Daniel, a violinist ,has always been drawn to Asian females as sexual partners. One of the Asian females,
Emi, committed suicide. Her daughter Kyoko believes it was due to Daniel's indifference and is
obsessed with avenging her mother. Kyoko is able to kidnap Danile and hold him hostage as she
decides what to do. During his captivity, Daniel looks back at his life and actions, The reader is also
introduced to Alma, another Asian musician who had a serious relationship wth Alma. During his
captivity, Daniel reflects on his life, the women in it and his behavior toward them. Kyoko also
must decide if Daniel's death is what she really needs to move on.
#TheFetishist #NetGalley

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy! This was an interesting and surprising book. I thought the plot was straightforward--a girl wants to kill her mother's ex-lover for revenge--but it turned out to be so much more than that. It was an exploration of race, our biases, and complex love. I thought it was well-written and concise.

I was lucky enough to win an eARC of THE FETISHIST by Katherine Min through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy autumn!

*spoilers*

Was sad to learn the author passed away before the big was published, but grateful that her daughter nurtured this project and saw it come into fruition.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. The foreword introduces the story as a fairy tale, which I could not follow, but that's not at all an issue. The material is fantastic. The story, twists, relationships - all of it is fascinating and engaging. The book ended rather abruptly for me and I wish I knew the true end, but maybe that makes it more interesting. It definitely made an impression on me.

Strange and endearing - a very interesting story that was surprisingly tender. I found myself very invested in these characters. Unlike anything I've read before.

I couldn’t get more than halfway through this book, and even that was a struggle. It’s rare that I don’t finish a book but this one was too dark and obscure for me to keep plugging through. If the point was to make the reader uncomfortable, I’d say it was a success, but with so many books on my TBR I couldn’t justify taking the time to find out how it ends.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but ultimately I think it fell flat for me. Through a few Asian women characters, the author examines and dissects the fetishization of Asian women by white men. To me, this was the strongest facet of the novel. While you get to know Alma, Kyoko, and Emi separately as unique characters, you're also shown the fetishist Daniel's perspective - he sees them as largely interchangeable, and can only perceive them through the lens of his own desire. It falls flat for me though, mainly because I don't feel it really goes far enough. I found it very strange that Daniel is let out of his captivity, manages to halfway befriend Kyoko and Kornell, and goes on to end up romantically involved with Alma. He suffers really minor consequences given a) his actions, and b) Kyoko's utter rage toward him, which dissipates unnaturally quickly. I feel that it weakens the message of the book as a whole.

I wasn't sure what to make of the cover and title, which along with the circumstances around the book itself - written before her death in 2019 and now reaching the hands of readers, which is what ultimately drew me into the book.

Min gives us characters I am afraid I actually relate to, characters who are deeply flawed, who love but make horrible mistakes, and who are hurt by others and desperately want a way to ease the pain. No one wants to believe revenge is the first and only route, and Min weaves a zany tale, but most of the characters in Fetishist are dealing with pain and some sort of resolution with themselves and one another. As a reader I was able to put aside the violence of a specific plan for revenge to acknowledge that is what we all do at one time or another - exact violence to ourselves, one another, or both in the journey towards some sort of healing.

The fetish is also uncomfortably and hilariously familiar - white men with yellow fever or a "thing" for Asian women. What a refreshing thing to have it not only named and a center part of the plot but also right up front in your face!

Thank you to Penguin Random House for a digital advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Min writes a beautifully crafted tale of complicated relationships, written through this incredibly poetic voice. I sat in my seat, uncomfortable, intrigued, and happy to have my own motivations questioned. I might revisit this review to write a little more, but I highly recommend this book.

This novel attempts to address many topics without delving in too deep. It hangs out in the middle while giving the illusion that it might go further, but at the end I felt a little at loose ends. The plot movies fairly fast without pussyfooting around, and I appreciate that it balanced action with the larger considerations of race, gender, etc. That said, I did not find this to be very impactful or memorable.

I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher (Putnam) for approving me to receive an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to write a brief review since a computer is not available to me.

- I’m disappointed that Daniel and Alma end up together
- Kyoko’s character was the most interesting
- Rickey should have gotten more screen time imo
- There are sex scenes throughout the novel, so I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone
- Alma’s character portrayal and struggles are incredibly raw and moving
- Daniel is a dick and I wish he didn’t get any redemption but I guess owning up to the mistakes of the past get you somewhere
- Kornell is precious and also so very good for Kyoko

I just wanted to be sure I got my initial thoughts down as soon as I finished.

Love and hatred and revenge, the beginnings and endings of relationship, suicide and illness, classical music, Asian exoticism, current politics and more fly through this novel. I was totally immersed in the beginning, in its tone, the wildness of what was happening, less so as it went on, but ultimately it is a story of connections and disconnections, of mediating one's space, of growing up and interrogating oneself. Atmospheric, sometimes funny, over-the-top, serious, as the past relationship between Daniel and Alma is fleshed out, where Kyoko fits in, intent on harming Daniel for what she believes he did to her mother. Ultimately, it didn't quite fit together for me, sometimes the politics were a little heavy-handed, still it has life and craziness, a romp with a lot of pathos and food for thought.

Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for the ARC.

Found this book to be a slow burn type of book. At times, I did end up bored and impatient with the plot moving so slowly. Not a favorite read this year but it was unique, witty, and funny. A beautiful story overall.

Such a great book. It breaks my heart that this was published posthumously as Katherine Min is an excellent writer!

The plot has the makings of a Netflix story. Daniel is a ridiculous violinist - an older white man in love with himself and after meeting an Asian woman, committed to dating primarily Asian women. His lost love Alma is alone and unhappy considering what she has accomplished and if it was real. Then there is Kyoko, a young rebel who is convinced that Daniel's harsh behavior was the cause of her mother Emi's death. What else can Kyoko do except enact a plan of revenge?

Written and completed by the author's daughter Kayla, The Fetishist is Triumphant! #Penguin #Thefetishist #KaterhineMin

"the fetishist" is this really deep and kinda intense dive into how some white men objectify and mistreat Asian women and their cultures. This guy Daniel cheats on his wife and makes this ridiculous claim that all Asian women are the same. And then, get this, when Alma gets sick, this Japanese assassin Kyoko grabs Daniel, tortures him, all for Alma's payback and, like, standing up for all Asian women dealing with this fetish thing.

It's deep and kinda scary, but makes you think. I'd totally say, give it a read. You can tell Min poured her own pain into this and made it into this pretty cool story.

Thank you to netgalley for this e-arc.

Excellent story and narrative style. Each time I sat and read, I had a wonderful time- I quite enjoyed the author’s writing style, so witty, deep, passionate, funny and sarcastic. I ended the novel wanting to read more of her work and when I found out she had died, I felt shock and loss. Thanks to her daughter for the effort of publishing so we can all enjoy her talent. This novel was pure poetry to me. I will look forward to read her previous published novels. 5/5!

Did not finish. Found plot slow and confusing. Had high hopes, but was sadly very disappointed with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Fetishist.

I was so grateful The Fetishist talked about a well-known but often unexplored topic, the fetishization of Asian women.

As an Asian woman, I can relate to the title and acknowledge the types of men that fall into different types of fetishists.

I loved the basic premise, how Kyoko is seeking revenge on her mother Emi's behalf, but I'm disappointed in how that turned out.

Alma, like most reviewers have noted, seem to be the most interesting character in the entire novel yet that ending with Daniel left a sour taste in my mouth.

Emi is, for me, the least likable person in the whole narrative.

One question kept resounding in my brain as I read this: Why do all these women like Daniel?

I didn't get it. He doesn't sound charming, or interesting, and he's definitely not rich.

Is it just because he's handsome and white?

Perhaps Asian women play into the fetishization, by enjoying the attentions and flatteries of men who have a stereotypical view of them.

Daniel's lame reason as to why he fetishes woman, or Alma specifically doesn't hold up.

As an Asian woman, I believe that fetishization of Asian women always has a psychosexual component. And the numerous, graphic sex scenes in the narrative doesn't help; in fact, I felt it validated my belief.

I found these scenes unnecessary nor did it move the plot forward.

The writing was good but the endings for each character unsatisfying, especially for Kyoko since her POV started out strong, but then petered out almost like an afterthought.

I did like how loyal and caring her boyfriend was.

“The past was not a fixed point, and neither was the truth, and telling the truth about the past was like trying to hit a bull's-eye with a shotgun.”

This was such a beautiful, angry, feminist, heart breaking and mending book about men fetishizing Asian women and their culture.
We follow a few POV’s :

Alma - an extremely talented cellist suffering from MS, depression, and the loss of love.

Daniel - Alma’s former lover, in deep denial (Daniel Denied) about his fetishization of Asian women.

Kyoko - Daughter of one of Daniel’s former lovers seeking revenge against him years later.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this at the beginning, as I’m someone who usually dislikes books that center around music or people who play instruments/are in a band, but I was totally mistaken. This is by far one of the best books I’ve read this year, and it deserves every bit of praise it gets. The characters are fully fleshed, unlikeable and human. The stories - both past and present - are addictive, relatable, and just so damn good. Katherine Min wrote this from her heart, from the very depths of her soul, and I’m so touched and grateful her daughter published this after her passing. Comical, personal, perfect.

4.5/5


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This was an interesting one, as I didn't really know what to expect going in. I picked this book based on the cover and title; I have not read any of the author's prior work.

There are things I liked and things that didn't work for me about this book. Let's start with the good–
While I've read many Asian authors, I haven't read a ton about how Asian women are perceived, and their perceptions/feelings about how men, especially white men, perceive them. It was fascinating to read about the ways Asian women are fetishized, and how some of the Asian women characters, dealt with the way they are perceived. It gave me a lot to think about and was probably the richest, most lasting component of this book that I'll retain after reading.

Beyond that– I didn't love the characters, the plot, or the pacing. Our main characters in this book are Daniel, Alma, and Kyoko. Daniel is just a terrible person– and I'm not quite sure how the author wanted us to perceive him. I didn't like him or feel much empathy for him, and his character resolution didn't really move me, and felt somewhat flat.

Alma was easily the best and most interesting character, although she's not given too much room to grow, as we mostly learn about her life and perspectives through her and Daniel's memories. The story would have been much more powerful if it centered more fully on her; if she was able to develop more as a character.

Lastly, Kyoko, and her boyfriend, Kornell– felt out of place, sort of like an afterthought. I guess perhaps we are supposed to compare and contrast the relationships that two Asian women have with these men (Alma with Daniel, and Kyoko with Kornell), but it doesn't really work well, and I think Kyoko/Kornell ultimately don't add much to the story, and end up being sort of flat characters.

Regarding the pacing– the book had me hooked outright. It wasn't clear how all these characters related, and I was curious to find out. However, once the connection is revealed, the story sort of stalls out, and the plot moves slowly, with a somewhat abrupt resolution that felt unfinished.

Ultimately, this was a quick, quirky read. Didn't hate it, but certainly didn't love it. Will likely forget it quickly.