The Brightest Star - Gail Tsukiyama (#Review & #Blogtour)

Date of Reading: 13/-8/2024

Author: Gail Tsukiyama

Publisher: HarperVia

Publication Date: August 1, 2024

Rating: 5/5

(This review is part of the blog tour organised by Random Things Tours)

About the book:

Beloved bestselling author Gail Tsukiyama returns with a rich historical novel based on the life of the luminous, groundbreaking actress Anna May Wong—the first and only Asian American woman to gain movie stardom in the early days of Hollywood. 

At the dawn of a new century, America is falling in love with silent movies, including young Wong Liu

Tsong. The daughter of poor Chinese immigrants, Wong Liu goes to the local nickelodeons to escape the schoolmates who bully her for her Chinese heritage. By sixteen, Wong Liu had already chosen a stage name, Anna May, and left high school to pursue her Hollywood dreams, defying her disapproving father and her traditional Chinese upbringing—a choice that would have emotional and physical consequences. 

Anna May gets her big break—and her first taste of Hollywood fame—starring opposite Douglas Fairbanks in The Thief of Bagdad. Yet her beauty and talent aren’t enough to overcome the racism that relegates her to supporting roles as a helpless, exotic butterfly or a vicious, murderous dragon lady, while Caucasian actresses in “yellowface” are given starring roles portraying Asian women. Though she suffers professionally and personally, Anna May fights to become a star, financially support her family, and keep her illicit love affairs hidden—even as she finds freedom and glittering success abroad, and receives glowing reviews across the globe.

Review:

       Anna May Wong is not a familiar figure for a non-American like me. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the blurb to know more about the first Chinese American actress in Hollywood. What Tsukiyama covers here is not just biographical fiction, but the history of Hollywood through the eyes of a woman who refused to be constrained by the limitations of this industry.

        Born as the daughter of a laundry man, Liu Tsong developed a passion for movies at a young age. Her Chinese heritage, which caused a lot of bullying at school, haunted her film career too through the regulations of the Hayes Code and anti-miscegenation laws that criminalised interracial marriages even being depicted on a film screen. The story alternates between 1960 and the successive stages of her career which she has noted down and reflects on a long train journey. 

         As with all the life stories, we learn a lot from Anna's. Life was never a bed of roses for her and most of the time she was forced to play the villain irrespective of her wishes and talent. Still, she continued her fight to be acknowledged. When Hollywood refused to give her any leading roles, she found fame and recognition in Europe just like many Afro-American actors who suffered a similar fate in Hollywood. Anna lived long enough to see her name included in Hollywood's Walk of Fame, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to inspire countless individuals.

Meet the author:

Gail Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco, California, to a Chinese mother from Hong Kong and a Japanese father from Hawaii. She attended San Francisco State University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in English. She is the bestselling author of several novels, including Women of the Silk and The Samurai’s Garden, as well as the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award. She divides her time between El Cerrito and Napa Valley, California.

The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino (#Review & #Summary)

Date of Reading: 6/5/2024

Author: Keigo Higashino

Translators: Alexander O. Smith & Elye J. Alexander

Publisher: Abacus

Publication Date: August 29, 2005

Rating: 4/5

About the book:

Yasuko lives a quiet life, working in a Tokyo bento shop, a good mother to her only child. But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one day, her comfortable world is shattered.

When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime...

Review:

        This book has been on my TBR for quite some time, so I can't recall who originally recommended it to me. Whoever that may be, I am grateful for the suggestion. Just after reading a few pages, the story had me enraptured and the tension only continued to build as I delved further. 

      This is not your typical detective story; in all honesty, it may be more accurately described as a crime thriller.  If you are familiar with 'Drishyam', one of the most popular Malayalam thriller movies, you can almost anticipate where the story is headed. Since the book was written way before the film, we could see where the movie drew its inspiration from. 

        It is always a challenge to write a review on a crime thriller without spilling any of the key plot points. Safe to say, the identity of the killer is disclosed to us from the beginning. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game where I didn't really side with the police. I must confess, I did have a peek at the ending to avoid any disappointment. Unfortunately, my worst fears came true. I didn't like that ending and hence four stars. But considering the way the story has progressed, I guess that would have been the only conclusion ethically possible.

        Still, contemporary readers must have shared my sentiments as is evident from the conclusion of the Hindi movie adaptation 'Jaane Jaan'. 'Drishyam' too seems to concur with this idea, even though it follows a totally different storyline.

       I nearly forgot to mention the romantic element. Ishigami is the embodiment of selfless love, if there is one. I don't know whom the author intended as the hero here, but it is hard to win against such a dedicated character. Suffice it to say, this story is going to stay with me for a long long time.

Summary:

      Tetsuya Ishigami is a mathematics teacher with keen observation skills. The story begins with his daily routine which also includes his visit to a small shop selling boxed lunches. Despite harboring feelings for the woman who works there, Yasuko Hanaoka, he lacks the confidence to confess his love. Unbeknownst to Yasuko, Ishigami's admiration for her runs deep.

       Yasuko's seemingly tranquil life is disrupted by the sudden reappearance of her abusive ex-husband Shinji Togashi. He tries to extort money from her and when the situation escalates to domestic violence, Yasuko and her daughter Misato kill him in self-defense. Ishigami, who lives in the nearby apartment hears the commotion and helps both of them to dispose of the body. He gives them specific instructions to follow to cover up the crime.

Source: https://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/amit/books/higashino-2011-devotion-of-suspect.html

       Detective Kusanagi is assigned to this case. Though he cannot find any obvious flaws with Yasuko's alibi, his intuition tells him that there is more to the case than meets the eye. He seeks the help of his friend, Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist, to solve this mystery. Yukawa is familiar with Ishinagi since they went to the same college. He has always admired Ishigami's intelligence and wonders how he ended up as a school teacher. As they reunite Yukawa is finally convinced that Ishigami has something to do with the murder. Ishigami's secret love doesn't escape his discerning eye.

      As Yukawa unravels Ishigami's intricate plan to deceive the police, Ishigami realises he has met his match. To protect Yasuko, he takes the blame for killing Togashi and surrenders to the police. Ishigami had attempted to commit suicide once, but it was interrupted when Yasuko came to introduce herself as his new neighbour. Since then he has always felt indebted to her and he feels that his selfless act will ensure a secure life for Yasuko.

       Yukawa, however, refuses to accept this outcome. He realises that Ishigami had killed an innocent homeless man and staged the crime scene to make it look like Togashi. This way Yasuko and Misato can provide a perfect alibi as this second murder occurred one day after Togashi's death. Yukawa reveals the truth to Yasuko. Unable to bear the guilt, she and her daughter confess their crime and decide to share the punishment with Ishigami.

Meet the author:

Keigo Higashino (東野 圭吾) is one of the most popular and biggest-selling fiction authors in Japan—as well-known as James Patterson, Dean Koontz or Tom Clancy in the USA.

Born in Osaka, he started writing novels while still working as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co.　(presently DENSO). He won the Edogawa Rampo Prize, which is awarded annually to the finest mystery work, in 1985 for the novel Hōkago (After School) at age 27. Subsequently, he quit his job and started a career as a writer in Tokyo.

In 1999, he won the Mystery Writers of Japan Inc award for the novel Himitsu (The Secret), which was translated into English by Kerim Yasar and published by Vertical under the title Naoko in 2004. In 2006, he won the 134th Naoki Prize for Yōgisha X no Kenshin. His novels had been nominated five times before winning with this novel.

The Devotion of Suspect X was the second highest-selling book in all of Japan— fiction or nonfiction—the year it was published, with over 800,000 copies sold. It won the prestigious Naoki Prize for Best Novel— the Japanese equivalent of the National Book Award and the Man Booker Prize. Made into a motion picture in Japan, The Devotion of Suspect X spent 4 weeks at the top of the box office and was the third highest‐grossing film of the year.