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ootoom 's review for:
The Fetishist
by Katherine Min
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmm..... I'm having trouble deciding where to start with this.
I think this is a situation where the ending kind of blew the whole thing for me, in a way. It felt inconclusive and as though bad behavior could be completely wiped away with a kick to the side and a cathartic cry.
Daniel sucked, and I did not like him for the entire book. Kyoko and Alma, while also demonstrating pretty severely bad behavior, were at least fleshed out enough that their entire being didn't center around their flaws. Unfortunately, I don't think any of them really had to face their poor behavior in any meaningful way.
And while the story did discuss the topic of Asian fetishization bluntly and without pretext, I just don't really feel like it had anything deeper to say than just, "this thing exists."
It felt like a Nickelodeon sitcom, where all conflict and poor choices have to be neatly wrapped up in a succinct 30-minute episode.
The things that I DID like, however, include the following:
The writing is wonderful! I love Min's writer's voice, and it is deeply tragic that we will not get to experience more of it. There were some delightfully witty pieces within this book, and I was certainly never bored.
As stated above, I think Kyoko, Alma and Emi are very interesting characters. I do appreciate how their strengths and defiance against systems of oppression and fetishization were dramatically different, but no less impactful.
Selfishly, as a classical musician, I truly am a sucker for books about classical musicians. Sue me.
All in all, I think this was time well spent. If this really resonates with others, I will be glad. It just didn't quite stick for me.
I think this is a situation where the ending kind of blew the whole thing for me, in a way. It felt inconclusive and as though bad behavior could be completely wiped away with a kick to the side and a cathartic cry.
Daniel sucked, and I did not like him for the entire book. Kyoko and Alma, while also demonstrating pretty severely bad behavior, were at least fleshed out enough that their entire being didn't center around their flaws. Unfortunately, I don't think any of them really had to face their poor behavior in any meaningful way.
And while the story did discuss the topic of Asian fetishization bluntly and without pretext, I just don't really feel like it had anything deeper to say than just, "this thing exists."
It felt like a Nickelodeon sitcom, where all conflict and poor choices have to be neatly wrapped up in a succinct 30-minute episode.
The things that I DID like, however, include the following:
The writing is wonderful! I love Min's writer's voice, and it is deeply tragic that we will not get to experience more of it. There were some delightfully witty pieces within this book, and I was certainly never bored.
As stated above, I think Kyoko, Alma and Emi are very interesting characters. I do appreciate how their strengths and defiance against systems of oppression and fetishization were dramatically different, but no less impactful.
Selfishly, as a classical musician, I truly am a sucker for books about classical musicians. Sue me.
All in all, I think this was time well spent. If this really resonates with others, I will be glad. It just didn't quite stick for me.