Scan barcode
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
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Violence, Sexual assault, Death, Physical abuse, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol
shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Minor: Medical content, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Stalking
lawbooks600's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Representation: Asian characters
Score: Six points out of ten.
I own this book.
How come Yellowface won Best Fiction and not Maame? (which was better.) Let's cut to the chase: I wanted this novel for so long, after seeing it in my recommendations, but so many library patrons placed a hold on it that I had to buy it. Afterwards, I read and enjoyed it, but it could've been so much better than what I read. For starters, what is this story supposed to be? A satire? A thriller? A critique and discourse of the publishing industry? A discourse on social media? A piece of literary fiction or metafiction?
It starts with the first two characters I see, Athena Liu and June Hayward who are both authors. As a work of metafiction, it works well because an author wrote about some authors' experiences of publishing their works. As for everything else, it didn't work as well as I hoped, for reasons I'll explain later. After Athena passes, June steals her manuscript (a story about the Chinese in WWI called The Last Front) and publishes it as hers after significant edits, and she believes if she didn't do that, the work would never see the light of day. Here's where the flaws surface: the characters are only the beginning of the issues I saw in Yellowface, because they were so flat. The only thought I can think of is that June is racist since she wrote a work of fiction about Asians even though she's white, and Athena, the Asian, did nothing wrong (but that is untrue, as seen later.) I didn't give Yellowface three stars only because of the unlikable characters (somehow I could bear with them), but I gave it that rating because of other problems.
June rides high on her success, but eventually, questions arise, and soon enough, she gets caught and cancelled online. Yellowface relies heavily on social media, creating multiple layers of self-awareness since it included professional reviews, BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, Goodreads (even The Choice Awards) and most prominently, literature discussions on Twitter, sorry I mean X. Did I mention Twitter changed to X? Yellowface is outdated already. June calls Athena's prose frustrating and inaccessible which perfectly describes the writing style that uses unfamiliar words like praxis and anti-miscegenation laws (anti-interracial marriage legislation.) The only commentary Yellowface provided me is that racism is unacceptable. I get it. Could you tell me more? Unfortunately, it has nothing else to say. I appreciated Yellowface for shedding light on cultural appropriation in fictional works, but it could've used more nuance by concentrating on minorities besides East Asian Americans like South Asians, Asian Australians, British Asians and Southeast Asians rather than focusing only on the first group.
The most imperative question here is who can tell a tale. Can a white person write about people outside their culture? RF Kuang thinks not because she used sledgehammer-like responses to answer the inquiry (which felt so preachy and heavy-handed, I heard thoughts from the author like, 'No, it's racist!') Also, why does Athena feel like an RF Kuang self-insert? Athena is so similar to the author, it feels uncanny. Yellowface doesn't work as a satire, because too many parts are realistic, save for some exaggerated sections. It doesn't work as a thriller, since it's slow-paced. Yellowface shines as a critique of the publishing industry when it exposes tokenism, appropriation and the difficulties authors of colour face when trying to publish. However, Yellowface missed out on the class aspect, and June infuriated me when she said publishing was a meritocracy (it clearly isn't.) Athena isn't successful because she's Asian, like June stated. Athena's only well off because she's rich, which the narrative forgot to mention. As for the discourse on social media, Yellowface could've done better as it was only looking at a terminally online person, and finally, it's a successful literary fictional composition, because no one knows what genre it belongs to.
As far as I know, I've covered everything concerning how RF Kuang could've improved her latest offering. Let me know if I left out anything else.
Score: Six points out of ten.
I own this book.
How come Yellowface won Best Fiction and not Maame? (which was better.) Let's cut to the chase: I wanted this novel for so long, after seeing it in my recommendations, but so many library patrons placed a hold on it that I had to buy it. Afterwards, I read and enjoyed it, but it could've been so much better than what I read. For starters, what is this story supposed to be? A satire? A thriller? A critique and discourse of the publishing industry? A discourse on social media? A piece of literary fiction or metafiction?
It starts with the first two characters I see, Athena Liu and June Hayward who are both authors. As a work of metafiction, it works well because an author wrote about some authors' experiences of publishing their works. As for everything else, it didn't work as well as I hoped, for reasons I'll explain later. After Athena passes, June steals her manuscript (a story about the Chinese in WWI called The Last Front) and publishes it as hers after significant edits, and she believes if she didn't do that, the work would never see the light of day. Here's where the flaws surface: the characters are only the beginning of the issues I saw in Yellowface, because they were so flat. The only thought I can think of is that June is racist since she wrote a work of fiction about Asians even though she's white, and Athena, the Asian, did nothing wrong (but that is untrue, as seen later.) I didn't give Yellowface three stars only because of the unlikable characters (somehow I could bear with them), but I gave it that rating because of other problems.
June rides high on her success, but eventually, questions arise, and soon enough, she gets caught and cancelled online. Yellowface relies heavily on social media, creating multiple layers of self-awareness since it included professional reviews, BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, Goodreads (even The Choice Awards) and most prominently, literature discussions on Twitter, sorry I mean X. Did I mention Twitter changed to X? Yellowface is outdated already. June calls Athena's prose frustrating and inaccessible which perfectly describes the writing style that uses unfamiliar words like praxis and anti-miscegenation laws (anti-interracial marriage legislation.) The only commentary Yellowface provided me is that racism is unacceptable. I get it. Could you tell me more? Unfortunately, it has nothing else to say. I appreciated Yellowface for shedding light on cultural appropriation in fictional works, but it could've used more nuance by concentrating on minorities besides East Asian Americans like South Asians, Asian Australians, British Asians and Southeast Asians rather than focusing only on the first group.
The most imperative question here is who can tell a tale. Can a white person write about people outside their culture? RF Kuang thinks not because she used sledgehammer-like responses to answer the inquiry (which felt so preachy and heavy-handed, I heard thoughts from the author like, 'No, it's racist!') Also, why does Athena feel like an RF Kuang self-insert? Athena is so similar to the author, it feels uncanny. Yellowface doesn't work as a satire, because too many parts are realistic, save for some exaggerated sections. It doesn't work as a thriller, since it's slow-paced. Yellowface shines as a critique of the publishing industry when it exposes tokenism, appropriation and the difficulties authors of colour face when trying to publish. However, Yellowface missed out on the class aspect, and June infuriated me when she said publishing was a meritocracy (it clearly isn't.) Athena isn't successful because she's Asian, like June stated. Athena's only well off because she's rich, which the narrative forgot to mention. As for the discourse on social media, Yellowface could've done better as it was only looking at a terminally online person, and finally, it's a successful literary fictional composition, because no one knows what genre it belongs to.
As far as I know, I've covered everything concerning how RF Kuang could've improved her latest offering. Let me know if I left out anything else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Racial slurs
Full trigger warnings: Death of a daughter and friend from choking and a father from suicide, racist and sexist slurs, cultural appropriation, physical assault and injury, blood, grief and loss depiction, near-death experience, hospitalisation, suicidal thoughts, emesis, gaslighting, bullyingamaya_jam's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
I'm not sure what to rate this. I got this book early and as a signed copy by R. F. Kuang. I guess hearing her speak about it, along with all the glowing reviews I've heard over the past year, gave me high expectations.
I should mention that this is the first book I've read by her so I'm going completely based on the hype.
Ultimately it didn't meet my expectations. The commentary felt simplistic, repetitive, and obvious. But I also just couldn't put it down. Though the topics are quite serious, the language was a nice break from my usual classics reading. I'm giving it four stars for now since I can't deny that I enjoyed my reading experience. It was just fun and that's just what I needed at the moment.
I should mention that this is the first book I've read by her so I'm going completely based on the hype.
Ultimately it didn't meet my expectations. The commentary felt simplistic, repetitive, and obvious. But I also just couldn't put it down. Though the topics are quite serious, the language was a nice break from my usual classics reading. I'm giving it four stars for now since I can't deny that I enjoyed my reading experience. It was just fun and that's just what I needed at the moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Racism, Death, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and War
spookylettuce's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Alcoholism
Minor: Racial slurs, War, Death of parent, and Suicide
emmaward55's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I wrote a proper review, so forgive me if I'm a little rusty.
For those not yet in the know, Yellowface is the latest book in R. F. Kuang's highly rated literary career. Following the story of a young white author who steals and publishes the manuscript of her dead Chinese friend, this explosive novel pulls no punches from chapter one until the very last sentence.
Kuang's work is a riveting ride through the ups and downs of the publishing process and the associated scandals that the main character brings upon herself. It's a compelling and modern read that deserves its place on all the hot literary lists of the moment.
At times deliciously meta, the work is highly readable in its tone and voice, explaining concepts that the general audience may be unfamiliar with in clear and concise ways. I found it engaging and difficult to tear myself away from, both in regards to the plot developments and Kuang's brilliant prose.
It is also one of those rare books that can present the reader with an unlikeable narrator and keep us feverishly reading along as the protagonist becomes more unhinged and altogether worthy of our hatred. So often I've DNR'd a book because I couldn't stand the protagonist, but reading about Juniper is like only having one chocolate from a box - impossible to stop once you've begun.
I'm looking forward to picking up Babel from her next!
For those not yet in the know, Yellowface is the latest book in R. F. Kuang's highly rated literary career. Following the story of a young white author who steals and publishes the manuscript of her dead Chinese friend, this explosive novel pulls no punches from chapter one until the very last sentence.
Kuang's work is a riveting ride through the ups and downs of the publishing process and the associated scandals that the main character brings upon herself. It's a compelling and modern read that deserves its place on all the hot literary lists of the moment.
At times deliciously meta, the work is highly readable in its tone and voice, explaining concepts that the general audience may be unfamiliar with in clear and concise ways. I found it engaging and difficult to tear myself away from, both in regards to the plot developments and Kuang's brilliant prose.
It is also one of those rare books that can present the reader with an unlikeable narrator and keep us feverishly reading along as the protagonist becomes more unhinged and altogether worthy of our hatred. So often I've DNR'd a book because I couldn't stand the protagonist, but reading about Juniper is like only having one chocolate from a box - impossible to stop once you've begun.
I'm looking forward to picking up Babel from her next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Racial slurs
imstephtacular's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Cursing
Minor: Stalking, Ableism, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
ffireed's review against another edition
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and Death
catsandbeets's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Vomit
yourbookishbff's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yellowface is wry social commentary meets laugh-out-loud satire meets genuine horror with a psychotic break thrown in for good measure. I loved it. For bookish folks who enjoy sardonic commentary on the publishing industry, this is a book to be inhaled - all the little sly digs at various media personalities, authors and other public figures made every page feel like a new reveal. I particularly loved the use of an unreliable first-person narrator and the complexity in how both June and Athena are fleshed out for the reader. Kuang resists easy stereotypes (except where they're impossible to avoid, because white women certainly aren't unpredictable) and constantly rides the edge between just right and too far, making even the most absurd moments feel believable. If you love a slow descent into madness that excoriates book publishing, white feminism and Western media more broadly, Yellowface is an excellent read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Medical content, Sexism, and Vomit