Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

531 reviews

picaresquedreamer's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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veelaughtland's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny 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

4.0


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alphabetmafiamember's review

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funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

4.25


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bella_mcnabb's review against another edition

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

4.5

It was not what I was expecting. A very interesting way to write a book and perspective. 

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ceceska's review against another edition

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dark funny informative reflective 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

5.0

O.M.G. Ce livre était absolument FABULEUX. Je n'en reviens juste pas à quel point ce livre était bon. C'est un 5 étoiles SOLIDE. Je vais le dire tout de suite même si d'habitude je le met à la fin de mon review : je recommence ce livre à TOUT LE MONDE. Vous devez lire ce livre!

Ce livre suit l'histoire de June, une femme blanche, qui vole le manuscrit non publié de son amie asiatique suite à son décès. Le manuscrit porte sur le rôles des travailleurs chinois lors de la Première Guerre mondiale. Elle publie le récit de son amie en le faisant passer pour le sien, mais en y faisant quelques modifications...

Les thèmes de ce livre sont : le racisme, la solitude, la jalousie et l'appropriation culturelle. Ces thèmes sont explorés dans un long monologue fiévreux et dérangé de la protagoniste.

Ce livre était unique puisque la majorité de celui-ci était le fil de pensées de la protagoniste, June. Les dialogues sont peu nombreux mais sont très efficaces. Dans ce cas-ci, moins de dialogue a rendu l'histoire très intéressée puisqu'on voit bien la psyché de la protagoniste ainsi que le raisonnement qui la pousse à prendre des décisions chaotiques.

J'ai beaucoup aimé détester June. Je ne sais pas quand est la dernière fois que j'ai autant détesté une protagoniste d'un roman. June était extrêmement raciste, méchante et qui pense que tout lui est dû. Elle est absolument horrible. Chacune de ses décisions est pire que la précédente. J'ai adoré ça. 

Ce roman m'a tenue en haleine du début jusqu'à la fin. J'ai eu des réactions de surprise à haute voix plusieurs fois pendant ma lecture. Je n'en revenais simplement pas des événements qui se produisaient. 

Ce roman était très bien écrit. J'ai beaucoup apprécié ma lecture. Le rythme était très rapide, ce que j'apprécie énormément. Je ne m'attendais pas du tout à cela considérant que la majorité du livre est ses pensées.

Bref, encore une fois, je recommande ce livre à TOUT le monde.

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pazfauxster's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective 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

3.75

A speculative and engaging read revealing the dirtier sides of the publishing industry with a generous shelping of commentary on modern social media culture.

The book was very insightful and I liked how real the characters were. On the one hand, not a single one of them seems very likable. On the other hand, sometimes you catch yourself empathising with one or the other, then halt and think: they're kind of a horrible person, though. Does that make me a horrible person, too?

It tackles the racism and the capitalistic greed of publishers, and it's also speculative and keeps you on your toes. After reading (or, rather, listening to) the book, I stumbled upon the author's instagram and couldn't stop thinking how much of this stuff she had to experience firsthand.

Whenever I see a book trending on tiktok now, I will wonder if the author will once commit a social faux pas that will send their entire career tumbling down. And perhaps it's a cruel thing to think, but so is the publishing world.

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jessife's review against another edition

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challenging dark lighthearted 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

3.0

Read this in two days, found it pretty gripping. It has its flaws but overall I found it thought-provoking in its expose of micro-aggressions, and was interested in the insights into the publishing industry. Having a very unlikeable narrator could be jarring 

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historicalmaterialgirl's review

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challenging dark funny 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

This was like watching a car crash! I could not look away. Though I can see some minor flaws with pacing or when/how we meet certain characters, overall this is such a readable and timely look into the publishing industry, social media and how white women constantly paint ourselves as innocent victims. Whether it was loving on "kale chili" or complaining about service workers, sometimes this book got too real with its portrayal of white people. Like, borderline gave me secondhand embarrassment. What I got most from this book though was the conversations and reflections I had as I read it. Worth the hype!

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fashi0nablefr0g's review against another edition

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

0.5

The first half of this book was extremely difficult to read, in that the characters are immediately established as impossible to like or sympathise with. It was slow, and felt like a lesson on how books are edited and published. I disliked how the author is so pushy about the main themes — there is one "correct" way to look at the themes in this book, but the author doesn't let you decide that for yourself. It's like they want you to think a certain thing, but don't trust the reader to infer that, so they constantly spell it out and shove it down your throat. The lack of any redeeming qualities in the main character makes it impossible to feel any sympathy whatsoever, so you feel disconnected from the book the whole way through. The dead author Athena feels like a self-insert or something.. the main character hates her, and always describes how perfect and successful she was, and she was jealous of Athena, but finds no fault in her — this is so unrealistically portrayed that it is painful to read. I also struggled with the pop references jammed into each paragraph of this book. Normally I'm not a fan anyway, but it was overdone in Yellowface. I understand how it was meant to feed in to the story, but it's "current" references could've been omitted and the book would've maintained a shred of timelessness.

The second half of the book was incredibly rushed. There was no "plot twist" in the end, no sort of redemption or even real downfall of the main character. The cycle continues and you finish the book with no new ideas or knowledge, nothing to show other than time you wasted reading it. The final 50% was just a series of "shocking" events shoved in one after another, the author desperately trying to link them together to add depth after a flat first half. The only thing that kept me picking up this book was the desire to get it over with, but it was very nearly one I didn't finish.

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erin__melissa's review

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dark informative reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed this book! However, it was so drenched in the main character’s micro aggressions and overt racism (which she constantly justified) that it felt satirical and redundant often. 

The ending is quick. I think that was a wise move–  how else would things wrap up?  Of course the cyclical pattern would repeat. 

One thing that bugging me. Did the EMTs, doctors, and nurses not notice the bite mark on June’s arm?! It was bad enough to draw blood! It should have been mentioned again, or remove from the fight, because it doesn’t fit the narrative of falling down the stairs while jogging.

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