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A review by leebraries
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-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
oh my, this book. where to start?
i think i disliked every character in this book. they were all vultures, vapid creatures that showed only the worst parts of humanity. yet they — most especially our main character, juniper, and the ghost of athena liu — were all so beautifully compulsive that i could. not. stop. reading. their story was fucked-up, and juniper’s actions were just absolutely fucking horrendous from start to finish (made worse by the fact that she truly believes herself to be innocent throughout all of it, and justifies herself through increasingly ludicrous ways as the book progresses) but it was so captivating to read. i couldn’t even help but feel stabs of pity towards june, times where i could almost feel myself taking her side against the slew of online hate she was receiving. and athena, a literary darling that hit a little too close to reality. i was in awe of her for a lot of the book, but also felt like she had a lot of explaining to do. of course, seeing her through june’s mistrusting, envious eyes could have warped my perception of her, and i wish we’d gotten more of her (alive). in other words, this novel — its premise, characters, and prose — are all deeply compelling. i do wish we could’ve leaned a bit more into the “yellowface” aspect, maybe? in the sense that we only got a handful of throwaway scenes about juniper pretending to be chinese when the summary says that’s what the book’s about. i also think the writing style, while beautiful, could be sort of inconsistent at time. but otherwise, i don’t really have many complaints. this novel is a clever exploration of the publishing industry and what it means to be “diverse.” it’s a look into what it takes to be recognized, and the inherent tokenism of any industry. it looks into jealousy and inferiority and what humanity is willing to do to inflict pain against another person. in other words, it’s a fucking good book, and rebecca kuang is an absolute trooper for writing it.
i think i disliked every character in this book. they were all vultures, vapid creatures that showed only the worst parts of humanity. yet they — most especially our main character, juniper, and the ghost of athena liu — were all so beautifully compulsive that i could. not. stop. reading. their story was fucked-up, and juniper’s actions were just absolutely fucking horrendous from start to finish (made worse by the fact that she truly believes herself to be innocent throughout all of it, and justifies herself through increasingly ludicrous ways as the book progresses) but it was so captivating to read. i couldn’t even help but feel stabs of pity towards june, times where i could almost feel myself taking her side against the slew of online hate she was receiving. and athena, a literary darling that hit a little too close to reality. i was in awe of her for a lot of the book, but also felt like she had a lot of explaining to do. of course, seeing her through june’s mistrusting, envious eyes could have warped my perception of her, and i wish we’d gotten more of her (alive). in other words, this novel — its premise, characters, and prose — are all deeply compelling. i do wish we could’ve leaned a bit more into the “yellowface” aspect, maybe? in the sense that we only got a handful of throwaway scenes about juniper pretending to be chinese when the summary says that’s what the book’s about. i also think the writing style, while beautiful, could be sort of inconsistent at time. but otherwise, i don’t really have many complaints. this novel is a clever exploration of the publishing industry and what it means to be “diverse.” it’s a look into what it takes to be recognized, and the inherent tokenism of any industry. it looks into jealousy and inferiority and what humanity is willing to do to inflict pain against another person. in other words, it’s a fucking good book, and rebecca kuang is an absolute trooper for writing it.