Dial A for Aunties

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death and racism.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Dial A for Aunties combines a dead body, family drama, and a high-stakes wedding into one chaotic weekend. Which aspects of this blend of comedy and mystery resonated most with you?

2. Did you find yourself sympathizing with Meddy’s decision to hide the body, or should she have gone with a more ethical alternative?

3. Novels featuring close-knit, meddling families appear in many novels from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to contemporary rom-coms like Crazy Rich Asians. What distinguishes the Chan family dynamics from other fictional families you’ve encountered in literature?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Meddy breaks up with Nathan rather than risk introducing him to her family or being abandoned by him. When have you avoided potential conflict by preemptively ending a relationship or opportunity?

2. The Chan family business showcases each woman’s unique talents while sometimes limiting their individual growth. How does your family recognize and utilize your strengths?

3. Ma and the aunties frequently switch between languages, leaving Meddy feeling isolated when she can’t follow their conversations. Have you experienced linguistic barriers within your own family or community?

4. Meddy’s relationship with her camera reflects her tendency to observe rather than participate in her own life. What mechanisms do you use to create distance between yourself and uncomfortable situations?

5. Meddy struggles to balance her family’s expectations with her desire for independence throughout the novel. In what situations have you felt caught between cultural or generational expectations and your personal desires?

6. As the story progresses, the family “curse” of male abandonment transforms into what Ma calls a “blessing” bringing the Chan women closer together. Can you recall a perceived negative circumstance that ultimately revealed unexpected benefits?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Throughout the novel, characters with “broken English” are portrayed as intelligent, capable professionals despite linguistic challenges. What statement is Sutanto making about language proficiency and perceptions of immigrants in American society?

2. The novel presents three distinct Chinese Indonesian families from vastly different socio-economic classes and relationships to their cultural heritage. What does this spectrum reveal about the diversity of immigrant experiences?

3. Sheriff McConnell’s disrespectful treatment of both Nathan and Ah Guan’s body reveals systemic racism against Asian Americans. Where else do you see subtle and overt forms of discrimination in the characters’ interactions with the wedding guests and hotel staff?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Ah Guan’s corpse symbolizes the secrets each character is hiding. What parallel do you see between the increasingly difficult task of concealing the body and Meddy’s struggle to maintain her emotional barriers?

2. What significance does the wedding as both setting and symbol have in relation to Meddy’s personal transformation?

3. Sutanto uses flashbacks to gradually reveal Meddy’s history with Nathan. What effect does this narrative structure have on your understanding of their relationship and Meddy’s character development?

4. Each aunt has a distinct personality that creates both comedy and conflict. What do aunts represent in the text?

5. The novel repeatedly shows characters making choices based on fear rather than honesty. What examples of this pattern stood out to you, and how does Sutanto demonstrate the consequences of these fear-based decisions?

6. Meddy puts down her camera to rescue Jacqueline from the pool, marking a pivotal moment in her transformation from observer to participant in her own life. What other moments signify Meddy’s growing sense of agency?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If Netflix adapts Dial A for Aunties into a film as planned, which scenes would be most important to keep in, and which might be challenging to translate to screen?

2. Imagine writing an epilogue that takes place five years after the novel ends. Where are Meddy and Nathan, and how has their relationship with the Chan family wedding business evolved?

3. Sutanto’s sequel Four Aunties and a Wedding focuses on Meddy and Nathan’s wedding. Before reading it, imagine what conflicts and comedic situations could arise when these two families attempt to plan a wedding together.

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