Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

196 reviews

jessife's review against another edition

challenging dark lighthearted reflective 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

3.0

Read this in two days, found it pretty gripping. It has its flaws but overall I found it thought-provoking in its expose of micro-aggressions, and was interested in the insights into the publishing industry. Having a very unlikeable narrator could be jarring 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Rape, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

fashi0nablefr0g's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

The first half of this book was extremely difficult to read, in that the characters are immediately established as impossible to like or sympathise with. It was slow, and felt like a lesson on how books are edited and published. I disliked how the author is so pushy about the main themes — there is one "correct" way to look at the themes in this book, but the author doesn't let you decide that for yourself. It's like they want you to think a certain thing, but don't trust the reader to infer that, so they constantly spell it out and shove it down your throat. The lack of any redeeming qualities in the main character makes it impossible to feel any sympathy whatsoever, so you feel disconnected from the book the whole way through. The dead author Athena feels like a self-insert or something.. the main character hates her, and always describes how perfect and successful she was, and she was jealous of Athena, but finds no fault in her — this is so unrealistically portrayed that it is painful to read. I also struggled with the pop references jammed into each paragraph of this book. Normally I'm not a fan anyway, but it was overdone in Yellowface. I understand how it was meant to feed in to the story, but it's "current" references could've been omitted and the book would've maintained a shred of timelessness.

The second half of the book was incredibly rushed. There was no "plot twist" in the end, no sort of redemption or even real downfall of the main character. The cycle continues and you finish the book with no new ideas or knowledge, nothing to show other than time you wasted reading it. The final 50% was just a series of "shocking" events shoved in one after another, the author desperately trying to link them together to add depth after a flat first half. The only thing that kept me picking up this book was the desire to get it over with, but it was very nearly one I didn't finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Bullying, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Vomit, Violence, and Sexual assault

amandaboyer's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Grief, Hate crime, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Racism, and Death of parent

gia0203's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a book! I devoured it in a day. I was often so enraged that I had to look away from the page - my partner can testify to the irritated noises I kept making. 

There was a lot of nuance in this book and I think it gave me a new perspective on intersectionality and white privilege. The protagonists complete unawareness of her own subconscious bias is so frustrating and yet every single white person, like myself, is guilty on some level of the same thing. 

Also, the sheer amount of microaggressions, packed into this book is astounding! Some are obvious and some are not so much, and there will be some that, coming from a white lens, I won’t even have noticed. 

It took a while for the ending to click with me, but once it did I thought it was genius. Those last two pages were just incredible, and in general the unravelling of the protagonist’s  life was so satisfying. I like how you have to come to your own conclusions about what happened to her.

I have a lot of thoughts on this book, some highlights of the book for me were:

June’s love-hate toxic homoerotic relationship with Athena

The scene where June goes to that association club and feels deeply ashamed and embarrassed (as she should). I feel like that scene sums up the book as a whole. 

The scene where June finishes The Last Front - it’s like you’re seeing into her mind as she writes! It’s an incredible few pages, it feels so real

Athena’s writing method and the controversy surrounding it - particularly when June was raped. This really elevated the novel as it added a complexity and nuance to the narrative, which before that was very direct and on the nose (I liked that too though!)

The way June’s inner monologue became increasingly more xenophobic as she gets away with more and more.

And finally, the scene where June refuses to get a sensitivity reader. I feel like this scene also sums up the book as a whole, and it’s one of the moments which directly defies the  narrative June is trying to convince you of. 
 

I read this for a social group in June so I’m excited to talk about it then.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death, Grief, Rape, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

katrinalamothe's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting, Slavery, Emotional abuse, War, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Bullying, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Vomit

Minor: Islamophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

csolano's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book! My only critique is that I personally felt that I might have preferred the ending be left to interpretation. I totally thought it was an epic cliffhanger ending, but then there was a wrap up chapter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Xenophobia and Stalking

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

kellyofcali's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was an easy read and a pretty good story - kept me turning the pages! It also had good messaging about race and art, though occasionally got a bit heavy-handed on that front to drive the point home. Felt a little shark-jumpy towards the end, but overall I enjoyed the read and appreciated the conversations it wanted to start.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

dejanira's review against another edition

funny 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

4.5

Ironically the beginning might suggest that some overly-intellectual-try-hard-fic-lit author had to choke on something to account for the pretentious style of the book. However, the literary baby resulting from this particular author-editor intercourse is a witty, devourable satire that fires shots at the publishing industry with precision and finesse. The pointed social critique is both the center of this book and a cherry on top. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Cultural appropriation, Death, Grief, Racism, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

avonleagal's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Sexual assault, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol and Emotional abuse

sarasbookmark's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Death, Colonisation, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Stalking, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic friendship, War, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit