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Title details for The Fetishist by Katherine Min - Available

The Fetishist

by Katherine Min
Eunice Wong
Audiobook
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An Indie Next Pick
In this hilariously savage, poignant novel by acclaimed author Katherine Min, a grieving daughter’s revenge on the man who caused her mother’s death sets off a series of unexpected reckonings.
On a cold, gloomy night, twenty-three-year-old Kyoko stands in the rain with a knife in her hoodie’s pocket. Her target is Daniel, who seduced Kyoko’s mother then callously dropped her, leading to her death. But tonight, there will be repercussions. Following the unsuspecting Daniel home, Kyoko manages to get a rash kidnapping plot off the ground . . . and then nothing goes as planned.
The Fetishist is the story of three people—Kyoko, a Japanese American punk-rock singer full of rage and grief; Daniel, a philandering violinist forced to confront the wreckage of his past; and Alma, the love of Daniel’s life, a Korean American cello prodigy long adored for her beauty, passion, and talent, but who spends her final days examining if she was ever, truly, loved.
An exuberant, provocative story that confronts race, complicity, visibility, and ideals of femininity, The Fetishist was written before the celebrated author’s untimely death in 2019. Startlingly prescient, as wise and powerful as it is utterly delightful, this novel cements Katherine Min’s legacy as a writer with a singular voice for our times.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 9, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593787458
      • File size: 252920 KB
      • Duration: 08:46:54

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 6, 2023
      This spiky posthumous novel from Min (Secondhand World), who died in 2019, combines a story of lost love with a revenge fantasy and a critique of racial fetishism. The narrative revolves around two seemingly unrelated Asian American women: Kyoko, a Baltimore manga artist and punk rocker; and Alma, a retired classical cellist in Southern California, who’s struggling with late-stage multiple sclerosis. Between them stands Daniel Karmody, the washed-up leader of Thanatos—a Baltimore string quartet specializing in performances for the dying. Alma, who was once in a serious relationship with Karmody, writes a wistful Facebook message to him before attempting suicide. Meanwhile, Kyoko, whose late mother, Emi, was a student of Karmody’s, believes he was responsible for Emi’s suicide, and kidnaps him with murderous intent. Locked in Kyoko’s basement, Karmody considers the ways his fetish for Asian women have hurt those in his wake, and ultimately makes amends. Min’s emphasis on Karmody’s redemption in the final act is a curious and somewhat frustrating turn, given that the novel initially sets out to restore a sense of humanity to the women whose lives have been squeezed by stereotypes. Still, the technicolor, Tarantino-esque crime plot can be great fun. This has its moments. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This posthumously published novel, a meditation on death, has a dark side, but Eunice Wong's performance balances its undercurrent of grief with buoyant energy that will have listeners rooting for its antiheroes. A comatose Korean cello aficionado named Alma has ambivalent memories of her relationship with Daniel, a white violinist. Daniel, meanwhile, finds himself locked in a basement, where he is forced to confront a fetish he has that has hurt many women. Kyoko, Daniel's captor struggles to reconcile her identity in relation to the chained-up man. While the three characters confront racial politics and love laden with pain, Wong's narration manages to bring levity to the story without devaluing its depth. Her performance offers elegance amid the messy relationships, while Kayla Min Andrews' afterword emotionally explores her mother's writing process and how it inspired her own writing career. A.A.H. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2024

      Lovers of classical music seeking sharp commentary on race and desire, combined with elements of crime fiction, will quickly be enmeshed in Min's (Secondhand World) twisting posthumous novel. Narrator Eunice Wong incisively communicates Min's provocative story, alternating perspectives between violinist Daniel, a white serial philanderer whose eyes fall only on Asian women, the women Daniel fetishizes (cellist Alma, punk rocker Kyoko, and Kyoko's mother Emi, who died by suicide), and loved ones caught in webs of insecurity, longing, and objectification. Protagonist Alma was once engaged to Daniel but was boxed in by his never-ending desire for self-gratification at her expense. Meanwhile, Kyoko seeks revenge for her mother's death, which she blames entirely on Daniel. Individual storylines blend smoothly through Wong's narration, which expertly depicts characters as they travel through new phases of life and collide with each other like bursts of stars. With a surprising conclusion and an emotional afterword narrated by the author's daughter, Kayla Min Andrews, Min's final novel suggests that forgiveness and new beginnings are possible, but only with accountability. VERDICT Min's sharp, poignant story and her characters refuse apology and demand recognition as they are. Compelling storytelling and narration make this an unforgettable listen.--Kailyn Slater

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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