For maybe the first fifty pages or so the writing felt a bit dry, though when the plot picks up, I found myself so curious to know: will this white woman who stole an Asian American woman’s work get caught? i feel like i flew right through this book, i barely wanted to put it down because i was wondering where the story would go next. There’s Athena Liu, a critical and commercial darling who has just signed a deal with Netflix, and green-eyed frenemy Juniper Hayward, whose debut has already been forgotten, the paperback publication axed owing to poor sales. At the end of the day, don't steal a novel to talk over the voices of those who the stories belong to.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang | Waterstones Yellowface by R.F. Kuang | Waterstones

that is not me putting personal attack on the author, the author's identity, the subject matter itself, or any readers who enjoyed the book or their identities. But Juniper still basks in the glow of success – at least until Twitter raises its collective eyebrow and she’s mired in an ever-widening plagiarism scandal. Kuang’s choice of perspective through June—who rebrands at the request of her publisher as Juniper Song, Song being her middle-name but also nudges readers to think she may have Chinese heritage—is brilliant as it allows us to feel the floor-dropping-out discomfort of becoming the focus of internet rage as well as navigate a vigorous criticism of the publishing industry. She will forever be haunted by this choice, like a Lady Macbeth of letters haunted by bloodstains in her attempt to usurp the kingdom. The appropriation of history, the historicization of the past, the narrativization of society, all of which give the novel its force, include the accumulation and differentiation of social space, space to be used for social purposes.

Babel, for all of its long-winded sentences and unending paragraphs of description, felt like a declaration of loyalty to words.

Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang – a wickedly funny publishing Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang – a wickedly funny publishing

it was like that trope that seems for some reason very exclusive to the mid-2000s in which people have the worst day of their lives are doomed to relive it, or die and go to purgatory or something like that enjoyed a specific renaissance in spirit in this book. As a non-white person growing up in the States, and disliking it, what made me so interested in the UK as a child? The character evokes strong emotions, including frustration towards her misogyny, blind ambition, and obnoxious justifications for her actions.

in a different moment, it makes you wonder if june may even be the one who might die an accidental death and now candace is the one to continue this twisted cycle, a horribly circular but somewhat karmic ending. i know rfk intended the characters to be unlikeable, but i did not root for them at any point of the book. It has both blatant and nuanced themes of racism and xenophobia that might go over some reader's heads or might seem too in-your-face for others.

Yellowface: A Novel Paperback – Large Print, August 15, 2023 Yellowface: A Novel Paperback – Large Print, August 15, 2023

Or perhaps not arbitrary, but it hinges on factors that have nothing to do with the strength of one’s prose. As a white woman, I wasn't offended with any of the thoughts from this book, and I quite frankly think, that hating it (the story it explores) is an act of racism. i especially find it questionable when some of these mouthpieces flatly reflect criticisms the authors has actually received on her representation of taiwanese indigenous people. Publishing used the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement to claim to want more diversity and has in some ways published more diverse books; however, have we really paid attention to what those stories have centered?The essence of a masterpiece lies in its ability to challenge readers and evoke a range of feelings, and this book achieves just that.

Yellowface, A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick by Rebecca Yellowface, A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick by Rebecca

We’ve all most likely criticized a stranger on social media, sometimes the pile-ups are too fun and humorous to not get a joke in, but Kuang tries to remind us that the targets are real people with real feelings. Not that June is innocent, and being disgusted with her is half the fun, but Kuang will force us to consider what exactly it is that disgusts us and what that means in a larger context about art and the commodification of it. You only read about her from June's perpective when she's already dead and still she comes through as the main character, not less because June is literally obsessed with her. Some readers find it to read as a white-savioir narrative, something we know was manufactured by changing certain characters to be white characters to better fit the market needs.Instead, Yellowface reads like a scandal unfolding before your eyes and transfixes the reader with all the sick satisfactions that keep us scrolling through social media debates and keep hot takes.