With this book I highlighted and more notes than any previous. It will be impossible to put those thoughts and notes into a full review here. I will just say this is a well written book on this topic of appropriation.

Every creative writer should consider reading this book, particularly if they write outside of what they know. This is a book highly recommended for artistic classes, not just writing but with other artistic endeavors. This book will spark great discussions.

What does writing in the voice of people unlike ourselves, risk besides the possibility of getting certain facts, histories, and perspectives wrong? What line does this kind of writing crosses, if any?

Oh my, this upcoming read is full of gold nuggets. If you really care about diversity and representation, definitely consider giving this a go.

Paisley Rekdal joins the controversial debate on cultural appropriation through her lens as a creative writing professor addressing a young writer that symbolises any one of her students she's taught over the years.

Rekdal is thorough: she starts by asking all necessary questions one needs to consider, and then embarks on defining cultural appropriation and its differences. Finally, she goes through a critical analysis of carefully selected examples of past and contemporary writing that embody those questions that are so difficult to answer and yet must be asked.

The issue of cultural appropriation is investigated through a verisimilitude of angles: from authorial privilege, to the power of literary imagination, and the high status given to empathy. Most importantly, there's a lot of groundwork around race as THE social construct that gets most called upon when it comes to cultural appropriation. As a biracial person herself and teacher of Asian American literature, Rekdal's arguments are experienced and persuasively argued.

I enjoyed her taking apart Hemingway's racism towards Native Americans in his famous short story "Indian Camp", among many other examples. A recent one she rightfully pulls to pieces is Jeanine Cummins' 2020 novel, American Dirt about the (Mexican) migrant crisis. As someone who doesn't share neither racial nor ethnic identity with her characters in the novel, Cummins' novel was dubbed by critics as "trauma porn"; Rekdal shows us exactly why.

Appropriate is an extremely timely read in our heavy political climate. I highly recommend it to my bookstagram friends and promise you it will make you a better, more critical reader.

Appropriate is out on 16 Feb.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy.

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This is an excellent book, with a nuanced and eloquent argument. It would be perfect for teaching in a college creative writing or literature class.