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We’re wrapping up our summer book club here at The Takeaway. As the tenth anniversary of September 11 approaches, our host John Hockenberry decided to focus his summer reading on novels about 9/11. This week’s pick touches upon how we memorialize a tragedy, which can be extremely political. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, for example, faced a great deal of criticism for choosing architect Maya Lin’s memorial design. Her nontraditional, minimalist approach sparked controversy, as did her Asian heritage, even though Lin was born in the U.S. to Chinese parents. A new book called “The Submission” centers on the 9/11 memorial, imagining what might have happened if a Muslim-American architect won a blind competition to design it. We’re speaking with author Amy Waldman. “The Submission” is her debut novel.
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