The autobiography of the 33 year old Marvel actor/comedian with a very troubled past, this book provides interesting insights into the inside working of the film, television and theatre world, particularly in America. A single child, he was born and raised to age five by grandparents in rural northern China, his striving parents having achieved high-paying engineering jobs in Kingston and Toronto Ontario. They are also archetypical tiger parents, to the point of abuse, both psychological and physical, a la Amy Chua’s 2012 “Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother”, only more extreme.
“On more than one occasion, I wondered if they were just allergic to joy.”
No amount of hard work on his part ever satisfied their ambition to raise a famous, wealthy and prestigious son.
His discussion of Chinese politics and culture is cautious and uncritical to the point of seeming almost cowardly, afraid of retribution by the powers that be in China.
After obediently attending prestigious schools including Western’s Ivey Business School, he worked at a variety of corporate jobs including accounting at Deloitte, but hated the work, was fired, and alienated his parents as he aspired to become a famous Hollywood actor. Alternately self-assured and cocky or insecure and depressed, his emotional extremes do not paint a picture of mental stability. I, and I suspect most children of a certain age, can relate to his extreme need for parental approval, their lack of any any public displays of affection or even private expressions of praise. I cannot however relate to their dictatorial control of his every childhood decision. There must be some best balance between discipline and control of a child’s development and granting of freedom, although I certainly never found that balance. My parents were certainly strict but allowed all five of us to pursue completely different careers. (While my father made it clear that he would have preferred that I become a chiropractor, he accepted my decision to go to medical school).
The selfish focus on career advancement in acting with little regard for the greater benefit of society or moral consequences becomes a bit concerning as he constantly focuses on receiving praise, fame and fortune, although late in the book, he does promote, in a somewhat paranoid tone, the advancement of Asian individuals in performing arts. I am no fan of Marvel fantasy antics generally which may colour my judgement of this book, but I doubt that the world is better off because of either violent Marvel superheroes or this book. On the other hand, pursuing a career in a field you enjoy and feel passionate about may be preferable to purely capitalistic pursuits. Again, some balance is important.
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Thanks, Goodreads.
The Passionate Reader 