Impossible to put down, this is the story of an extraordinary biracial writer's daring recreation of herself, an act of self-disguise and self-promotion worthy of Madonna. It's also a tragic accounting of self-denial, because while "Onoto Watanna" gladly embraced an Asian identity, it was one entirely at odds with her true origins; daughter of a Chinese-immigrant mother and an English father, born in the late 1800s in Montreal, she adopted a Japanese pen-name in her twenties and maintained this false identity throughout her career. The author is the subject's granddaughter, and as such she brings a personal twist to the telling. Outrageous and even racist as Winnifred Eaton's actions may seem today, the author places her within the context of her time and place, helping us to understand her, even as we shake our heads in bewilderment. ( )