Reviews

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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megan1ane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

lonelyghostie's review against another edition

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4.0

The critiques of this book are correct. It’s hardly the scathing satire of the publishing industry that was promised and seems more like a way for RF Kuang to respond to all the criticism she’s ever received.

And while, yes, I do think Twitter can be a cesspool of vile opinions, there are some very valid points that end up getting lumped in as just Twitter discourse. This falls short as a satire, but I very much enjoy RF Kuang’s writing and it was an incredibly fun read.

ellakostka's review against another edition

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4.0

★★★★☆ 4/5

heidz's review against another edition

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2.0

I honestly have no idea how I to rate this book. Part of me hates this and then part of me likes that R. F. Kuang wrote this so well for what she was trying to do with it. The way she highlighted the wild rationalization of June was done so well.

I worry that there are people that may read this book that think like June does. I wonder if people with that mindset will justify their thoughts instead of realize that June is a terrible person.

Spoiler Alert!
I don't love that June can 'see' Athena's ghost because it is coming off that June is mentally ill and not just a terrible person because she is a terrible person. I feel that there are people that would excuse her behavior due to her being mentally ill. I may be reading too much into that but just a thought that I had.

micahhhh20's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-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

iozkazanc's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

scrollingbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

Original, insightful, vicious, cutting, and hugely entertaining.
I picked up Yellowface because of the hype and was so glad I did.
Others have summarised the novel, indeed the book's blurb does a good job, so I wont repeat it here.
The protagonist is unlikeable (but that's kind of the point), and camouflages herself as a great author on the back of her 'friend's' stolen work. The book is a balance of bad people doing bad things, and good people doing bad things. Few people (readers and reviewers, the publishing industry, and June/Juniper) come out of it well. It is a meaty read because it whets your appetite and makes you chew through various situations that arise. A classic case of "What would I do?", no, "What would I really do?".
There's the snowball of hate campaigns on twitter and the bitchiness of Goodreads reviewers getting their own back. Social observation about social media and how addictive they are, and an interesting take on racism and reverse racism.
All in all, very different to anything I've read in a while and will stick with me.