Alma is an accomplished cellist who is now grappling with MS. Daniel aspired to become a world class musician but is currently running a quartet which serenades dying people to ease their passing. Daniel and Alma were once very much in love (and we are given the sense that there is still something there). Daniel is recently divorced from his wife Sigrid and Alma is trying to get through her life and pain with the help of her neighbor Rickey. Kyoko is a budding punk musician and she is hatching a plot to murder Daniel along with her boyfriend Kornell. Kyoko is convinced that Daniel had an affair with her mother Emi which led to Emi’s divorce and subsequent suicide. This is the premise for The Fetishist. So named because Daniel has a fetish for Asian women.

The book is published posthumously after the untimely passing of Katherine Min. It is narrated in a reverse order where we learn about the past in a series of flashbacks. I found the story of Daniel, Alma and Emi interesting enough. Kyoko’s portion of the story has shades of YA lingo and the plot to murder Daniel, while brimming with originality, was a bit too farfetched. There are a lot of references to classical music and nuances of the music world. I skimmed through these but a music connoisseur will probably be better placed to appreciate those. Characters are pretty well developed although none of them are much likeable. Overall, a quick read, unique and evocative in parts. A novel of love, revenge, forgiveness and redemption. Good for book club discussions.

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

A novel about three people connected by love, anger and stereotypical views of Asian women.

Kyoko is a very angry young Japanese-American woman who, along with her boyfriend Kornell, writes angry music and plays in a punk band. She also draws manga, the latest featuring a girl samurai named Willy who is dedicated to pursuing vengeance against those who killed her family. Kyoko’s mother Emi, a musician, had an affair long ago with Daniel and developed an obsession with him. Her feelings for Daniel broke up her marriage and ultimately, Kyoko believes, led to her committing suicide. She blames Daniel for Emi’s death and has long plotted to kill him, and one night has her chance to do just that. She sees a post on social media from Alma, the woman whom Daniel loved and an accomplished cellist suffering from MS, and tracks him down to where he is dining. A series of mishaps foils her attempt, but she persuades Kornell to kidnap Daniel with her, and the two imprison Daniel in their basement as they plan to poison him. Three characters in despair: Kyoko whose existence is focused on revenging her mother’s death; Daniel, whose aspirations were to be a world famous musician but in fact he now leads a quartet whose niche speciality is to play music for people in the final stages of life; and Alma, whose existence was defined by the musical gifts of which her illness has robbed her and the attraction she held for a series of men (including Daniel) as the embodiment of the Asian woman fantasy. The lives of these three characters intersect and ultimately provide the path for release from their woes.
The Fetishist, released posthumously, is told with humor, sarcasm and empathy with assured writing. The characters, none particularly likable yet rendered with compassion, are richly drawn and as a reader I could not help but want them to find if not happiness then at lease some measure of peace. The author details the many ways in which Asian women like Alma, Kyoko and Emi have been fetishized as ideals of sexualized femininity and beauty, particularly by Western men, combining racism and sexism in a way that undermines and minimizes those women. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel, and was pleasantly surprised by the juxtaposition of anger and humor, punk rock and classical music, and other elements that shouldn’t work well together yet did. It is hard to put this novel into a particular category, but as the author wrote , it is “a fairy tale of sorts”…also, “Every story has a happy ending, depending on where you put THE END.” Those who enjoy fiction laced with a bit of humor, who appreciate a novel written exceptionally well, and who want characters to be well-rendered even if not particularly laudable, should give The Fetishist a try. It is equal parts Margaret Atwood and The Princess Bride, and I thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sharing an advanced reader’s copy with me.

to be honest the cover was very intriguing and kind of sucked me in but the book sort of fell flat for me. i wish i enjoyed it more because it seemed like a good read but i could not get into it.

The premise of this book was so interesting, and I found it very intriguing. The prose felt so different depending on who it was written about. Some of it felt almost lyrical and whimsical while other times it felt matter of fact and clunky.

I'd say there's some sexual content to be aware of in case that's a trigger.

Kyoko has decided Daniel is the reason her mom is dead and after a chance encounter, she decides to get revenge. Meanwhile Daniel and Alma, love of Daniel’s life, ponder on their lives and face their past, confronting questions of race, femininity, complicity, and visibility.

To be honest, this is not an easy novel to explain. While there is a current time plot, a lot of the novel is piecing out the past. This was definitely a read I would have loved to pore over author interviews of had the novel not been published posthumously. There were some curious choices in the storytelling and I would love to hear other readers' thoughts on them and the questions they raised. A lot about Daniel reminded me of The Laugher by Sonora Jha, he obviously wasn’t a character I enjoyed getting acquainted with. Min’s observations on racism and exoticism feels so personal and the way she set the novel so intentional. It’s also oh so uncomfortable. While I’m optimistically hoping that current generations are moving away from being creeps, this novel can almost be a guide to red flags. The only reason I’m saying almost is because the content is a bit explicit at times and while I think it’s part of how Min chooses the question complicity, to the untrained eye it might send the wrong message.

As for the audiobook, I enjoyed Eunice Wong’s narration. While I think there could have been multiple narrators on this just based on the structure of the novel, Wong’s narration worked well with the vibe the novel was going for.

Thank you so much to Putnam Books for the ARC & finished copy and PRH Audio for the ALC of this one.

This is one of those books that is hard to describe because it’s such an immersive experience to read it. At its heart it’s about a twenty-three-year-old woman name Kyoko. She is a Japanese American punk-rock singer, full of angst and mourning the loss of her mother Alma who was a famous cellist. Kyoko seeks revenge on Daniel, a violinist who happens to be the man who killed her mother. The novel begins with Kyoko poised to kidnap Daniel, but nothing goes as planned. It sounds serious, and while it is, it’s also really funny and surprising and poignant. What I didn’t know when I was reading this book is that the author, Katherine Min passed away in 2019, so this, her second novel, was published posthumously and it’s very sad because this book is so compelling and I will forever wonder what she may have written next if her life hadn’t been cut short. Thank you to Penguin and to Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

It's always hard to read a book by an author that has passed away before their time and that the book in your hand is published posthumously. The Fetishist by Katherine Min is a beautiful novel. After you readit you know that this author had so much more to give the literary world. It's a novel about four people Alma, Daniel, Emi and Kyoto. It has themes of music, love, ego, disease and how humans handle it when it comes swirling together. It shows what family members will to do to extract suffering from people who hurt them. The book is named The Fetishist because of the way men look towards and treat Asian women. It's definetly timely in today's world. I never. felt like I wanted to put the book down once I started it and read it in two days. It's one of those books that I will go back and read again. Yes, it's that good. I truly hope you pick up this book. She deserves to be read far and wide even though she is no longer with us. Thank you to #putnam #penguinbooks for the arc. #netgalley

The Fetishist is a tale, in fact, it calls itself a fairytale, of three disparate people connected through one fateful summer in Florence that irrevocably changed all their lives and led them to be a kidnapper, a captive and comatose.

The real story is mostly told in flashbacks and I found myself more interested in those sections than in what was happening in the present storyline. Throughout, the writing is beautiful and evocative. I just didn’t feel as connected to some of the characters as others.

I found Katherine Min’s novel, “The Fetishist,” a perplexing novel to both read and evaluate because its focus is about how negatively Asian women often perceive Caucasian men’s desire for relationships with them as an irrational form of carnal desire.

The novel centers around musical prodigies—the women Asian, the men that they have romantic affairs with are not.

Per Mins characters, these Asian women consider that these men typically pursue romantic intimacy with them based upon stereotypes like: their small physical statures; a submissive geisha-like natures; their dark eyes and hair; their talent, studiousness and smarts; or an antithesis rebellious nature.

My opinion is that if this is your view, then DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH THESE MEN!

Although I read the entire novel, I did not enjoy anything about it at all. The subject matter made me uncomfortable from the start, although I kept reading in the hopes that there would be something elevating or ennobling about the endeavor. Alas, nothing was worthy of the hours that I spent reading “The Fetishist.”

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Katherine Min, and Publisher G.P. Putnam’s and Sons for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

I was given an advanced reader copy through Netgalley for this book and have been so anxious to get to it.
In this one, we just between three main characters-- Kyoko, Daniel, and Alma. In the beginning, you aren't fully informed on their connection to each other, but it soon becomes clear how their stories will diverge.
Kyoko is full of rage, spite, and grief. After her mother's tragic suicide, Kyoko is hell bent on avenging her mother's death. She and her boyfriend, in a messy turn of events, end up kidnapping the man that Kyoko believes is responsible for her mother's spiral into darkness. Daniel finds himself locked in the basement of a half-forgotten former lover's basement, unsure how to get himself out of the situation. All the while, he left to parse with the disaster he has made of his love life, the grievances others have had against him, all of his shortcomings that have lead him into his middle age without much to show for it. Is he all the things that he has been accused of?

This book seeks to explore the fetishization of asian women, particularly by white men. How are women gutted by the lack of agency afforded to their public persona? How are men culpable in women's pain? What does it mean to love someone, to revere someone, to grieve someone? Can you love someone and hate what they have done to you?

I enjoyed so many parts about this book. Kyoko and her boyfriend were a particular soft spot for me. As the book continued, I grew to really dislike Daniel in a way that felt intentional, so I was slightly let down by the ending when it became about Daniel's happy ending in a sense. Of course, it was about Kyoko's too, which is what lead me to give it 4 stars. I was engaged the whole way through!

So much to ponder in this novel. Kyoko wants to avenge her mother's death by killing Daniel. Daniel seduced her mother and then left her which led to her death. Daniel is a cheating, conniving man who seems to only care about himself. Alma is the love of Daniel's life. Kyoko's plan backfires when nothing goes as planned. This novel is funny, full of thought-provoking incidents and surprises.

A definitely different type of love, revenge, and ultimately forgiveness and redemption story. The fish on the cover completely makes sense and is actually a major element in Kyoko's (the daughter) and Daniel's (her mother's ex-lover) personal journey.

It was in turns funny, darkly sad, tender, and thought-provoking as the story weaves themes of race, objectification of women, and the fear of losing your identity when you love someone.

What a strange little book. I found the plot and characters to be fascinating, but the ending left me wanting more. Also, something about the writing style felt forced and confusing. Sometimes the story would flow very well, and other times, the writing felt clunky and cliche-ridden. I don't think it's a bad book, but it's nothing special either.

Funny, poignant and vicious at times, The Fetishist is a wonderful novel from an author that published posthumously.
Kyoko is a Japanese American rock musician, while Alma is a Korean American cellist whose career was sidelined by illness. Both are ties to Daniel, a white man and fellow musician whose pursuit of Asian women seems to have ruined both Alma's life and the life of Kyoko's late mother. Shifting between these 3 characters' POVs, Min tells us the captivating, hilariously twisted story of their intertwined lives, from a potential hit song and an infamous affair, to a kidnapping gone wrong.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for this e-arc.*

The Fetishist is a provocative and poignant work that challenges the stereotypes and power dynamics that shape Asian femininity and anti Asian racism. It is very successful as an exploration of relationships, racism, the fetishization of Asian woman, and marriage. The story is highly character driven, and I had strong feelings about all of the characters. Overall, this book is beautifully written, and I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a character driven drama. Advance reader copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Fresh-voiced, intelligent, and dynamic. I appreciated reading this- a needed take on the fetishization (and dehumanization) of Asian women by white men. Appreciate the multiple POVs and literary smarts in The Fetishist.

An intertwining story of a white man who fetishizes asian women and those who got mixed up in his messiness.

We follow the POVs of the fetishist himself along with two women who have been affected by him and his relationships. One looking to move on and one looking for revenge.

It took me a bit to get into this due to the changing POVs and timelines, but I was invested about halfway through and began to enjoy Alma, Kyoko and Kornell. While I didn’t enjoy the direction the ending took, I can see why the author wrapped it up that way. Just wasn’t what I was hoping for!

This book hits heavy topics like depression, chronic illness, stereotypes and fetishism, but managed to have a little comedic relief, enjoyable characters and an interesting storyline. Overall it was a good read with relevant social commentary and would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC :)

Katherine Min’s posthumous novel opens with Kyoko Tokugawa, a “tiny, grumpy-looking” punk musician with spiky blue hair, piercings and tattoos who proclaims that this is the “perfect evening to kill Daniel Karmody.” Kyoko believes that the root source of her late mother, Emi’s, unhappiness and the cause of her parents’ divorce, Emi’s depression and subsequent suicide was her affair with Daniel which began when Emi, a violinist, studied with Daniel at a conservatory. Kyoko’s life had been “deformed by grief, grief, in turn, twisted to hate, hate hammered to anger, until the anger, the hate, and the grief had become grotesquely fused.”

Daniel Karmody, the focus of Kyoko’s rage, was a tall and handsome musician of some renown, but when we are introduced to him, he is a “[r]ent-for-hire-fiddler for affluent terminal cases.” The recently divorced Daniel receives a Facebook message from Alma Soon Ja Lee after nearly two decades of silence which makes him reflect on the selfish, careless, and inexcusable things that he had done in his life. He believes that losing Alma “had been the pivotal point at which everything began to change for him, when everything in his life had turned to shit.” Alma had been a celebrated cellist, compared in her prime to Jacqueline du Pre, but Alma is afflicted with a chronic illness and is now a suicidal shut-in.

Daniel is sitting in his car, listening to Alma play Bach, and trying to kill himself by carbon monoxide poisoning when he is abducted by masked intruders and dumped into the back of a van. During his captivity, he acknowledges that he is a “selfish man” and he concludes that “these unpleasant realizations made him yearn to live long enough to become . . . different. Kind, if he was feeling ambitious. Decent would be enough. Would be aspirational.”

Traveling back and forth over decades, Min unveils these intertwined lives: desperate Emi destroyed by misplaced love, frenzied Kyoko trapped in a revenge fantasy, and fading Alma isolated by regret and illness. What binds these characters together is Daniel, the titular fetishist: “Alma had been a mere appetizer, the first of a veritable smorgasbord of Asian delights.” Although the primary characters are deeply flawed, and Min tackles serious subjects such as sexism, racism, chronic illness and suicide, the novel is remains engaging, playful, buoyant and redemptive. Thank you G.P. Putnam Sons and Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advance reader’s copy of this delightful novel.

This is a novel about three different people; Kyogo, Daniel, and Alma. Kyogo is faced with an extreme amount on pain and anger... most of which can be focused on Daniel, who she holds responsible for her mothers' death. Daniel, has in fact left wreckage in his wake, and has focused on a "type" in his life. However, his life is not going as he planned either. As he remembers his greatest love, "Alma", Alma is on the other side of the country going through her own difficulties, and facing the side effects of her somewhat recent diagnosis of MS. The music community holds all three of these individuals, and gives them a point of similarity. Over the course of the novel, their paths cross and each one is forced to give and ask for their own version of forgiveness.

I found this novel to be well-written, and unique. There is a quality of dark humor, the topics are serious, but at times the scenes are so over the top is adds comical value to the reading. The book verges of depressing and sad, but toes the line well so that ultimately I felt more uplifted after reading the novel than I had expected. There is a decent resolution, and ended with a powerful and interesting story. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. Plus it that it is easy to read and kept my interest the whole time.

Kiako wants to kill the man she blames for The death of her mother Emi. When Kiakoi fails at her latest attempt her boyfriend Cornell sees how it has affected her so negatively and would do anything to put a smile on her face and so they come up with a different plan. While this is going on Danny who is the man with the target on his back is a classically trained violinist and has known many levels of success but nowadays he plays in a symphony for the dying. He was leaving a restaurant with his youngest and latest love interest when Kiako but when she falls and trips in the pouring rain he and Melody get away in a cab. If only she would know later that night he to wooden barrel sleep fail and get a Facebook message from his long lost lol who he also did wrong maybe she would’ve looked at Daniel differently but that’s not what happened and that’s why we get this hilarious book. I want to say I absolutely love this part but didn’t see the point in the whole story about the retainer… I mean I get it that’s where his obsession came from but I could’ve lived without reading that having said that this was an awesome book and that story is at the absolute end of the book itself you’re looking for a funny humorous sad heart filled story about redemption and what that looks like then you’ll love the fetishist by Catherine Min. I was sad to hear the author of this book died right after having written it and my condolences go out to the family and thanks for seeing fit to give the world this great book. In my reviews I always like to say who is my favorite character or who I love the most but in this one there were three top favorites and that is Irma Cornell and Caico I want to thank Penguin group Putnam and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review