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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If “why can’t we say ALL lives matter?” were a person, it’d be Juniper Hayward
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
June is insufferable in the best way. R. F. Kuang continues to write the best-white-women-you-love-to-hate.
Racism and cultural appropriation are the point of the book.
Racism and cultural appropriation are the point of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Cultural appropriation
I’ve read a few books based on the publishing industry before, and they’re typically considered ‘love letters’. They’re dedications to the fans, editors, agents, reviewers, fellow authors…essentially everyone who keeps the industry alive and running.
And in many ways yes, this book IS dedicated to the literary world. There are countless of niche references and inside jokes that will probably go over the head of anyone who hasn’t been exposed to the industry. But we also get a unfiltered reality check of all the ugly truths: the double standards, microaggressions, hive mentality of Book Twitter, etc.
This book is further testament to the fact that R.F. Kuang excels at writing the antihero. Rin is a parallel to one of the most brutal dictators in history. Robin’s urgency to safeguard victims of an imperialist power overwhelms his rationality… and June Hayward is a manipulative liar who profits off of an Asian author’s legacy.
June is insufferable. She bemoans that every thing she does is FOR furthering BIPOC representation because if she doesn’t tell these stories who will? You want to punch her and see her exposed as a fraud, yet at the same time, a tiny part of you doesn’t want to see the fragile house of cards June’s built to come crumbling down.
Yellowface examines the critical question: what makes someone qualified to tell a story? We’ve seen authors profit off Japanese-inspired fantasies while citing drinking sake and watching anime as research. We’ve seen a white woman hit the NYT Bestseller’s by writing about a Mexican mother and son migrating to the US and being targeted by the cartel. So, can June Hayward tell the untold story of Chinese laborers in WWI?
In all its witty glory, Yellowface confronts the harsh truth that publishing has been failing those from marginalized backgrounds, not only BIPOC authors. We explicitly acknowledge how the industry has many barriers to entry, most notably due to low starting salaries. In fact, the industry almost relies on these editors and publicists’ passion for literature to keep them trapped in a Catch 22.
As someone who’s been a book blogger for 7 years and is *unfortunately* chronically online, I couldn’t put this book down. It felt like a trip down memory lane, and trust me…when you’ve been in the book community (specifically Book Twitter) for so long, you’ve seen enough drama that could be its own book. That fact though may be the reason why Yellowface may not appeal to Kuang’s existing readership.
The second half of the book dives into the intricacies and controversies of Book Twitter, but Book Twitter (and I guess Book Tok now) is a bubble. Your average reader likely will not be on Book Twitter watching stan accounts have a field day. When drama happens on the Internet, it can feel overwhelming, but most of the time, it’s very insular and really only reaching 15% of your total readership. All’s to say, the stan accounts who lovingly prop up Babel and The Poppy War may not understand the self-reflection this book asks, and the average Joe S’moe who picks up this book at an airport won’t grasp the magnitude of how devastating being the target of the Internet’s wrath may be.
My interpretation of this work is from the POV of a reader and ‘influencer’, and I only wish I could read this from the POV of an author, editor, or any other publishing professional as I’m sure my takeaways would be different. Thank goodness we’re already guaranteed more books by Kuang because I never want to stop reading her writing.
Full review on my blog: https://readbytiffany.com/2023/04/23/book-review-yellowface-by-r-f-kuang/
And in many ways yes, this book IS dedicated to the literary world. There are countless of niche references and inside jokes that will probably go over the head of anyone who hasn’t been exposed to the industry. But we also get a unfiltered reality check of all the ugly truths: the double standards, microaggressions, hive mentality of Book Twitter, etc.
This book is further testament to the fact that R.F. Kuang excels at writing the antihero. Rin is a parallel to one of the most brutal dictators in history. Robin’s urgency to safeguard victims of an imperialist power overwhelms his rationality… and June Hayward is a manipulative liar who profits off of an Asian author’s legacy.
June is insufferable. She bemoans that every thing she does is FOR furthering BIPOC representation because if she doesn’t tell these stories who will? You want to punch her and see her exposed as a fraud, yet at the same time, a tiny part of you doesn’t want to see the fragile house of cards June’s built to come crumbling down.
Yellowface examines the critical question: what makes someone qualified to tell a story? We’ve seen authors profit off Japanese-inspired fantasies while citing drinking sake and watching anime as research. We’ve seen a white woman hit the NYT Bestseller’s by writing about a Mexican mother and son migrating to the US and being targeted by the cartel. So, can June Hayward tell the untold story of Chinese laborers in WWI?
In all its witty glory, Yellowface confronts the harsh truth that publishing has been failing those from marginalized backgrounds, not only BIPOC authors. We explicitly acknowledge how the industry has many barriers to entry, most notably due to low starting salaries. In fact, the industry almost relies on these editors and publicists’ passion for literature to keep them trapped in a Catch 22.
As someone who’s been a book blogger for 7 years and is *unfortunately* chronically online, I couldn’t put this book down. It felt like a trip down memory lane, and trust me…when you’ve been in the book community (specifically Book Twitter) for so long, you’ve seen enough drama that could be its own book. That fact though may be the reason why Yellowface may not appeal to Kuang’s existing readership.
The second half of the book dives into the intricacies and controversies of Book Twitter, but Book Twitter (and I guess Book Tok now) is a bubble. Your average reader likely will not be on Book Twitter watching stan accounts have a field day. When drama happens on the Internet, it can feel overwhelming, but most of the time, it’s very insular and really only reaching 15% of your total readership. All’s to say, the stan accounts who lovingly prop up Babel and The Poppy War may not understand the self-reflection this book asks, and the average Joe S’moe who picks up this book at an airport won’t grasp the magnitude of how devastating being the target of the Internet’s wrath may be.
My interpretation of this work is from the POV of a reader and ‘influencer’, and I only wish I could read this from the POV of an author, editor, or any other publishing professional as I’m sure my takeaways would be different. Thank goodness we’re already guaranteed more books by Kuang because I never want to stop reading her writing.
Full review on my blog: https://readbytiffany.com/2023/04/23/book-review-yellowface-by-r-f-kuang/