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A review by caitlin_89
The Brightest Star by Gail Tsukiyama
2.0
Thank you to Harper Collins for the chance to read this book that was just released 10 days ago! How exciting!
I wish i could say the same for Tsukiyama's novel. This was so boring.
I hesitate to be so critical, because I hear Tsukiayama is incredibly well respected (I've not read any of her previous work.) But while I know I can't write a novel, I've read many of them. A good one pulls you in. This one somehow made an incredibly interesting woman's life painfully boring.
I don't think the first person narrative serves it well, as it did nothing to illuminate Wong's meaningful relationships or internal life.
She mentioned her "dark phases" several times, but we're never really *in them* with her. She mentions heartbreak, but it's very clinical and brief - we never *experience* it with her. Everything is mentioned. Little is *realized* in any sort of moving way.
It's a dry summary of the events and details of Anna May Wong's life, told through a voice devoid of personality. Mostly, it reads like the same obvious thought over and over:
I have to show them what a real Chinese American is like.
They'll never understand what it means to be Chinese.
I needed to prove to them that Chinese people are as complex as other people.
I was disappointed by Hollywood's failure to see the value of a real Chinese woman.
On and on and on.
I understand that's the point of the book, but this novel is a perfect case of too much telling, not enough showing.
I was so pleased to win the giveaway for this on Goodreads, but I am so disappointed to say that, for me, it didn't live up to what it could or should have been.
I wish i could say the same for Tsukiyama's novel. This was so boring.
I hesitate to be so critical, because I hear Tsukiayama is incredibly well respected (I've not read any of her previous work.) But while I know I can't write a novel, I've read many of them. A good one pulls you in. This one somehow made an incredibly interesting woman's life painfully boring.
I don't think the first person narrative serves it well, as it did nothing to illuminate Wong's meaningful relationships or internal life.
She mentioned her "dark phases" several times, but we're never really *in them* with her. She mentions heartbreak, but it's very clinical and brief - we never *experience* it with her. Everything is mentioned. Little is *realized* in any sort of moving way.
It's a dry summary of the events and details of Anna May Wong's life, told through a voice devoid of personality. Mostly, it reads like the same obvious thought over and over:
I have to show them what a real Chinese American is like.
They'll never understand what it means to be Chinese.
I needed to prove to them that Chinese people are as complex as other people.
I was disappointed by Hollywood's failure to see the value of a real Chinese woman.
On and on and on.
I understand that's the point of the book, but this novel is a perfect case of too much telling, not enough showing.
I was so pleased to win the giveaway for this on Goodreads, but I am so disappointed to say that, for me, it didn't live up to what it could or should have been.