Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

324 reviews

marissasa's review against another edition

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

3.5

This book is the definition of unlikable main character, to the point of being a horrible, racist, narcissist, entitled, crazy, dumpster fire of a character. The premise is interesting and hooked me because it genuinely could be something that happens in real life given the state of the traditional publishing industry and all the book twitter and booktok drama that happens nowadays. While it was fun to read along and cringe and gasp at how the narrator continuously gets herself into deeper and deeper shit, I do wish there was deeper social commentary and more objective points on how Athena wasn't a perfect person nor a good person at times. Since we only get to hear about her flaws through the biased eyes of the main character, some of the nuance about Athena being a very privileged, pretentious, rich kid with connections at the same time as being a well-loved talented author giving much needed representation in the industry is lost. I also don't think the book needed to be as long as it was, it did drag in some parts where the main character was trying to figure out to write next or was being paranoid. Overall, this felt like watching ugly drama that you can't look away from unfold so you end up staying for the whole thing with popcorn in hand.

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shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition

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challenging reflective fast-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

4.75

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nad_books623's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

All the characters were insufferable tbh but I think that was the point?? The book is an interesting comment on social media, how fame can change people, race, and privilege. The story was well written but there is something missing and I don’t think I would read it again.

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jenniferbowman's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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lightscamerazaction's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-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

4.0

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kschuster's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I always am cautious when reading a book about writing a book... But this felt like an original take on an established trope.

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uncica's review against another edition

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dark funny informative reflective 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

3.5

I wanted to love this book soooo much, especially because Kuang is an amazing writer.

It started off as a 5-star read - very unique and different - but I liked it less and less as the book progressed. I'm not sure if it was the book's fault, but I entered a massive reading slump, so I struggled to finish it over the course of a whole month, even though it was a fast-paced read.

What I liked:

I liked that the MC is straight up immoral in a sea of morally questionable characters. Her constant ability to find an "excuse" in order to "justify" plagiarizing her friend's work

(over and over again)

through blatant racism made Yellowface very thought-provoking. Kuang definitely made me reflect on my own biases.

Another intriguing aspect of the book is that it shows us how the writing and publishing process works on the back end, and just how competitive it can be.

Yellowface made me chuckle a couple of times, though the humor was mostly dark.

What I didn't like:

After a while, the book became repetitive, in my opinion, and I could pretty much predict what was going to happen next. That being said, I still don't know how I feel about the ending - don't love it, don't hate it. Since Kuang decided to go with

Athena's ghost

in order to expose Juniper, I almost wish she leaned fully into the narrative and made the book more

fantastical. (Note that I have a high preference for fantasy books, so I'm very much biased here.)

I just find the ending a bit anti-climactic given all the build-up.

Another thing that poked my eyes was that Kuang used the same quote about translation in Babel. Yes, the quote did fit in Yellowface, but I just did not like the recycling.

Otherwise, I do recommend you read Yellowface if only for Kuang's brilliant writing style.

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