Fragile Creatures: A Memoir

by Khin Myint

A powerful debut from an extraordinary voice, gentle in the face of extremity
Khin's sister Theda has a strange illness and a euthanasia drug locked in a box under her bed. Her doctor thinks her problem is purely physical, and so does she, but Khin is not so sure. He knows what they both went through growing up in Perth – it wasn't welcoming back then for a Burmese-Australian family.


With Theda's condition getting worse, Khin heads off to the United States. He needs to sort things out with his ex-partner. Once there, events take a very odd turn, and he finds himself in court.


This is a family story told with humour, wonderment and complete honesty. It's about care, truth and the hardest choices – and what happens when realities clash. How do we balance responsibility for others with what we owe ourselves? Fragile Creatures will sweep you up and leave you stunned at its power.


'The miracle of this book is the writer's calm, patient and searching, steadfast in the face of unthinkable suffering' — Helen Garner, author of The Spare Room


'Compelling and compassionate. Your heart will ache as you read Khin Myint's beautiful, poetic prose. Such wisdom and grace in these pages – an extraordinary story I will keep thinking about for a long time to come.' —Alice Pung, author of One Hundred Days


'A fearless and incisive exploration of masculinity, families and racism. Khin Myint brings a sharp emotional intelligence and a gentle sensibility to this extraordinary story that is at once quietly devastating and uplifting. A new and compelling voice in Australian non-fiction.' — Kristina Olsson, author of Boy, A Family Memoir

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 4, 2024

Reviews

[Carla H · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first part of the book. However, my view of the author being a reliable narrator changed when I got to the part about the ex and court case. My sister had to get the courts involved after a breakup, so unfortunately I know a lot about that process. It takes a lot of evidence for a judge to review domestic cases- believe me we had to fight for it. So if the author ended up in court, I have to believe it was for a good reason. That then casts doubt on how the author has portrayed himself throughout the rest of the memoir.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen Garner captured this memoir perfectly when she described it as "calm, patient and searching, steadfast in the face of unthinkable suffering". This is a remarkable and deeply painful story about the intersections of gender/race/class, and how unhelpful binaries that exist can be read through femininity-masculinity, rich-poor, bogan-hippie, East-West...but most searingly through the demand that medicine (and psychiatry, which often exists in the binary to medicine) has historically made, and still makes, that we split illness into the binary of body-mind. Rarely an "and", almost always an "or". It deals with the brutal reality of racial abuse, developmental trauma, chronic fatigue syndrome (ME), chronic Lyme Disease, suicide and euthanasia. It raises important questions, rather than answers them. It is an ode to uncertainty, to allowing for uncertainty rather than foreclosure

[Tiffany Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a moving and heartbreaking book - full of insight and humility. It’s also an important book about the ugliness of racism - both overt and covert - and the far reaching impact it can have on its victims. It made me so angry - and I sympathised with the anger author Khin Mynt expresses. The level of suffering Khin, his sister and mother have been through is unbelievable. The completely unnecessary court case his former American girlfriend put him through as his sister was on the brink of death was unconscionable.

This was a deep, thought provoking read which confronted me with the ugliness of white middle class privilege and the way white middle class woman can weaponise their fragility. Huge praise to author Khin Mhint for his honesty and courageous story telling. I suspect I will be thinking about his book long after others have faded in my memory.

[aliyah · Rating 2 out of 5]

i hate rating memoirs- it feels so disrespectful to the story being told. but, alas, rate i must.

a very saddening story. i loved reading about the city i grew up in- i found his depictions and hatred of the city accurate and justified.

i found it lacking a sort of “flavour,” that made it hard to really get into. a compelling piece of work nonetheless

2.5 stars

[Venetia Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fragile Creatures ... a whole host of them inhabit this deeply thoughtful and moving memoir.

The most obvious fragile creature is the author's sister, Theda. She lives most of her adult life as an invalid, fragile mentally and physically. Does her illness have a psychological cause or a physiological one? Theda insists her malady has a purely physical cause, but doctors provide conflicting diagnoses and even more damaging, unhelpful, and expensive treatments. Khin begins to wonder whether her illness is partly caused by childhood trauma, but has to swallow his doubts or destroy his relationship with Theda and his mother.

Khin depicts himself as another fragile creature, viciously excluded and bullied for his mixed-race parentage throughout his high school years in Perth, Western Australia. In 1980s and early 90s Perth, there were 'Asians' and there were white people. With a Burmese father and an English mother, Khin falls into neither category. He is bullied mercilessly and wonders in hindsight whether Theda was similarly treated. His experience of bullying prompts Khin to reflect on the notions of masculinity that fuelled his abusers.

Men who cling to unexamined, rigid notions of masculinity are also exposed as fragile creatures in this book. As Khin muses,

Masculinity wasn't a choice - it was a set of expectations you tried to navigate. ... stoic masculine types are often full of anxiety. It's anxiety that gets expressed in sexual desire or aggression, but it's more interesting than that. If you aren't upsetting or attracting them, you can perceive many boys and men thinking about expectations they aren't sure they can meet. (p. 133)

It makes one think that the cause of feminism would be furthered if society at large paid more attention to notions of masculinity, and that the word 'toxic masculinity' is unhelpful - those under the sway of such masculinity are fragile creatures too.

I am so glad I read this book. It has provoked many thoughts about the corner of Australia I inhabit, but also concerning masculinity and health issues at large. But I do have one grumble I simply must mention. Khin considers the history of mental disorders and mentions that 'you could hang a witch in the European Middle Ages' on the basis of such 'internal ethical corruption'. (p. 185) He then goes on to mention the Salem witch trials in this light. No! I really wish Khin hadn't undermined my trust in his research in this sole instance. The witch hunting frenzy primarily occurred in the early modern period, NOT the Middle Ages. And the Americas (including Salem) were not colonised by white people until the early modern period. Please don't fall into the easy dichotomy of asserting that medieval = bad, backward, and barbaric in comparison to modernity. As Fragile Creatures so vividly shows, we moderns have some serious issues to resolve too.

[Tim Goldsmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khin Myint's memoir tracks three different and connected stories:
1. Khin's experience of growing up in Western Australia, the son of an English mother and Burmese father. How does racism shape who we are and scar us in ways that affect our future?
2. Khin's sister Theda dealing with ME/CFS, and illness with no known cause or cure, leaving its sufferer with chronic fatigue, affecting their ability to perform either physical or mental tasks. As a debated topic in the medical world, it what does it mean when different family members have different approaches to this?
3. Weaved throughout this is Khin's retelling of a broken relationship between Khin and his American partner Rachel

Khin does a good job of dealing with the complexities of race, sickness and family without being too eager to lay blame, or paper over the complexities. That said, it was clear that Khin has been shaped by his time studying in Melbourne & his use of language sometimes indicated that he saw things through a particular narrow lens, be it Critical Race Theory, a condescending attitude toward religion as a merely sociological phenomenon, or something else.
Probably the greatest thing I can say about the book is that the time just flew. I really enjoyed how Khin wove the stories together and the time just flew by!

[Mai Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
There are multiple threads in Khin Myint's memoir that readers can relate to - the physical and mental health/well-being, relationships with loved ones and what I related to the most: growing up (and continuing to live as) a minority in Australia.

My heart ached for the callous and unjustified treatment of Khin and his sister at school, which further complicated their dual identity as being Burmese and white-Australian. Survival seemed to be a trait both had to form and adopt sadly early in their lives.
His writing on trying to belong in a predominantly white society and feeling like an outsider reminded me of Cecile Pin's debut "Wandering Stars".

His honesty is soulfully courageous and he is unafraid to revisit extremely delicate and devastating experiences of his family.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and critically literate narrative of the pernicious effects of racism and gender regulation as they affected Myint growing up in conservative Perth Australia. Thank goodness for the split structure between his psychotic sister and his ex girlfriend’s protection order because they are both intense. I guess that’s where the story lies. There’s not much dwelling on other more sustaining relations in the book, nor his music which is where I know him from playing at local festivals. I even have his cd. Sometimes felt like the narrator needed some distance from the intense interior monologue, which is prob why he travels so often to Asia India Burma USA. Mixed feelings about the book but I finished it.

[Sian Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Khin’s reflections on gender, race, and identity in this book and appreciated the difficulty of sharing some incredibly intimate details of his childhood and familial experiences. I found that this memoir perplexed me in its discussions of mental and physical ailments and found it an interesting reflection upon the time that people could not seem to comprehend that mental and physical maladies could coexist. It seems almost absurd to me in 2025 that people ever thought this way. In saying this, Myint’s comment on the hierarchy of illness struck a chord with me and will stick with me long after reading this book.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw Khin do a spoken word set in Perth some years ago and was instantly intrigued by his story and especially Theda’s journey. As a first generation Anglo-Burmese Australian from Perth who also suffers from ME/CFS, this book was so close to home. It was honestly the best book I’ve read in years and I’m probably going to read it several more times. Khin’s resilience is remarkable.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Was very interested in his sister’s experience with cfs - having something like that myself. Also found his experience as an Asian in Perth eye opening and upsetting. His experience with his girlfriend and America was also very interesting- though to me it seemed he was ignoring her insanity. Enjoyed hearing his story.

[V.E. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Very insightful book about the trauma of racist bullying, families, suicide, chronic illness, and love. It sounds depressingbut mostly it is gripping. It is very serious but is so brilliantly observed. I read most of it in one sitting. This one will stay with you.

[Carmen Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down. Interesting, sad, well written.

[Sioux Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, Khin tackles complex issues with equanimity & compassion. You will look deeper after reading this. Thank you

[Dani Netherclift · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply thoughtful and compassionate rendering of what it is to be human, I couldn't put this book down.

[Claire W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving and heartbreaking. Complex issues of race, illness and family relationships all handled beautifully

[Dee Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Audiobook. Sad story of a displaced biracial family living in Australia. The son is the narrator of this memoir. He tells of how his father, Burmese, hated western culture and how his mother, English, hated Australia. As a result the son and daughter became unmoored. It’s no surprise that mental illness played a big part in this story. The son goes through how he dealt with racism, a mentally unwell sister and a terrible relationship to name a few.

[Becky G · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was sort of interesting to read about the mentally ill sister (manchausen syndrome, really?), but the petulant tone of the writing is annoying. Why would someone go to another continent to get closure from an ex in the 21st century? If she blocked you then that’s your answer. Felt toxic, creepy and stalkerish. Couldn’t finish the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully-written memoir delving into Khin Myint’s heart-breaking experience of anti-Asian racism and bullying, his sister Theda’s complex illness (and conflicted medical diagnoses and treatments), complex family dynamics, a toxic relationship breakup, masculinity and suicide. This authentic narrative, explores loss and grief with deep insight. I was profoundly moved by this book.

[Amy :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and complex - however, the ending was for the most part unresolved. The topics of mental illness and race relations depicted in Myints life through this text provided introspection, the style of writing however strayed from the general narrative.

Enjoyed it, I wish they celebrated further on aspects such as his sister's health journey.

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was unable to connect with or empathize with the author. Despite reading about profound life experiences taking place across the globe, I struggled to remain engaged and was unsatisfied with the memoir.

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this because it was heavily discounted on Amazon and now I know why. I couldn’t finish it, it felt more like a diary, like a release for the author rather than crafted for the reader’s experience.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times the flowery language is so excessive it interrupts the flow. I had trouble connecting with this book, it feels like some parts must be exaggerated.

[Shelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bless your heart

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad and dark without a good payoff.

[Lisa Li · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this book. I found the author’s style or maybe tone distracting.

[Shan Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely read that forces you to examine your own white privilege as an Anglo Aussie.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t appreciate how chronic illness - especially chronic fatigue - was portrayed.

[Megan]

SHORTLISTED 2025 WA Premier’s Book Awards - Emerging Author

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this is really dark. Kino.