The Brightest Star is a historical fiction novel about Chinese- American actress Anna May Wong. This book was a bit a bit of a disappointment. It started off strong, and I’m always a sucker for an older character looking back on their life, but the book felt flat. I think the author was trying to fit so much of Wong’s life into the story, there was no room for actual emotion and it felt like reading a series of lists. While Wong’s life was incredibly fascinating, I didn’t feel much of a connection as it seemed like nothing went into depth.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Before reading this book, I had no idea who Anna May Wong was nor the reality of what Chinese American actors faced in the early days of tv/movies.

Written in the first person, but being that it was diary style, it was like a list of everything that happened in Anna May's life with very little depth or emotion. I rarely felt like I was there with her, but when I did, it was fantastic.

However, I found myself pausing to look up events and people she had met or movies she was in throughout the book to get more information, especially about her movies, relationships, and later life.

I enjoyed this book for the most part and would definitely recommend it. Next time I'm in Hollywood, I'll definitely be looking for Anna May's star!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVia for the eARC!

What an interesting take on Anna May Wong's life! Honestly, I didn't know much about her and I'm so glad that Gail Tsukiyama chose her as the subject of this novel.. Reading about her experiences trying to make it in Hollywood and then what happens once she's in, really is just a reminder that Hollywood has not made it very far with Asian representation. What a trail blazer she is!

Anna May Wong was a film star whose career spanned silent pictures though the “talkies,” stage and even television. Born a Chinese American at the beginning of the 20th century, Anna had dreams of achieving a life as a respected and famous actor. But racism as well as sexism, dominated the industry. On the home front, Anna had to contend with her very traditional family, especially a father who viewed acting as a sordid, demeaning occupation that would bring disgrace to Anna, the family and China. But Anna had determination, talent, and courage to capture roles that would allow her to be seen. She excelled in establishing herself as a persona of style, wit, and grace. In her pursuit of roles, she made true friends of many leading actors, industry people and intellectuals. Her journeys took her to Europe and later China.

The author describes the difficult path Wong navigated without losing sight of the emotional and later physical toll she experienced. This is a tribute to her life choices as well as showing the path she forged for others to take. At times the writing seemed a bit wooden. This may have been because of all the names, places and performances that were packed into a theatrical life that began in her early teens. Yet this is an important fictional account that at long last gives a screen star her due. Recommended. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this title.

Genre: Historical Fiction/Multicultural/Bio-Fiction
Publisher: HarperVia International
Publication Date: June 20, 2023

"The Brightest Star" is a fictionalized account of the life and times of Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American actress to appear in Hollywood films and the first Chinese American to get a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. The book is written as if Wong is writing in her journal, so we read our protagonist in the first person. The novel reads more like a tribute to Anna May Wong's legacy and her battle against racism and sexism than historical fiction. I love classic movies, and having seen a handful of Wong's films, I thought I would adore this bio-fiction. However, I was disappointed. Anna May Wong was a trailblazer. I wanted to feel her strong spirit and determination as she clawed her way into the movie business. Instead, the story reads more like an article in a newspaper.

Tsukiyama did much research for her novel. She presents Anna May's films in chronological order. Despite this, we don't get a sense of who Wong was. The author does the same when writing about Wong’s lifelong effort to have America understand and accept Chinese Americans. There are snidbits mentioned of her depression, drinking, and affairs with married men. It even felt flat when I read of her romantic relationship with Marlene Dietrich when they were both cast in the 1932 film “Shanghai Express.”
The only time I felt moved in "Brightest Star" was reading about how despite Anna May's credited status, a white actress in yellowface makeup was cast to play the leading lady in the classic film "The Good Earth" The racism smacked me in the face. I can only recommend this novel if you want to learn about her life and do not want to go to Wong’s Wikipedia page.

A fictionalized history of the life of Anna Mae Wong -- the first successful Asian American actress in the 20th century. It's a good story, though it comes off as a little heavy handed and simplistic. It definitely feels like someone with today's sensibilities is writing about what she would feel, rather than necessarily what Anna Mae felt. I don't love fictionalized histories for thi reason but I enjoy Tsukiyama's writing so I thought I would give it a chance.

The Brightest Star is a historical novel based on the life of Anna Mae Wong, the only Asian-American actress in the early 20th-century.
She faces racism, a star system that is soul crushing, and finds within herself an indomitable will to survive and make it to the top.
Well written with a crisp pace - a very good read

A fascinating story, told factually and in a voice that felt authentic That said, I found the storytelling itself to be a little simplistic.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for my review.

The Brightest Star is a fictionalized account of the life of Anna May Wong, a Chinese Actress whose career spanned the silent film era and the golden age of Hollywood. In reading this novel I learned about the detrimental effect the Hays code had on Asian actors because of the anti-miscegenation rules which prohibited the depiction of two different races in a sexual relationship – because of this Anna May could not get a lead role and the lead Asian roles were played by White actors in yellowface.

The novel allowed the reader to see the toll this took on Anna as well as how the Chinese government and people received her (included her traditional father). She turned to alcohol and lived with depression for much of her life.

While I appreciated the insight into Anna May’s life and the struggle of Asian actors and the amazing world that surrounded her; the book was still a bit slower than I would have liked. There were missed opportunities for more depth in what was going on around her beyond her small acting circle; for example, she was in pre-WWII Europe and there was nothing mentioned except in passing. However, it gave me insights I had not yet been introduced to and for that I am appreciative.

This is a 3.75 rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Via for allowing me to review this book.

4.2. I have liked other works by Gail Tsukiyama, notably The Samurai’s Garden but also The Color of Air. This novel focused on the life of the early 20th century Asian actress Anna May Wong. Ms. Wong was the daughter of Chinese immigrants and worked hard to gain stardom in Hollywood’s early days. She started in silent movies but easily transferred her skills to talking movies. This is an excellent and captivating historical fiction of the struggles of her community, and the discrimination and misogyny that she experienced growing up and embarking on an impressive acting career despite all those odds. A riveting and poignant story. Very well done. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an unbiased and candid review.

This is a fascinating look at Anna May Wong, the "first" American actress of Chinese descent. Anna May Wong should be much better known and her story should be told again and again. She lived an amazing life while, putting up with constant racism and misogyny. I really enjoyed reading about her life and now want to do additional research on her. The novel was a bit repetitive and I wish the author had gotten a bit more into her head, rather than telling the reader her story. Still, a really good read. One small error, the Poconos Mountains are in Pennsylvania, not upstate NY (since I read an ARC, maybe this was caught before the final version.).

I would like to thank HarperVia and Net galley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American Female movie star. Her career spanned the silent films, the "talkies", Stage, and TV. She was hard working, glamorous and resilient. She was also a victim of Hollywood Racism for much of her career. It is important to remember that the role of O-Lan, in The Good Earth, was played by a non Asian Actress- Louise Ranier. Anna May Wong was an established actress at the time, amply qualified , but the powers that be in Hollywood, chose to cast Caucasian actors in the main roles. (Paul Muni was the male lead). This is a piece of historical fiction, not a straight biography. It is written in the voice of Anna May Wong, thinking back on her life, an reading her diaries on a train ride as she prepares to play the last movie role of her career. She read her diaries an talks about her past, growing up in California, wanting to act from the time she was very young, her family , her friends, both famous and non famous, her roles, her loves and her life. It is a bit slow in parts, but it is richly written and full of detail.It is a must read, whether or not you are familiar with the actress. It is a well written story of the early days of Hollywood, of prejudice, of family and of ambition.I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

A fictionalized account of Anna May Wong's life, if the author meant to highlight any aspect of Anna May's personality, I have to agree with her father. She was spoiled and selfish and it showed as brightly as the spotlights and adoration she craved. I pitied her.

This world traveled woman, who didn't graduate high school, was self educated and fluently spoke and read several languages.

An okay read.
2.75☆

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Via for this ARC! This book review will be posted on Monday, May, 29.

It's a shame that Anna May Wong, while a trailblazer and icon, has largely been left out of the history books. I'll even admit that before reading this book, I really knew nothing about the first Chinese-American actress in Hollywood. Tsukiyama does an excellent job of showing how Wong straddled the line between her Chinese and American identity, and how these two identities often conflicted, especially during such a narrow-minded era. I also appreciated the allusions to and discussions about the misogyny in Hollywood. It does make you wonder if things might have been different for Wong if she were a man. Overall, Tsukiyama tackles intersectionality well through her first-person depiction of Anna May Wong and I liked how Tsukiyama did not shy away from anything.

However, I felt like the book was generally too superficially written to make a very lasting impact on me. I didn't feel too connected to Anna May Wong despite this book being written through her perspective and I felt like many things were brushed aside to keep the story running. For example, she states something along the lines of "It was a night I would never forget" (can't remember exactly what it said) and proceeded to talk about something else entirely. This fast-paced book fell victim to its speed.

In the past I enjoyed reading books by Gail Tsukiyama, but The Brightest Star didn't engage me as much as I had hoped. I love the subject of the book, but I would have preferred to read an actual autobiography of this interesting, trailblazing woman. DNF at 20%.

I have long been a fan of this author and this book was no exception it is a great story of the first Asian American film star and I loved the bits about old Hollywood.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

"The beloved bestselling author of The Color of Air, Women of the Silk, and The Samurai's Garden returns with this magnificent 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 Chinese immigrants who own a laundry, Wong Liu and her older sister Lew Ying (Lulu) are taunted and bullied for their Chinese heritage. But while Lulu diligently obeys her parents and learns to speak Chinese, Wong Liu sneaks away to the local nickelodeons, buying a ticket with her lunch money and tips saved from laundry deliveries. By eleven Wong Liu is determined to become an actress and has already chosen a stage name: Anna May Wong. At sixteen, Anna May leaves high school to pursue her Hollywood dreams, defying her disapproving father and her Chinese traditional upbringing - a choice that will hold emotional and physical consequences.

After a series of nothing parts, nineteen-year-old 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 isn'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 win lead roles, accept risqué parts, financially support her family, and keep her illicit love affairs hidden - even as she finds freedom and glittering stardom abroad, and receives glowing reviews across the globe.

Powerful, poignant, and imbued with Gail Tsukiyama's warmth and empathy, The Brightest Star reimagines the life of the first Asian American screen star whose legacy endures - a remarkable and inspiring woman who broke barriers and became a shining light in Hollywood history."

And yet it took until THIS YEAR for an Asian woman to finally win Best Actress at the Oscars.

4.0 stars

Thank you to Gail Tsukiyama, Harpervia, and NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book!

Full disclosure, I love Gail Tsukiyama's books and have read ALL of them. This book was a bit different from her other historical fiction books as it was based on an actual person - Anna May Wong. Ann May was a hoot and so very much ahead of her time. I wish she had been born about 40 years later - she would be a superstar and become a leading lady like she wanted. Unfortunately for Anna May, the Hays Code, anti-miscegenation laws, and racist Hollywood didn't allow her to reach her ultimate dreams. Honestly, I am not sure that we have come that far as a country and people since she passed away in 1961. It says so much!

For me, the hardest part of the book was not knowing many of the Hollywood/European people mentioned which made it hard to connect with a lot of the characters. I did spend a bit of time researching people as their names came up which slowed me down and caused me to lose the natural flow of the book.

The absolute best part was that a good portion of the book was based in Old and New Chinatown in Los Angeles. I love when a book is based close to home and where my husband grew up!!

Definitely RECOMMEND

I'm a big fan of Anna May Wong, so when I saw the premise for this book, I was very intrigued in how the story was going to unfold through the novel format. I think this is an important story to tell, as Anna May Wong's story is one piece to a much larger puzzle, but as a novel, I'm not sure this format works. It feels more nonfiction and preach-y at points, which makes it seem less like a novel and more forcing facts in a CNF form.

In THE BRIGHTEST STAR by Gail Tsukiyama the author tells the story of Anna May Wong the first Chinese American Hollywood star to appear on the silver screen. I was intrigued by the story of Anna May Wong. From 1920's to the 1960's this strong, courageous, woman worked her way up into becoming a hero to the silver screen. Her dream was to become the first Chinese American headliner in film. This story tells of all the trials and tribulations Anna goes through to get her dream. Unfortunately, Hollywood hasn't changed much.