I probably wouldn't have read this if it hadn't been on the Canada Reads longlist, because I haven't had a lot of luck with contemporary actor biographies, and I don't think I've seen Liu in anything other than his big Marvel thing and the Barbie movie.

But this was great!

Liu's a great storyteller, often very funny, and insightful and compassionate towards other people in his life. He was born in Northern China, and relates moving to Canada when he was quite young, as well as his parents' lives during seismic Chinese events like the Cultural Revolution, and the death of Mao. He tries to find a balance between understanding the cultural and personal background that led to conflict in his family, but not shying away from the devastating fall out from that conflict. If I'd have liked one thing, it would have been more about how he was able to repair the relationships later in life.

There's also a lot great stories about his early days in acting, including some very sketchy jobs, and the challenges of being an Asian actor. I especially liked the chapter that talked about all the support groups and infrastructure that the Asian diaspora community has built to lift their voices. The book ends when he gets the Shang-Chi roll, so there's alas no gossip about filming that. Maybe in a future book.