Harper’s Bazaar
When Kyoko’s mother Emi dies by suicide, Kyoko blames washed-up musician Daniel Karmody — the man who seduced and then abandoned Emi. Now in her twenties, Kyoko is ready to take her revenge. Armed with a knife, she sets out to kidnap and murder Karmody, only for her plans to swiftly go awry. See Full […]
The New Yorker
The blooming and dissolution of a romance forms the core of this wistful, often funny, posthumously published novel. “Once Asian, never again Caucasian,” jokes Alma, a Korean American concert cellist, to Daniel, a white violinist, the first night they sleep together. Eventually, Alma will break off their engagement after discovering that Daniel, the book’s titular […]
Booklist (starred)
This raucous, gorgeous, harrowing novel from Min, who passed away in 2019, was published with help from the author’s daughter. Starring in this fairytale gone wrong is Kyoko, a punk rock musician in her early twenties, who harbors a revenge fantasy since the tragic death of her classical musician mother. With help from her sweet boyfriend, Kornell, she endeavors to make […]
Publishers Weekly
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, […]
Kirkus Reviews
Three musicians reckoning with loss search for meaning, healing, and revenge. Despite her tattoos and piercings, Kyoko Tokugawa is shy, preferring to express her biggest emotions on stage with her guitar, or in her murder plot. Kyoko’s target is Daniel Karmody, a professional violinist and serial seducer of Asian American women, including Kyoko’s mother. In […]