The Fetishist is a novel by Katherine Min, published in 2024. The introduction was written by Cathy Park Hong, a poet.[1]
It is Min's second, and final, novel.[2]
Background
editMin 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
editThe 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 Baltmore, 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
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2024) |
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
edit- Secondhand World - 2006 novel by Min
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Winik, Marion (2024-01-15). "Katherine Min's 'The Fetishist' is a delightful, fantastic novel". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g LeBlanc, Lauren (2024-01-18). "Katherine Min was ahead of her time. Four years after her death, her second novel proves it". Los Angeles Times. El Segundo, California. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "Katherine K. Min, fiction writer, Plymouth". New Hampshire State Council of the Arts. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ a b c d e f Martin, Kristen (2024-01-10). "'The Fetishist' examines racial and sexual politics". NPR. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Sophia (2024-01-19). "'The Fetishist' is a novel ahead of its time, and a mother's dying gift". Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Fetishist". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ "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. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-06-19.