Reviews with content warning for Murder - Yellowface

As a reader and writer of colour, I found this to be a most pleasant mindfuck. This author has done such a resplendent job of making the first person narrator (and main character) so deeply unlikeable, that I wanted to put this book down several times and give it a one-star review simply because of how disgusted I was by the narrator. The themes only really come alive through the reader's understanding of the context that lies beyond the fourth wall e.g. the dismal statistics of diversity in publishing in the "real" world and scandals like the one currently surrounding Cait Corrain. If you're a reader or writer with insight into this world, it'll be a delightful read.

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glassflowrr's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective medium-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

I love that Kuang pulls no punches in her writing and this felt like an escalation of that trait. Her characters are over-the-top but feel grounded in what's most likely real experiences the author has had in the industry. June oscillates wildly between gut-wrenching guilt and extreme narcissism in a very compelling way. I finished the book in one day.

This book does suffer from Kuang's typical pacing issues in the third act and leaves some threads a bit under developed, but overall a strong read and highly recommended if you already like this author.

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zadsavage's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

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r_kennedy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.5

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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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dark reflective sad 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

This knocked my fucking socks off. Yellowface is as funny as it is horrific with a "protagonist" at the center who is truly foul in every sense. As awful as June Hayward is, her perspective never becomes tiring or less baffling to read. R.F. Kuang is so brilliant to have brought something like this to the table and I can't wait to make everyone in my life who hasn't read it yet move it to the top of their lists.

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jayden_314's review against another edition

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dark 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

This book was an incredible read! Rebecca F. Kuang perfectly writes such a hateable main character, and by hateable I mean that this insane white woman goes off the rails by the end. Kuang gets you to sympathise with her for a chapter or two before throwing right back in your face that June is completely unhinged. This way of writing is so similar to emotional abuse and gaslighting in real life and the quality is unmatched. You get to see the way that June justifies her actions and how she positions herself as the victim. I have not read anything like it and it was amazing. If you are reading this novel, be prepared to be gaslit out of your mind and just remember, June is a psychotic racist who will go to any lengths to cover up her plagarism.

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emmarhian's review against another edition

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reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The ending felt lackluster and unsatisfactory . . . While I loved to hate June, I feel as if the ending let me dissatisfied.

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cozymo's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

Wow. Wow. Wow. Where to begin…

This was my first Kuang read, but it won’t be my last, given my 5-star rating here. And what an introduction this read was to such a talented / witty / authoritative author.

I don’t know what I was expecting from Yellowface, but it certainly delivered on its promise of a twisted, micro aggression boasting, blatantly racist, unreliable narrator. Its glimpse into the publishing industry was unabashed and unrelenting, providing a peek into the often grotesque echo chamber behind the books on our shelves.

Won’t give too much away here, but I was enthralled by Juniper’s narcissistic voice, which often reminded me of Joe Goldberg’s panicked—often manic—self righteous pursuit of self preservation.

I couldn’t put this book down, eating up all of Juniper’s fucked up notions of her place in the world, of her fears of being forgotten to the consumption machine we all bow down to in the Internet age. Exactly what she could only hope for, I’m sure.

As I said in a Buddy Read:

I think it’s the fear of most creators / artists in the age of the Internet.

Something you spend hours, days, months, or even years on can be consumed in a manner of seconds or in just one sitting.

Then what?

The consumption machine demands more. More coal for the engine to eat. So, creators supply more, more, more. If they don’t, they will in a way float off into irrelevance.

For the consumer, it’s onto the next thing to “eat.” If you’re not the one slapping food on the plate, who even are you? Just a name people can barely remember?

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