Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

116 reviews

redvelveting's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

Yellowface is a thought-provoking social commentary while being wildly entertaining. The perspective is absurd but does well to make Kuang’s points on racism, privilege, tokenization, and social media. And honestly speaking, it’s been a while since I’ve read a book this fast. The sheer audacity in this book is nuts but honestly it unfortunately isn’t that far-fetched and I think that’s part of what makes this such a well-written satire.

And to be clear, both June and Athena are terrible people in their own ways, which I believe ti be intentional :)))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Cultural appropriation, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Rape, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexual violence

Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, and Suicide attempt

dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

When I say you need to read this book, you need to READ this book. I literally just finished this book and I am still so speechless. 

If you’re familiar in the bookish community, you most likely heard about this book in some capacity since its release this past Spring. Yellowface has been on my radar for months and I was so excited when I heard that this was one of my book club picks. With all the accolades this book has received, as well as being selected as a Reese’s Book Club Pick, I can say without a doubt that this book is worth all the hype. 

This book is addicting in every way and I had such a hard time with putting this book down. I really liked how this book serves as a mirror to the biases currently found in the publishing industry and I would recommend this book if you want a novel that dives into those issues. Additionally, with its narrator (June) being one of the most unreliable narrators in all of literature, Yellowface is a wild ride of one woman’s length to maintain her status after stealing her late friend’s unfinished manuscript and publishing it as her own. In no way is June a likeable character in any sense (as with for almost all of these characters). At the same time, June is such a master manipulator and you will just know that you can never be certain if she feels any remorse for her actions in the book or if anything she said in her accounts are true. 

That being said, if you haven’t read this book already, you need to do so as soon as possible. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Grief, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide, Sexism, and Islamophobia

m3gs's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Vomit

abicaro17's review

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

God this book was unbearable. I will say first off, that Kuang has a beautiful writing style and the base of this book is really interesting. That being said, the execution of said base is god awful.

Juniper Song Heyward is a jealous, manipulative, vindictive, racist, bitch. She spends the entire book a plagiarist who attempts to convince the reader she's a victim somehow. June continuously uses racist language and defends her actions by blaming Athena for being more talented and likable. Every word that came out of her mouth made her less likable.

The plot is unbearably slow. You spend like 80% of the book reading tweets. Why? Who knows. I considered DNFing so many times it's a miracle I finished at all. I would recommend this to someone only if I hated them. Brb while I go cleanse my aura of this nightmare. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Alcohol, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Islamophobia, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Stalking, Cursing, Rape, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

dsalazar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

I expected this book to be really good and all my expectations were met. Kuang’s story telling and writing style were compelling and brilliant. For most of the story, I couldn’t put the book down, especially at the start. 

This reminded me of The Curse on Hulu with Nathan Fielder, Ben Sadfie, and Emma Stone, where everyone (including the audience) is in on the joke except the main characters. I especially liked that the whole plot revolved around the writing/publishing industry and how vicious it can make a writer. It felt like I was reading a fictional story but also questioning which parts came from Kuang’s lived experiences. This added depth and intrigue as I learned more about a failed v. successful novelist’s journey. 

Aside from the language and pacing, diving into Junie’s psyche felt like watching that recent Golden Globes host flop horrendously. It’s as if I simultaneously hated her, needed to understand her more, wanted to stop reading cause of the overwhelming cringe, and pitied her. 

Plot-wise, it was enough of a glimpse into Junie’s life, family, and background to move the story along but not so deep that I would get bored or lost in the details. There was just enough to bring me into the story and Junie’s head, which made this a fairly easy read. I do think the ending was a bit predictable but only insofar as (I think) Kuang intended. Any readers will enjoy this even more if they are super online and have used Twitter. Iykyk 

Anyway, I loved it and everyone should read it!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

glassflowrr's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Racism, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Murder, Medical content, Sexual content, and Stalking

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

4.0

R.F. Kuang- ‘im gonna make a character so unlikeable’

The pacing threw me off a bit but i got to hand it to her for writing such an impressively hateable protagonist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Gaslighting

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, War, Alcohol, Colonisation, Stalking, Rape, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Child death, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual content

Minor: Murder, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death, Mental illness, Death of parent, Rape, Cursing, Racism, Gaslighting, and Grief

rionstorm's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

What a cartoonishly evil protagonist wow. I really enjoyed the melodrama of the narration. The sociopolitical points the author was trying to make were a bit laboured at times and were a touch repetitive, but she also wasn't wrong. Also, I usually find it cringey when social media is heavily referenced in novels, but the author integrated it in a way that felt natural and in place. Listened to this via audiobook and could not stop listening. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death, Cultural appropriation, and Racism

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Gaslighting, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Violence, Death of parent, and Suicide