Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

783 reviews

issy_jacob's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Violence and Death

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Death of parent and Self harm

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

robinhobblove's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

meeeshell's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent

sareidle's review

dark tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Racism

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

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

pantslint's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.5

I'm a sucker for books with unreliable narrators and unlikable protagonists, and Yellowface is a fun combination of both. I think June's characterization was done well—this bitch is capital-R Racist—though sometimes I felt that Kuang made her likability (or lack thereof) so obvious to readers.

Like, June felt so cartoonishly racist at times and I couldn't do anything but just laugh at how much of a hater she is. I mean, c'mon.

Justifying her plagiarism as "reparations" (Ch. 3)? Her rant about how the Chinese characters all have the same last names (Ch. 4)? The "heartwarming illustration of Chinese virtue and honesty" narrative she inserts, about the Chinese laborers gifting money to a poor French family (Ch. 4)? Being surprised at every Asian person's "good English?" Describing Chinese food as "pungent" over and over again?

There's so much more; I feel like I'm writing out Luther's 95 Theses at this point.

I'm sure Kuang writes June so obviously gross because white readers have feel like they're separate from her June, right? This text is so meta. I wonder what kind of things Kuang had to concede and exaggerate to get something like this published.

I have thoughts on Athena too... though I think I'll explore it another time.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

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

ellisinthetardis's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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

4.5

i’d be hard pressed to name a book that’s had me quite by the balls as yellowface did. if you’re looking for amounts of drama that could kill a victorian child, this one’s for you. also, I’d really recommend this book to anyone looking to reignite a love of reading- kuang’s prose and pacing are so methodical that it’s a fucking struggle to put this thing down. it asks some really important questions which i cannot begin to get into here, but it’s so interesting to read a book about the publishing industry- it makes you think, “THAT’S what had to happen before this book got to me? jesus…” would recommend and will defo be reading more kuang in the future!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

mammajamma's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide