The Fetishist

An Indie Next Pick In this hilariously savage, poignant novel by acclaimed author Katherine Min, a grieving daughters revenge on the man who caused her mothers death sets off a series of unexpected reckonings. On a cold, gloomy night, twenty-three-year-old Kyoko stands in the rain with a knife in her hoodies pocket. Her target is Daniel, who seduced Kyokos mother then callously dropped her, leading to her death. But tonight, there will be repercussions. Following the unsuspecting Daniel home, Kyoko manages to get a rash kidnapping plot off the ground . . . and then nothing goes as planned. The Fetishist is the story of three peopleKyoko, a Japanese American punk-rock singer full of rage and grief; Daniel, a philandering violinist forced to confront the wreckage of his past; and Alma, the love of Daniels life, a Korean American cello prodigy long adored for her beauty, passion, and talent, but who spends her final days examining if she was ever, truly, loved. An exuberant, provocative story that confronts race, complicity, visibility, and ideals of femininity, The Fetishist was written before the celebrated authors untimely death in 2019. Startlingly prescient, as wise and powerful as it is utterly delightful, this novel cements Katherine Mins legacy as a writer with a singular voice for our times.