POTATO QUEEN.
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"July 20, 1990, Friday, was the first time I had been on a date with anyone. I don’t remember now what I expected, if I anticipated our conversation to flow, if I worried about what Gerald thought of my haircut, or if he’d get a laugh should I confess that I had planned meeting him at his doorstep. The last I didn’t dare blurt out. I liked being perceived of as the pursued rather than the pursuer. "
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REVIEWS
"Very funny! It's what Desperate Housewives would be if it were set in The Castro."
RuPaul
“J'adorable!” -
Carson Kressley, QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY
“POTATO QUEEN is a wonderfully lyrical tale filled with detailed imagery and spot-on glimpses of realistic relationships. Throughout, there is a palpable, yet optimistic, longing for love. As I read it, I kept thinking, “That has happened to me!” (I also was thinking “Men are dogs,” but that’s another story for another time, or for my therapist). POTATO QUEEN is, quite simply, enjoyable and honest from cover to cover.”
Dave Benbow author of DAYTIME DRAMA and MALE MODEL
“Potato Queen is hilarious - it made me laugh at myself! An Asian perspective of being gay, highlighting the universal challenges that we all have faced at different points in our lives. A narrator, that I fell in love with, took me on a journey from my first childhood crush to the wild world of living as a gay person today and every day. Let Potato Queen be another source to teach us that, in the end, we all want the same things: to trust, to feel safe, and to believe that we are worthy of being loved.”
Reichen Lehmkuhl, winner of Amazing Race 4
"POTATO QUEEN is a poignant tale of a romantic outsider always on the brink of true love. Filled with frustratingly imperfect and lovable characters that make you want to shout when they repeatedly fail to fall for Sy's adorably sexy and good-natured hero Juancho, POTATO QUEEN is a delightfully brisk, ten-year, multi-city, multi-ethnic tour of gay (love) life."
Scott&Scott, authors of Romentics series of gay romance novels
“Yes, POTATO QUEEN is about love, loss, and lifelong friendship; but, more notably, it is about a young man’s journey to come to terms with – and reconcile – his sexual and ethnic identities. Rafaelito Sy has brought to life an innovative story with a unique voice, memorable characters, and subtle humor.”
Rob Byrnes author of TRUST FUND BOYS and THE NIGHT WE MET
"POTATO QUEEN is a novel about East and West, immigration, homecoming and homeleaving, an odyssey in quest of the true sexual self. But most of all, in a world of canned culture and programmed tastes, it is a novel about keeping the imagination alive, an accomplishment all readers can celebrate thanks to this remarkable debut by Rafaelito Sy."
Lamar Herrin author of THE LIES BOYS TELL and HOUSE OF THE DEAF
"Rafaelito Sy writes about a world of loyal friendship, disloyal love, and racial tension and obsession with unusual honesty, intensity, and style."
Alison Lurie, Pulitzer Prize winning author of FOREIGN AFFAIRS and FAMILIAR SPIRITS