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gannent's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don’t read much fiction, but this book made me want to read more. It reminded me why fiction can be so great. It was engaging and interesting without being confusing. At first I didn’t really understand what the author was doing with the different perspectives but quickly found myself immersed in it. Somehow the book manages to show the cruelties of life without being cruel itself. There were moments that were painful but they didn’t usually feel brutal the way some books do. The character voices were great. And I appreciated this because it’s so rare - the men felt like side characters in the stories of the women, while still not being props. Really great read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Animal death, Antisemitism, Infidelity, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, Sexual assault, Racism, Deportation, Genocide, Islamophobia, and Trafficking
seeyf's review against another edition
4.0
Delayed Rays of a Star begins and ends with a photograph of three actresses at a party in Berlin in 1928: Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong and Leni Riefenstahl. Ambitious in its scope and its attempt to render these famous personalities of the early 20th century into relatable and flawed humans, the novel moves back and forth between these three characters as they each make their marks as independent women in a male-dominated film industry, and also wrestle with their respective demons: Dietrich being labeled a traitor for renouncing her German citizenship to go to Hollywood during WWII; Wong’s predicament of being offered only roles that were stereotypes of Asian women yet also being deemed “too Chinese to play a Chinese” when auditioning for the one Hollywood film with an Asian lead; Riefenstahl’s close relationship with the Nazis leading to attacks on her and her work after the war. I confess I did not know about any of them before reading the book, but was inspired to watch Shanghai Express after finishing it and appreciated the scenes that Koe so lovingly describes, as well as the butterfly lighting that made Marlene look like “she’d been dusted in gold foil.”
I loved Koe’s earlier collection Ministry of Moral Panic for its inventive twists on the people of the Singaporean heartland, and the minor characters here showcase her skill: Bébé, a Chinese immigrant who serves as Dietrich’s housekeeper as she lives out her last years; Ibrahim, a poetry-loving Turkish German who forms a bond with Bébé, and Hans Haas, the best boy on Riefenstahl’s crew for Tiefland who struggles with finding his own voice. The cast becomes a little crowded with the added cameos of Walter Benjamin, JFK, Marlon Brando and Hitler among others. I felt that the large ensemble of characters prevented me from deeply identifying with any one of them too closely. However, each character and the events they feature in are carefully crafted and sequenced in a complex web of space and time that illustrates the conflicting ideas and tensions each individual faces, juxtaposed against the march of history.
If there is one common thread that runs through the book, it is how we construct and edit the images and identities that we choose to see, and that are projected to the world. As Anna May says in response to a Chinese critic, “An actress’ authenticity is not in her life, it is in her performance.” This is most memorable in how Leni’s devotion to her artistic vision while filming Tiefland is also a way of survival by ignoring the atrocities of the Nazi death camps nearby: “she could not show that troubled face to the crew…if one person broke down to ask why they were making an alpine movie about a shepherd and a dancer when the world around them had gone mad, everything would turn to dust—they would all be back in the city, queueing for rations and cowering in bunkers. That must not happen.” Koe paints everyone in believable shades of grey, such that a reader could empathise with even Riefenstahl (who directed two of the most effective Nazi propaganda films ever made).
The title of the book is taken from a passage from Barthes’ “Camera Lucida”: “the photograph of the missing being, as Sontag says, will touch me like the delayed rays of a star.” Just like how the characters calibrate their images to transcend their realities and regain their agency, so does Koe revise and embellish history, shaping the rays of these bygone luminaries of film so that they continue to ask questions that still resonate today.
I loved Koe’s earlier collection Ministry of Moral Panic for its inventive twists on the people of the Singaporean heartland, and the minor characters here showcase her skill: Bébé, a Chinese immigrant who serves as Dietrich’s housekeeper as she lives out her last years; Ibrahim, a poetry-loving Turkish German who forms a bond with Bébé, and Hans Haas, the best boy on Riefenstahl’s crew for Tiefland who struggles with finding his own voice. The cast becomes a little crowded with the added cameos of Walter Benjamin, JFK, Marlon Brando and Hitler among others. I felt that the large ensemble of characters prevented me from deeply identifying with any one of them too closely. However, each character and the events they feature in are carefully crafted and sequenced in a complex web of space and time that illustrates the conflicting ideas and tensions each individual faces, juxtaposed against the march of history.
If there is one common thread that runs through the book, it is how we construct and edit the images and identities that we choose to see, and that are projected to the world. As Anna May says in response to a Chinese critic, “An actress’ authenticity is not in her life, it is in her performance.” This is most memorable in how Leni’s devotion to her artistic vision while filming Tiefland is also a way of survival by ignoring the atrocities of the Nazi death camps nearby: “she could not show that troubled face to the crew…if one person broke down to ask why they were making an alpine movie about a shepherd and a dancer when the world around them had gone mad, everything would turn to dust—they would all be back in the city, queueing for rations and cowering in bunkers. That must not happen.” Koe paints everyone in believable shades of grey, such that a reader could empathise with even Riefenstahl (who directed two of the most effective Nazi propaganda films ever made).
The title of the book is taken from a passage from Barthes’ “Camera Lucida”: “the photograph of the missing being, as Sontag says, will touch me like the delayed rays of a star.” Just like how the characters calibrate their images to transcend their realities and regain their agency, so does Koe revise and embellish history, shaping the rays of these bygone luminaries of film so that they continue to ask questions that still resonate today.
dserogina's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
At first, I was expecting sort of different plot as from the synopsis and was quite surprised when we jumped to the time when Marlene was in her late 80s. I thought that these characters would have a story together, but they went completely separate ways, yet connecting at different points of the timeline. My favorite POV was about Leni, especially her last part in this book. The building of the book was interesting and new to me because I was expecting that each chapter we would get a different POV, yet we were getting a solid story formed in cluster of chapters. I loved chapters about side characters, it really gave a fresh perspective. In general, the book was pretty great, the writing was comfortably sophisticated, some quotes really captured my attention which happens really rare, but this book wouldn’t be my favorite, something was missing for me and I can’t define it.
spicyturtles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
ijholets's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
whippetyfriend's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
seitenreise's review against another edition
1.0
Ich woltle es mögen. Aber zu viel Nationalsozialismus, der mir zu verträumt herüberkommt, zu viele racial slurs, zu viel drama porn. Es ist leider überhaupt nicht meins.
guinness74's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I won this book in a Doubleday giveaway on Instagram.
An incredible first novel from Koe that delves into the lives of three women who were integral in film in the 20s and 30s and that's putting it mildly. This is definitely historical fiction, but Koe writes in such a way as to make believe you're seeing their lives from the 'fly on the wall' perspective, creating unilateral 'interviews' to interpret their views, their failures, their anger, and their success. I didn't know much about Wong, but Dietrich and Riefenstahl are household names at least, if not controversial trendsetters in their field. This is an outstanding book, even if you have very little interest in the era, the stars create their own world, all from the chance photograph of the three of them. Stunning work.
An incredible first novel from Koe that delves into the lives of three women who were integral in film in the 20s and 30s and that's putting it mildly. This is definitely historical fiction, but Koe writes in such a way as to make believe you're seeing their lives from the 'fly on the wall' perspective, creating unilateral 'interviews' to interpret their views, their failures, their anger, and their success. I didn't know much about Wong, but Dietrich and Riefenstahl are household names at least, if not controversial trendsetters in their field. This is an outstanding book, even if you have very little interest in the era, the stars create their own world, all from the chance photograph of the three of them. Stunning work.
mcomer's review against another edition
5.0
This amazing book follows the intertwined lives of three cinematic women: Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Leni Riefenstahl. Photographed together at a party in Berlin before they become famous, Amanda Lee Koe uses the facts of their lives to imagine their journeys towards stardom. Along the way, other characters are drawn into their improbable orbits, as the book proves repeatedly that truth is often stranger than fiction (or film). Each of the main characters makes different sacrifices and compromises in the pursuit of their art and fame, and the novel provides an unstinting look at the costs of their successes as ambitious women in a world tipped against them. This is most notable with Leni's portions, which deal with her notorious Nazi associations, but Marlene and Anna May don't escape unscathed. The book is incredibly well-researched and seems to transport you into places as diverse as Berlin, North Africa, Shanghai, and Los Angeles across distinct time periods and settings. The author also provides a peek into the film industry of the time, which I enjoyed. Highly recommend for a painstakingly assembled, beautiful look into three turbulent lives and the span of the twentieth century.
inka333's review against another edition
4.0
I've hesitated for a long time - should I give it four stars? three? Let's assume it's 3.75.
I really like Amanda's writing, although I feel that the best parts were fictional. Usually I'm all up for experiments, jumping through time and mixing up threads, but somehow the result in "Delayed Rays of Star" seemed a bit chaotic at times. But! I am a huge fan of Amanda's work and so I am really glad I could read that and get (even if for a moment) into the world that fascinates the author herself.
I really like Amanda's writing, although I feel that the best parts were fictional. Usually I'm all up for experiments, jumping through time and mixing up threads, but somehow the result in "Delayed Rays of Star" seemed a bit chaotic at times. But! I am a huge fan of Amanda's work and so I am really glad I could read that and get (even if for a moment) into the world that fascinates the author herself.