Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

74 reviews

abicaro17's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-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

0.5

God this book was unbearable. I will say first off, that Kuang has a beautiful writing style and the base of this book is really interesting. That being said, the execution of said base is god awful.

Juniper Song Heyward is a jealous, manipulative, vindictive, racist, bitch. She spends the entire book a plagiarist who attempts to convince the reader she's a victim somehow. June continuously uses racist language and defends her actions by blaming Athena for being more talented and likable. Every word that came out of her mouth made her less likable.

The plot is unbearably slow. You spend like 80% of the book reading tweets. Why? Who knows. I considered DNFing so many times it's a miracle I finished at all. I would recommend this to someone only if I hated them. Brb while I go cleanse my aura of this nightmare. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

jayden_314's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was an incredible read! Rebecca F. Kuang perfectly writes such a hateable main character, and by hateable I mean that this insane white woman goes off the rails by the end. Kuang gets you to sympathise with her for a chapter or two before throwing right back in your face that June is completely unhinged. This way of writing is so similar to emotional abuse and gaslighting in real life and the quality is unmatched. You get to see the way that June justifies her actions and how she positions herself as the victim. I have not read anything like it and it was amazing. If you are reading this novel, be prepared to be gaslit out of your mind and just remember, June is a psychotic racist who will go to any lengths to cover up her plagarism. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

lottie1803's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

moond4ncer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

Absolutely riveting take on cultural appropriation and representation in literature. I was enthralled from start to finish by this dark look behind the curtain but find myself relieved to leave Juniper behind me.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol

rubellaface'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Talk about an unreliable narrator... 
This book is triggering, fascinating, and has messed me up for the foreseeable future. 

Highly recommend to anyone who has been vilified by white fragility or would like to be taken on a wild ride by an unreliable narrator. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dany_casimiro's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

[PT:]
 

5 estrelas são, por vezes, uma classificação ambígua. Ou, pelo menos, um pouco mais complicada do que parecem à primeira vista. Yellowface de R. F. Kuang é um exemplo disso. 

Kuang procura desafiar-se: poderia ter escolhido qualquer outra personagem para protagonista, mas optou por aquela que talvez mais diretamente se opõe ao seu próprio lugar de fala. Isto adiciona uma camada extra a tópicos como questões de autoria branca/minoritária na indústria editorial. Soluções a curto-prazo como o estabelecimento de “quotas minoritárias” para a quantidade de publicações dentro de uma editora, por um lado, dão origem à noção de que “já temos um autor asiático/negro/minoritário nesta temporada e, portanto, não podemos aceitar mais". E depois o inverso: as vozes brancas perdem a sua relevância e aceitação. Ambas as faces desta moeda cada vez mais complexa são exploradas através da perspetiva de June – uma mulher branca que faz o inimaginável: rouba a história de uma autora asiático-americana na noite da morte desta última. 

A relação entre as duas mulheres – June e Athena – é uma obra-prima no desenvolvimento de personagens matizadas. Pode-se dizer que se trata apenas de ódio, ou que June é motivada pela inveja, o que é verdade, mas a relação deles é uma discussão sobre como a difícil atualidade da indústria livreira. Yellowface enfatiza o processo de edição e marketing – considerado por June como a verdadeira força motriz por trás do sucesso de um livro. A parte da tradução também é mencionada, apenas brevemente provavelmente porque fora já o foco de Babel. 

É um livro controverso, para dizer o mínimo. A história constitui uma crítica pungente à indústria literária na sua forma atual. Em vez de se esquivar de problemas como elitismo, colorismo e minorias, aborda essas questões com a severidade que elas exigem, olhando as de frente e explorando o seu significado e consequências. É um excelente livro, não devido à forma como revela os pontos de contenção e os procedimentos dentro da indústria em questão, mas também porque Kuang consegue soltar pedaços da história e do folclore chineses aqui e ali, desenhando mais uma camada de significado em uma história já de si plena de ponderações. 

-"-"-

[EN:]

Sometimes 5-star reviews are misleading. Or at least a bit more finicky than they may seem at first sight. R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface is a case in point. 

Kuang seeks to challenge herself: she could have chosen any other character as a protagonist, but she went with the one that, arguably, most directly opposes her own stance. This adds an extra layer to topics such as questions of white/minority authorship in the publishing industry. Short-sided solutions like the establishment of “minority quotes” for publishing amount which, on one side, give rise to the notion of “we already have an Asian/Black/minority author this season and therefore cannot accept any more.” And then the reverse: white voices losing their relevance and acceptance. Both faces of this increasingly complex coin are explored through June’s perspective – a white woman who does the unimaginable: she steals an Asian-American’s story on the night of the latter’s death. 

The relationship between the two women – June and Athena – is a masterpiece in nuanced character development. You can say it is mostly hate-based, or driven by envy, which is true, but their relationship is an ongoing discussion on how broken the book industry is nowadays. Yellowface emphasizes the process of editing and marketing – regarded by June as the true driving force behind a book’s success. The translation bit is mentioned as well, only briefly probably because it was Babel’s focus. 

It is controversial, to say the least. The story constitutes a poignant critique of the literary industry in its current form. Instead of shying away from matters like elitism, colorism, and minorities, it addresses these issues with the severity they demand, taking them head-on and then exploring their meaning and consequences. I enjoyed it not just because of the industry’s insights and food-for-thought points, but also because Kuang managed to drop bits of Chinese history and folklore here and there, drawing yet another layer of meaning on an already thoughtful story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

bookforestsprite's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault

46jjsg's review against another edition

dark funny medium-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

4.5

I would rate this 4.5/5 simply because although I liked this book and would recommend it to others- I will admit it did lag in the middle (refer to: June’s doom scrolling). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Eating disorder, Rape, and Sexual assault