Anon Advice Asks - June 25
ARC anon (new), boy crushes anon, group project stuff anon (new-ish)
ARC anon (new)
hii cas
one of my favorite authors has been in a shitload of controversy recently and no one seems to be looking at it with nuance, which is pissing me off. you can look it up if you want, the author is r. f. kuang. her books are mostly anti colonialism and about the evils of colonization. now, her latest book (it hasn’t been released yet) has a minor, insignificant character (as far as i’m aware from pictures of the pages of ARCs) who’s israeli. the premise is a chinese-american college student who goes to taiwan for a summer program for mandarin so that she can better connect with her culture. the israeli character in question is a pianist who appears for maybe four or so pages in the context of being a well known pianist performing in taipei, garnering a large crowd and excitement and anticipation over it, playing very well to the point that the protagonist is extremely engrossed in his music, and the protagonist never seeing the concert hall of the performance as full in the future, even for taiwanese performers. i know that she isn’t perfect, she had an event in dubai, but she educated herself after people mentioned it and withdrew from the event. while a lot of people still criticize her for it, i think the fact that she made the effort to educate herself and then decide to cancel is growth and it’s alienating to expect constant perfection and knowledge from everyone, especially those who are unlikely to have come in contact with the issue. as for the current controversy, people are either acting like it’s a heinous crime to have an israeli character on the grounds of normalization, or saying that it’s okay. i might be biased, but i feel like i’m being objective in saying that there’s a reason for the character’s nationality in this context. i see it as the author showing how asians perceive white people, particularly performers, versus people from their own country - white/western performers receive a lot more attention and praise, and are considered to be better, and western music “sounds” better. as an asian who has lived in asia (not the east), i definitely agree because white performers rarely came to my country but when they did, they were greeted with a lot of enthusiasm and going to their concerts was something everyone wanted to do. i also see it as a bit of her showing that corporate and high end places aren’t really following the boycott and openly endorsing the country, and how people throw their principles aside when it’s an artist, regardless of the artist’s views. that’s my opinion on the pictures i’ve seen and personally, i think we should wait for the book to actually be released to form a solid opinion rather than relying on a few random accounts leaking excerpts of their ARCs. however, most of the internet’s disagreeing me, so i kinda wanted a second opinion to see if its just my bias or whether i’m valid in saying what i am.
Hi!
Okay so I think it's hard for me to get a really detailed opinion when I don't have a whole lot of context (as in, I don't know the author's whole backstory, I don't know their works, I haven't explored what they stand for, etc.) However, I tend to agree with you? It would be important to me to read about how the character is portrayed before I make a decision. I think it's also important to ask: has the author made any statements about Palestine?
But yeah. I think the internet is quick to cancel and be very black-and-white, and this isn't that simple. I think it's fair to withhold judgement until you get more info!
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boy crushes anon
Hey Cas it’s boy crushes anon xx
So… I told her. I texted her that I loved her. We aren’t exactly on speaking terms and things have been weird between us, so I kinda just decided I already lost her let me tell her and get my closure. A few days later, she texted me back saying “no need to be sorry, I just don’t know how I want to respond or what I want to say yet”. And nothing since then. Idkkk what to do I’m heartbroken 💔😔
So uhm yeah…
Hi hon!
I'm so sorry, that is definitely heartbreaking. It sounds like you may not get the closure you need and that really sucks. Are you able to talk to some people about it or process it in another way? I think the best way to deal with these feelings is to process them by talking/writing/drawing/singing/expressing about them somehow.
I'm sending you love, I know you're probably really sad <3
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group project stuff anon
Hey I'm the one who asked about the group project stuff! I just wanted to say that it's over and everything was okay! Just waiting on my grades and then I (kind of sort of) have my Master's degree!!! Which is so crazy to say.
Hey! I'm so glad it worked out well! Congrats on your Master's!! I'm jealous, I still have another year on mine...remember to celebrate yourself, I'm sure you worked super hard! <3
