The Band

March 1, 2024
First-time novelist Ma-Kellams takes readers on a gripping exploration of the complexities that accompany fame. Sang Duri, the eldest member of his K-pop band, finds himself caught in controversy after a new music video brings up historic resentment between his Korean, Chinese, and Japanese fans. His once-adoring followers abruptly cancel him; he disappears from the spotlight and moves to Los Angeles. Duri's public disgrace and abrupt disappearance cause flashbacks for his producer, Pinocchio, to the first girl group he debuted and watched tragically fail. He coaches the remaining members of Duri's band to protect their public image no matter what. But they all soon discover that covering up a scandal doesn't make its consequences disappear. This darkly humorous novel examines the more sinister aspects of celebrity and the profound impact it can have on the individuals caught up in global stardom. As K-pop has become a worldwide sensation, this timely book provides a different perspective on societal pressures associated with fame and the dangerous toll they can take on a person's mental health.

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March 15, 2024
A recently canceled K-Pop band member known by his fans as "the Hot One" bides his time in the McMansion of a Chinese American psychologist he meets in the aisles of H Mart. At the height of a successful career as the eldest (and best-looking) member of a K-Pop band, Sang Duri finds his life crashing down around him when the lyrics of his latest single stoke the friction among the nations of Korea, China, and Japan. In an attempt to avoid the public eye and spare his bandmates from further scrutiny, Duri convinces a psychologist--the nameless narrator of Ma-Kellams' novel--to let him stay with her family in their palatial home. The psychologist, already unhappy in her marriage, is sympathetic to Duri's plight and agrees to take him in. As they spend more and more time together, the lines of their complicated relationship begin to blur until it is unclear who is actually relying on whom. Little do they know that Duri's disappearance from the spotlight will result in a shocking act of violence that will rock the music industry to its core. While Ma-Kellam's novel is a scathing indictment of fandom and the way the industry often turns a blind eye to the mental health of its stars, the book lacks the charm and depth of character necessary to keep readers fully engaged. The use of footnotes--explaining everything from different types of plastic surgery to what the H in H Mart stands for--may be clever, but it feels unnecessary to the story and distracts from the main plot, which struggles to get off the ground. A satirical examination of the stars and fans of the music industry.

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