Not Your China Doll

January 22, 2024
Freelance book editor Salisbury debuts with a spirited biography of actor Anna May Wong (1905–1961), whom Salisbury credits with introducing “the American public to a compelling vision of Chinese American and Asian American identity at a time when our community visibility was either limited or vilified.” Wong was 18 when she filmed her breakout role in the 1924 blockbuster The Thief of Bagdad, but her fame was tainted by Hollywood’s endemic racism. She was frequently exoticized on screen (she played a scantily clad “Mongol slave” in Thief) and barred from substantive roles, even when the characters were Asian. (When MGM adapted Pearl S. Buck’s novel The Good Earth, which follows the lives of Chinese peasant farmers, producers claimed Wong didn’t have enough star power and selected white actor Luise Rainer for the female lead.) Wong also had to grapple with the Chinese community’s ambivalent feelings about her success. On a tour of China in the mid-1930s, she was by turns cheered by adoring fans and admonished by journalists for perpetuating stereotypes. Though Salisbury covers the tragic aspects of Wong’s life (she struggled with alcoholism and died of a heart attack at age 56), this biography emphasizes its subject’s grit and perseverance in carving out a niche in an industry inhospitable to actors of color. It’s a rousing testament to Wong’s talents. Photos. Agent: Alia Hanna Habib, Gernert Co.

May 31, 2024

Salisbury opens her debut by recounting her thoughts upon seeing a photo of the Chinese American film star Anna May Wong, who seemed, at least in the author's memory, to be nearly mythic in her elegance and beauty. After this winning introduction narrated by the author, narrator Caroline McLaughlin glides in for the rest of the book, an account of Wong's life and career, which were filled with glamour as well as frustration, heartbreak, and regret. Even listeners unfamiliar with Wong might be unsurprised at her treatment in early Hollywood. She was relegated to smaller parts, often alongside white actors in yellowface. Disgusted by Hollywood's racist attitudes, Wong moved overseas and achieved fame across Europe and beyond. As the book recounts Wong's trials and tribulations, McLaughlin gives distinctive voices to her family and the Hollywood celebrities that surround her. Listeners will be immersed in decades long gone, making this storied time feel present and real--perhaps an easier task than it should be, as many disparaging attitudes and prejudices are still present in today's movie industry. VERDICT This excellent exploration of an important actor's life may appeal to those fascinated by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's When Women Invented Television or Nghi Vo's Wong-inspired fantasy novel The Siren Queen.--Matthew Galloway

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