Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

280 reviews

the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

wow, Wow, WOW!!

This descent into madness with echoes of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart grips you by the throat from the very first page and sends you hurtling along a narrative that leaves you not only shocked at everyone's actions and audacity but guessing at the many ways it could possibly end... That is, until the actual ending knocks you right on your ass. Did June just lose her mind after watching Athena die so horribly and the whole book is just a tortured fever dream she's having while on a grippy sock vacation?? Has Athena actually come back as a ghost to haunt June?? You'll have to read the whole thing to find out because Kuang's brilliant prestidigitation in the form of an incredibly unreliable narrator keeps us focused on one thing while the truth sneaks up behind us, just waiting to push us down the stairs.

I pretty much hated all the MCs in this book, which is a new thing for me... But Kuang does an amazing job of capturing what it's like to be a white woman caught up in a maelstrom of her own making, within a cut-throat industry that's all about that superficial diversity. I was going through an array of emotions, getting sucked into June's just as much as my own were taking over. Yellowface just left me shaking my head and muttering, "wtf... why would you even do that??" about everyone in it.

I had a buddy read going on and it was so much fun because not only were we able to riff off each other as we moved through the book at relatively the same pace, but my reading partner really made me step back and look at things differently. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Xenophobia and War

ellaxo's review against another edition

mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Bullying

Moderate: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Death, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol

capriqueen's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

This was an electric read. Like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from. Masterfully done, weaving in June’s insistence of not being racist with all her microaggressions and stereotyping she’s clearly unaware of. June’s mindset was disturbing and fascinating, with the constant self-aggrandizing, always shifting the blame so she was the victim, the insistence that the world was just stacked against her and what else what she supposed to do? 

As the book hurtled toward the end, I found myself wondering what ending would be satisfying. Would June learn her lesson, finally feel regret as she crumbled away. Would she end her life from shame, would she flee to a foreign country. All I knew was that it wouldn’t be a happy ending. And it wasn’t, and she didn’t learn, she just cling to the narrative she’s been telling herself, and I honestly think that’s the perfect ending. I pity her, her inability to self-reflect and process, and I think that causes the reader to look inward. Am I like her? How do I not be like her?

This is going to be a book I’ll think about for a long time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape and Suicidal thoughts

niamhgray's review against another edition

informative 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

5.0

I can’t fault this book. It’s insightful, reflective and something I just couldn’t put down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

barbarella85's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Death, and Cultural appropriation

bubski_mcboo's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.75

Watching the protagonist dig herself into a deeper hole at every turn was hard to follow, but I did so with morbid and rapt attention. Perhaps it's because I see a version of myself in her that I slapped down at eighteen and have kept firmly in check for over a decade. Is there a shitty Juniper Song in me? Is she in all white women? What a dark thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, War, Forced institutionalization, Incest, and Islamophobia

rbz39's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

😮‍💨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Rape

jenniferbowman's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gaslighting, Vomit, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Genocide, War, Medical content, Classism, Abortion, Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm

lightscamerazaction's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Toxic friendship, and Stalking

palebea's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

Wow. 
This is such a poignant critique on the publishing industry. Delivered through the means of a frustratingly unlikeable unreliable narrator. It was engaging and angering - exploring themes of racism and microaggressions. Probably one of my favourite reads this year. One of my favourite reads of all time. Read almost in one sitting.  Could not put it down!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Sexual assault