Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

81 reviews

fiona_apples's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

3.25

The first 2/3 of the book had me hooked - but the ending fell flat for me. I think this book was a little too wrapped up in itself, in trying to tell the reader, "do you GET IT???" It would have been much more compelling if the focus was more on the characters and less on using the characters as a vessel for the point it was trying to make - which, at the end of the day, was not really a revolutionary point at all. We become aware of what the book is trying to say almost immediately and then that does not really grow throughout the book - it's just the same point being reinforced. It was entertaining overall, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder

alysereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.5

Listened to the audiobook of this - and the narrator did an amazing job of capturing the unhinged behavior of the main character. I found its themes to be similar to Disorientation. It sparks an interesting discussion about voices of AAPI and POC, specifically in the literary realm. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Racism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and War

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

madisonfrank's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Cultural appropriation, Death, Racism, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Cursing, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking

hayleyvem's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Colonisation, Mental illness, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Rape, Toxic friendship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol and Islamophobia

zoevjester's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

So, this was a tense and brilliantly written novel - Kuang states in the acknowledgements that it's centred around loneliness in a competitive industry, but I think there is more to it than that too - there is a lot of rage at the beginning, and no subtly regarding the pain of being a person of colour in the publishing industry. 
Reading this after reading Babel is a thrilling experience because of the author pointing a finger at all the readers who slammed the book for disturbing them with the racism that's written and shown. Seeing the dialogue in the book that's lifted from the reviews the author received? Absolutely delightful. 
However, the second half of the book shifts into the characters being the focus - and this is when my stomach soured as I read on. 
June is an incredibly well-written character. She is a thief and a liar and we are in her head for the majority of the story so we see her thoughts and mannerism. She's a horrible human being, adamant and persistent and her sin is Envy - over her friend, Athena Liu. 
Athena, for all of appearing in only one chapter before her death, she is prominent throughout the whole story. We see her life through the perspective of June, and of other characters, and they all comment on her whole life. 
It would have been nice, I think, if the final chapter of Athena's life was written from her POV, so we get an unfiltered perspective of her and who she is, but not doing so I guess adds the mystery of who she truly was. 
However, I dropped this to 4 instead of 5 stars. The second half of the story contains some topics that needed content warnings. I wouldn't have read this if I'd known these topics were written about. 
But, I'm curious about the quote, 'An Act of Translation is an Act of Betrayal'. It's the opener for Babel: An Arcane History, and also written in this book too. I'd love to know what this quote means for the author. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Classism, War, Grief, and Physical abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Bullying, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Stalking

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

What I would give for a read The Last Front fanfic written by a white woman! The most petty obnoxious protagonist; enjoyed every minute of it 4🥞

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Classism, Death, Alcohol, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, War, Genocide, and Toxic friendship

rachelshubin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Couldn’t put this book down, I could’ve read it in one sitting. 5 stars for the unreliable narrator trope with unlikeable main characters. I had to know how it ended. Oh and the low ratings accusing R.F. Kuang of exactly what she’s pointing out in her book is the cherry on top. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Racism, Suicide, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Rape, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Death, and Sexual assault

mirandyli's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book made me feel so uncomfortable in the best way. It perfectly captures so many things that I relate to. I couldn't put it down and finished the whole thing in one day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Mental illness