Hello Kitty Must Die

I read this book first a while back. Off-hand, I don’t remember what made me read it. Probably I saw someone recommend it, and it had a lot of things I like in a book: a mystery, a bit raw, funny.

I really liked it. It’s a great read.

It’s also written by an Asian American woman, and as the father of two Asian American kids and as the father of a daughter, I try to look out for books written by women and books written by Asian Americans about their experiences. And this book is a fascinating critique and celebration of the experience of being an Asian American woman.

It is, simplistically, a story of self-discovery and -actualization through murder.

I enjoyed this book so much, I wanted to share it, and we’d started a reading group in the Scholars’ Lab.

But I wasn’t sure it was for everyone’s taste. As I remembered, the first chapter detailed the main character’s, well, claiming herself, in her own neurotic and idiosyncratically logical way. Then, as I remembered, the book settled down from there.

So I mentioned it to a couple of my colleagues, who are reading it, and over DH 2016, I re-read it.

It was both more problematic and more awesome than I remembered. It never does really settle down, and the main character is more of an anti-hero than I recalled.

To be honest, I’m a little embarrassed by how much I like it. The main character is a relatable and loveable, but not even vaguely likeable. When she finally kills someone, it’s almost a relief. And there’s never a moment’s thought that maybe, just maybe, all this killing might be wrong. The only problem is that they might get caught.

So, highly, highly recommended, but it’s also not for everyone.