The Fetishist (Min novel)

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The Fetishist is a novel by Katherine Min, published in 2024. The introduction was written by Cathy Park Hong, a poet. [1]

Contents

It is Min's second, and final, novel. [2]

Background

Min was a Korean American. [3]

The author used Lolita as inspiration. [4]

The novelist wrote the novel until 2014, when a diagnosis of breast cancer caused her to decide to stop creating fiction. In 2019, the author died. [1] The author did not leave a document stating what should be done with the writing. [5]

Kayla Min Andrews, [2] the author's daughter, obtained a computer that had a copy of the work, and this was used to have the book published. [1] Lauren LeBlanc of the Los Angeles Times wrote "For an ostensibly unfinished manuscript, it was remarkably polished." [2] This version had author's notes. The file with the copy had been worked on last before Min learned she had cancer. [2]

Plot

The main characters are Alma Soon Ja Lee, a Korean American musician; Daniel Karmody, an Irish American musician; and Kyoko Tokugawa, a Japanese American woman. [4]

Alma, from California, has multiple sclerosis, [6] which is certain to kill her. [7] Alma previously played the cello. [6] Alma and Daniel were in a relationship, but this relationship failed, [4] because Daniel cheated on her with Emi Tokugawa, Kyoko's mother. [1] Daniel then went on to have affairs with other Asian American women. The novel describes Daniel as having a sexual fetish for Asian American women, among them Emi Tokugawa, [4] who had committed suicide due to Daniel giving her rejection. [2] Daniel, a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, played the string quartet and lead a musical group called "Thanatos." [6] 23-year-old Kyoko, [4] a resident of Baltimore, draws comics in a manga style, [6] and does singing work for a band with a punk rock theme. [7]

Kyoko has a grudge against Daniel and wishes to kill him. [4] Kyoko kidnaps Daniel, [2] and places him in the basement of her residence. Ultimately Daniel realizes that he had done wrong actions in the past and decides to atone for them. [6]

Reception

People ranked the novel as one of the "Best Books To Read in January 2024", 14/21. [8] It cited Marion Winik of the Seattle Times , who described the novel as "a delightful, fantastic novel". [1]

Sophia Nguyen of the Washington Post described the work as "ahead of its time". [5] Lauren Leblanc of the Los Angeles Times also described the book as such. [2]

Publishers Weekly stated that "the technicolor, Tarantino-esque crime plot can be great fun." [6] The PW review stated that The Fetishist "initially sets out to restore a sense of humanity to" Daniel's victims, and that how Daniel atones and how the novel focuses on that "is a curious and somewhat frustrating" development. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Winik, Marion (January 15, 2024). "Katherine Min's 'The Fetishist' is a delightful, fantastic novel". The Seattle Times . Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 LeBlanc, Lauren (January 18, 2024). "Katherine Min was ahead of her time. Four years after her death, her second novel proves it". Los Angeles Times . El Segundo, California . Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Katherine K. Min, fiction writer, Plymouth". New Hampshire State Council of the Arts. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martin, Kristen (January 10, 2024). "'The Fetishist' examines racial and sexual politics". NPR . Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Nguyen, Sophia (January 19, 2024). "'The Fetishist' is a novel ahead of its time, and a mother's dying gift". Washington Post . Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Fetishist". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Benavides, Yvette (January 12, 2024). "Book Public: 'The Fetishist' by Katherine Min". Texas Public Radio . Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  8. ↑ "PEOPLE's Best Books To Read in January 2024: Crystal Hefner's Memoir and New Fiction From the Author of Such a Fun Age". People . April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
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