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A review by randomheart
The Whitewash by Siang Lu
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I was browsing one of my local bookstores and just chanced upon this book, and immediately from the cover I knew I wanted to read it. Always awesome to find books from Australian authors, especially Asian Australian authors (as an Asian Australian myself).
I have mixed feelings about this novel. The format was interesting for sure. Never quite read anything like this before (I feel like it might have worked better for me hearing it in an audiobook format instead?), so it took me a little bit to fully get into, but it was a fun ride. The comedy aspect was a little hit or miss for me? I know it was kind of supposed to be over-the-top ridiculous a little since it was satirising the Hollywood experience for Asians, but sometimes it felt a little gimmicky for me. I liked it at the start, but I felt that the premise was a little too overlong.
That being said, I actually found the parts about the history of Asian (specifically Chinese) cinema in both the Eastern and Western worlds really interesting. It actually sort of made me wish that the whole book had been focused on this because there was so much I learnt about Chinese cinema that I had no idea about. I obviously knew about whitewashing, but it's so, so prevalent...and sadly STILL happens too often in the film industry, which is pretty disheartening. Representation and diversity is so important for minorities in industries like this, so to take away even MORE opportunities that could be given to Asians is so infuriating.
I ended up googling a lot about the various films and actors mentioned in this (once I had separated them from the fictional aspects of the novel), and it's really made me want to explore more about the subject in more depth, so I definitely appreciate the book for that.
Overall, it was enjoyable read that I found really informative.
3/5
I have mixed feelings about this novel. The format was interesting for sure. Never quite read anything like this before (I feel like it might have worked better for me hearing it in an audiobook format instead?), so it took me a little bit to fully get into, but it was a fun ride. The comedy aspect was a little hit or miss for me? I know it was kind of supposed to be over-the-top ridiculous a little since it was satirising the Hollywood experience for Asians, but sometimes it felt a little gimmicky for me. I liked it at the start, but I felt that the premise was a little too overlong.
That being said, I actually found the parts about the history of Asian (specifically Chinese) cinema in both the Eastern and Western worlds really interesting. It actually sort of made me wish that the whole book had been focused on this because there was so much I learnt about Chinese cinema that I had no idea about. I obviously knew about whitewashing, but it's so, so prevalent...and sadly STILL happens too often in the film industry, which is pretty disheartening. Representation and diversity is so important for minorities in industries like this, so to take away even MORE opportunities that could be given to Asians is so infuriating.
I ended up googling a lot about the various films and actors mentioned in this (once I had separated them from the fictional aspects of the novel), and it's really made me want to explore more about the subject in more depth, so I definitely appreciate the book for that.
Overall, it was enjoyable read that I found really informative.
3/5