Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Yellowface

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

22 reviews

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

eatpraylove1312's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective 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

Content Warnings

gvstyris's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative 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

3.0

Definitely an interesting read. I think it’s important to ignore the author’s self-insertion into the character of Athena when considering the novel’s merits, although that’s an interesting discussion in and of itself. I will say, however, that the questions Kuang raises over the ethics of Athena’s writing process (utilizing others’ struggles, her privilege) were a standout of the novel for me. They weren’t explored in much depth, but I appreciated their mild consideration.

This novel is an important commentary on racism (and realistic white attitudes to reverse racism), especially within the publishing industry and online book community. As someone who doesn’t work in publishing, I also enjoyed learning more about the publishing process.

This novel primarily falls short for me in its portrayal of June, whose disdain for Athena is both lacking nuance and inconsistent. Kuang’s messages are also clearly accessible and at times read like the author using her characters to respond to her own criticisms in the industry, rather than writing her own comprehensive work.

I think this was an interesting concept for a novel, but might’ve worked better in short story format given how repetitive the messaging and plot is. Probably still worth a read if the concept interests you.

Content Warnings

scmiller's review

Go to review page

challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

4.0

Content Warnings

zoevjester's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

broccoli_j's review

Go to review page

dark emotional 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

Wow, just wow.

This book is a must read for everyone!

Is is a well written genius critique in which we follow the „villain“.

June is an unreliable narrator and the definition of white women tears. You are meant to feel bad for her and in conclusion feel then bad, for feeling bad for her.
This book is brilliant, shocking and most importantly of all not at all far fetched!

Content Warnings

witchhenrietta's review

Go to review page

dark 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

READ THIS BOOK. That is all. Such a good story effortlessly explaining what is wrong with white feminism and how deeply ingrained racism and white supremacy are in all areas of our lives.

Content Warnings