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A review by varlineau
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
5.0
This book is INCREDIBLE.
R.F. Kuang provides the reader with a masterclass in wordsmithing and satire. She's just so clever and her prose is just so skillfully constructed, I can't. I just can't! Why did I wait so long to read one of her books? I've literally owned The Poppy War for over a year (I'm finally reading it too).
I don't know if Yellowface resonated with me so particularly because I'm an aspiring author who happens to be AAPI, but man. MAN. I couldn't put it down. It felt strangely like a warning about the publishing industry while also being enlightening and encouraging about it as well. It made me want to continue pursuing writing, that's for sure.
I find the negative reviews for this book extremely interesting, especially the ones admonishing Kuang for her portrayal of white people. Maybe they read a different book, but one of the things I found brilliant about Yellowface is that no one was safe from Kuang's scathing narration. Everyone sucked and everyone was sympathetic - even Juniper, who spent the majority of the book being an absolute trainwreck conscience-wise.
Man. This is one of the first books in a while to give me an actual reading hangover. I haven't stayed up until 3:30am reading in SO LONG. Anyway, big thanks to R.F. Kuang for writing this. I needed to read it.
R.F. Kuang provides the reader with a masterclass in wordsmithing and satire. She's just so clever and her prose is just so skillfully constructed, I can't. I just can't! Why did I wait so long to read one of her books? I've literally owned The Poppy War for over a year (I'm finally reading it too).
I don't know if Yellowface resonated with me so particularly because I'm an aspiring author who happens to be AAPI, but man. MAN. I couldn't put it down. It felt strangely like a warning about the publishing industry while also being enlightening and encouraging about it as well. It made me want to continue pursuing writing, that's for sure.
I find the negative reviews for this book extremely interesting, especially the ones admonishing Kuang for her portrayal of white people. Maybe they read a different book, but one of the things I found brilliant about Yellowface is that no one was safe from Kuang's scathing narration. Everyone sucked and everyone was sympathetic - even Juniper, who spent the majority of the book being an absolute trainwreck conscience-wise.
Man. This is one of the first books in a while to give me an actual reading hangover. I haven't stayed up until 3:30am reading in SO LONG. Anyway, big thanks to R.F. Kuang for writing this. I needed to read it.