Huang delights in details such as these — memorable yet mostly forgotten. He acknowledges there are other biographies of Wong, including Graham Hodges’ 'pioneering' volume and Anthony Chan’s Perpetually Cool. With Daughter of the Dragon, Huang is offering something different, presenting this as the third volume of his 'Rendezvous With America' trilogy, which has included books about Charlie Chan and the conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker. Daughter of the Dragon is biography embedded in cultural criticism ... the book is clearly intended as a form of reclamation and subversion ... Huang is a wry and generous storyteller; the Anna May he evokes stepped out from the limited roles she was relegated to and turned to writing as a way of showcasing her curiosity and wit.
Sympathetic ... Because Mr. Huang relies heavily on secondary sources, the star’s inner life remains frustratingly opaque. But Daughter of the Dragon offers a lively tour through Wong’s world and filmography, and the film stills and portraits included throughout are a particular pleasure
[Huang] mostly avoids simplifying her into an easy icon of empowerment or an object of pity ... Huang seems so concerned with meticulously building the world around Wong that his picture of Wong herself starts to dim. As a consequence, Wong feels sometimes less like a flesh-and-blood figure and more like a prop through which Huang conducts his survey of Asian American history ... Daughter of the Dragon has its lapses. But it soars when Huang resists treating Wong as a hapless victim of American history and digs deeper to reveal the shrewd, resilient soul beneath.
Fascinating ... A rich and complex view of Wong’s life and times. His book is less an intimate, psychological biography than a revealing look at Wong’s experience within the history of the era and its flow of cultural biases.
Huang baits us with the shiniest pieces of her mythos while describing the vexing conditions under which she came to be seen at all ... Huang’s true subject, to which he always returns: the strange ambivalence that marks any racialized performer’s ascent to fame. Wong’s star image was built on endless contradictions that, at times, rattled her sense of self. Huang’s true subject, to which he always returns: the strange ambivalence that marks any racialized performer’s ascent to fame. Wong’s star image was built on endless contradictions that, at times, rattled her sense of self.
A thorough, multilayered history of the too brief yet impactful life of a pioneering Chinese American woman artist facing racism and sexism in tumultuous times.
Huang’s expansive biography draws on Wong’s diaries and other sources to reveal intimate details of her life; it also offers deep dives into myriad aspects of Asian American life, such as Chinese laundering ... It is an outstanding work, filled with insights and stories, and written with authority.
An attentive biography ... Wong had an incredible yet short life, and the author documents it in an evenhanded, bittersweet manner. An intimate Hollywood profile perfect for students of film and pop culture.
Vital ... Huang’s sympathetic treatment brings out the nuances of Wong’s story, highlighting how she by turns acceded to and bristled against the stereotypes Hollywood asked her to play ... It’s a fascinating—and long overdue—close-up of a Hollywood trailblazer.
