Reviews with content warning for Racism - Making a Scene

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Making a Scene by Constance Wu

21 reviews

spookyfaith's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

4.0

This book was so good I could forgive her use of “lol” and other text slang.
I really appreciated her honesty and willingness to own up to her mistakes as well as correct them. She doesn’t shy away from discomfort and isn’t afraid to point out where she has made mistakes.

Her writing is both beautiful and funny; a very memorable combination.

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hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

3.25

I thought this was an easy and entertaining read. Of course, some triggering topics are discussed, but there is a consistent tone throughout the essays that gives the impression of one author. My favorite essays were “Welcome to Jurassic Park”, “Making a Scene”, and “You Do What I Say”. A lot of the essays were entertaining to read, but I often wondered why some of them were included; they either didn’t have a clear point they were trying to make or would end preemptively (the essay “Little Cassandra” is a good example of the latter because it ends just as it starts a conversation about privileges some have with opportunities while others have to work so much harder to reach the starting point others begin at). The structure of the book didn’t make much sense, but the latter half of the book was much stronger than the former because those essays had more intention in their creation rather than just random stories (which I enjoyed reading about, but it seemed a bit random and I prefer a bit more reflection and statement of purpose or lesson in an essay format). Overall, a good read, but nothing that stands out. I did enjoy hearing her opinions about representation and what others want to hear versus reality, as well as how shame fits into those narratives. This was quite honest, as she is very forthcoming with her regrets, mistakes, and flaws, and I often found these flaws relatable as well as her path to bettering herself. This isn’t a must-read to me, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it all the same.

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ashlightgrayson's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective

5.0

This was such a compelling walk through Constance Wu's experiences in Hollywood as a first generation child of Chinese immigrants as well as a woman. I am first generation myself and there were many moments that I could relate to. There is one quote in particular that hit me hard that she wrote in page 84 as follows:

Parents are generally smarter and more experienced than their kids. But there’s this thing that sometimes happens with the kids of immigrant parents. There’s a tacit understanding that because your parents didn’t grow up in America, they don’t get American stuff. My sisters and I either taught our parents about American problems, or we just handled them ourselves. My parents would not have understood a Mrs. Kantor type—the charm of her brashness, the way it overpowered everything else. I also thought that she’d use their foreignness, their very accents, to discredit me further. Nonimmigrant Americans often equate accented English with a lack of intelligence. But my parents are educated and smart. They can write in English beautifully with clear grammar. But their spoken accents are strong to some. I knew Mrs. Kantor would hear their accents and think they were stupid. I wasn’t going to let anyone think my parents were stupid. I had to protect them. That’s why I never told them.

Specifically, the line where she says "I had to protect them". I have had this sentiment before with my parents. Like Wu's parents, they are intelligent, hardworking, and have all of my respect. Unfortunately, when you are perceived as an immigrant that does not speak English well in the United States all of that respect is no longer merited in some people's eyes. It is unfair, but it is accurate and often puts us, their children, in a position where we have to grow up too fast. We have to take on the role of caregiver in order to protect them from being humiliated for factors out of their control.

Wu speaks extensively on her relationships with men throughout the book, both in a professional and romantic capacity. Her narratives around some of her romantic relationships are vaguer than others. It is definitely not the focus of the book. However, it does give insight to what she learned about herself in the context of those relationships. Additionally, she shares details about both her more positive experiences with them men in her life and the more #MeToo adjacent ones. It is unfortunate that sexual abuse towards women is so commonplace, but it not surprising. Her experience on Fresh Off the Boat especially was disturbing to read, but I'm glad she had the space here to tell it.

The narrative of her experiences is relatable and feels authentic, like listening to a friend talk to you about their life. The writing is easily digestible but holds emotional depth and impact. I personally am not an avid follower of Constance Wu, but still found her story compelling and would recommend this memoir if you are looking for a good one to pick up.

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mattyvreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Incredible. Another one of my favorite books that I read this year. Wu is an artist with her words. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always true.

The book is a page-turner. When I picked it up, I thought that it was going to be a story about fame and sex and scandal and stardom. It was all of that, but so much more. Much of the memoir focuses on her growing up, becoming who she is today. The lessons that she learned and the people that she loved.

There are heartbreaking and emotional moments, as Wu courageously recounts and explores her traumas, but the book is also filled with hope and love. It is like a biting shot of liquor followed by a warm hug.

One of the bravest and noblest aspects of the book, and what makes it so successful for me, is that she presents such a seemingly fair account of events. She is the first to admit when she’s made mistakes in her life. She reflects on those “bad” decisions: people that she hurt and actions that she regrets, in a way that challenges them and how they helped her to grow. In that way, she illustrates in an unpretentious way, how we can be better people, too. As if to say, “I made this decision so you don’t have to.”

But moreover, she defends some of her past decisions and sheds new light on those situations in an extremely meaningful and empowering way. It was fascinating to read about her experience on “Fresh Off the Boat”. It was a show that was important and meaningful to many, but which had such a negative association for Wu due to her adverse experience on set with abusive and manipulative producers. So insightful.

I am excited to read this book again. It is one of my favorite memoirs I’ve ever read.

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zombiezami's review

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

3.75

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saucy_bookdragon's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

Constance Wu seems really down to earth and humorous and I liked a few of these essays, particularly the ones about her time on Fresh Off the Boat and her Twitter villain era (I guess X villain era now, ugh), the time her middle school teacher accused her of plagiarism (that was fucking cruel), and the final one about her parents.

That said, there's not much tying these essays together and I wish she'd gone into some more interesting anecdotes, particularly around her time in Hollywood, or that there'd been more introspection into the anecdotes we got. I kind of don't want to be like "she needed to share more" because god knows sharing this much about your life with the world must be hard, but also if you're writing a memoir you need to either have really interesting experiences like Jeanette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died or the ability to show what your experiences mean to you like Michelle Zauner's Crying In H Mart. Though there are essays with both these traits, there are some without that drag the book down, especially in how random it feels.

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issyd23's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Best book I’ve read this year 5🎭

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aishallnot's review

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challenging emotional reflective

3.5

3.75

I knew about Constance from her show fresh off the boat, so it was nice to have already know who she was for some years. I remember the controversy surrounding her tweets about the shows renewal and the backlash that followed, but after that we never saw much of her in the spotlight. Even though I've never seen any of her projects, I'm glad I read this book to hear more about who she is as a person and as an actress bc many still see her for acting 'out of character' due to her tweets. She has a great gift in writing and you can clearly see that her acting and writing go hand in hand. There were some parts of the book that were written like a screenplay which I thought was cool considering the title of this book.

Unfortunately, I do agree with a lot of the reviews about how her memoir was executed. It was a unique approach writing in essay format, however they did feel scattered and even random at times in terms of subject matter. Her first essay starts out in adulthood, then another from when she was in high then, then a a child, etc, and I think if they were chronological, the story would be easy to follow. Also there were moments were some of her essays (or even maybe a few essay) felt like stream of consciousness, yet she was able bring her writing back to the overall narrative.

I think this her story overall just proves how she was able to own her voice and be authentic to herself. If you're going to read this bc of the backlash she got, there is an essay about what led up to that moment, but I'd say to read the book in general to get a grasp of who she is. There were times I found myself relating to her and for someone like constance who is a celebrity (and actress at that) is also proof that she is no different from anyone else and also has her struggles.

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l1brarygirl's review

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emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

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pamshenanigans's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

I highlighted exactly 41 passages from the book and I could’ve just gone and highlighted the whole book because the majority of the things Constance wrote were hard-hitting and impactful. Making a Scene chronicles Constance Wu’s experience growing up, navigating family life, friendships, relationships, sex, heartbreaks, and her journey to achieving her dreams.

I say I found her story primarily relatable because I’m also an Asian woman. While we didn’t really have the same experiences as she grew up in America, many things resonated with me, especially on the general notion of “swallowing tough pills” and “not making a big deal out of things”. There come times when I collect pent-up feelings like Pokémon because I don't know how else to express them without being swallowed by anxiety that eventually they burst out of me creating rifts over what may seem like a small thing to others. There are also a lot of times that I gaslight myself into feeling guilty over things that weren’t my fault nor were exactly within my control. I’ve also blacked out experiences that were traumatic to me and just hit me like a truck when I was older. A lot of these things, Constance also talked about in detail, albeit in different instances and settings.

I especially like that even though this memoir talks about serious matters, Constance still manages to add hints of comedy to it. The audiobook narration adds so much to the reading experience as you can feel the passion and emotion radiating from Constance as she reads it.

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