Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

80 reviews

qrschulte's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious 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

A scathing indictment of the publishing industry, full of the least likable characters I’ve ever read. My favorite part was the examination of jealousy in the first chapter. Very validating due to my pregnancy loss journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Racial slurs, Sexism, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use and War

itisnatal's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

2.75

Title: Yellowface
Author: R.F. Kuang
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: May 25, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Icky • Juicy • Insightful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Athena Liu is a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories by basic white girls anyway?

But now Athena is dead. And June has her unfinished manuscript...

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd added Yellowface to my list of possible 2023 releases to explore after attending an online event with the author. The premise had me apprehensive, yet the author did a fantastic job selling me, so when it became available as a 'quick read' through my library I scooped it up.

The fact satirical stories are not my thing is something I knew going in, and yet I picked it up anyways. Another thing I don't care for are stories centered around social media and cancel culture, both of which are central here. So it's clear this novel was not meant for me.

With that said, Kuang's writing is incredible. She delivers a no holds barred account of the ins and outs of the publishing industry - a bold move that paid off. While not for me, I understand all of the love it is receiving. What this book does really well is give readers lots to think about, making it a fantastic book club selection, sure to spark interesting and engaging discussion.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for something fast-paced
• fans of the unlikeable narrator
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic."

"Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Islamophobia

allisonz6's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: War, Death of parent, and Suicide

rat_girly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

R.F. Kuang writes the perfect perniciously racist protagonist. Hard to read just because the narrator was so insufferably awful - but in a way that was so absurdly unhinged it was somehow funny, and made me want to keep reading.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Bullying, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Vomit, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: War, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

tarnaflake's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Racism, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, War, Stalking, Violence, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

gablopez's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Classism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Trafficking, Abortion, Deportation, and Drug use

korrasami95's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Death

hedsek's review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.25

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book, to be honest. On the one hand, it was a really easy read and the buildup of tension was very well done. I also love reading an unlikeable and unreliable narrator, and the ways in which Kuang described the mental gymnastics of someone being racist but thinking they couldn't possibly be racist were spot on. But on the other hand, reading this after having read Babel, it fell a bit flat in some ways. Athena seems quite a self-insert of the author, and as a previous review mentioned, having criticism that Kuang faced repeated at Athena through the mouths of people we obviously shouldn't take seriously feels a bit strange (which felt at the beginning but couldn't really put into words before finding that review). In terms of writing, too, there was a lot less to like than in Babel and I feel like Kuang would have been able to do more in that department. However, this is also a completely different type of book, and it kind of works as well. I also thought the ending was really abrupt and not very satisfying. But overall, I still enjoyed reading this book a lot and it's been a while since I've read anything this fast so it did keep me engaged well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexism, Misogyny, Stalking, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts