Based on the renowned Chinese-American actor, Anna May Wong, its a story of hope and surival, of a woman that has tried her hardest to brave thru a world of fame ; of Hollywood in the midst where acceptance of people-in-colour had not been fully accepted. Left a dent in my heart but not the best from Tsukiyama unfortunately.

A story of what I can call an autofiction based on the first ever Chinese-American actress, Anna May Wong that had made it into Hollywood, we follow her journey from the early paths of her career to the last parts of her life. Its a story that is filled with burning passion, hunger for success, of the fight for equality in the midst of a world filled with horror and terror and mostly of love in various forms.

The story had been told in three parts, in a journal form that showed the highlights of her life from her childhood , her downfall and following her to her deathbed. Character-wise , the story that was told in the first-person might seem to disengage the readers with the character, but to me, it felt a bit like following the journey of a person going through her ups and downs in the midst of world of chaos and where it was not easy to be accepted as a person of colour at the time. I liked that we went thru her phase of rebellion with her father, the complicated relationship of second-generation children that had to go through the dilemma of being indebted to your parents and torn to chase your dreams and how she was adamant to survive in a world that is so cut-throat and can tear down a person limb by limb in a heartbeat.

I feel that Anna May Wong is definitely a character of her own. Her keenness and love towards art and acting had made her strive to become a name and a legend of her own. In some ways, Tsukiyama had shown the complications of her acting and how it had affected both the Americans and Chinese at the time. The blatant racism that she had to face and how she had gone up the ladder bit by bit represented the harsh realities of Hollywood and the entertaiment industry, and the fact that it is still now the way it is made it even heartwrenching to read.

For the most part, I had enjoyed her journey; but one thing I had felt the most lacking in this novel was the depth of character in here. Anna May Wong felt generic and I hated that at some parts, there is a series of blatant info-dumping on Tsukiyama's parts. It was definitely a missed opportunity as I would have loved if the nuances and Anna's feelings were more explored in here rather than just writing it as an almost matter-of-fact way.

But overall, I had still enjoyed the book. It was more heartbreaking as it was based on a real person and that she was an icon of her own. What had saved the book for me was the relationship and love that she had through her family and the representation of a bond and culture that can be burdensome but is what that had kept a person like Anna uphold for a long time. At the end, what matters most through the phases of loneliness and heights of fame is to come back to a home filled with the people that loves you and who you love. And that is what had helped the brightest star to shine the brightest.

Personal Ratings: 3.65🌟

Biggest thank you to Times Reads and the publisher for the copy of this book!