A review by ollinquetzal
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

2.75

I've seen quite a few folks read this book… when a local queer & trans Asian group posted they were reading it for this months book club I thought I’d give it a try… overall I'd give the book 3/5 stars rating wise.
I did enjoy how the book began as it captures your attention quick within the first couple of chapters. However, as I read and listened to this book... I continued to have meh feelings. I appreciate the author pointing out the racism and white people stealing work, posing as people of color, and acting like their victims along with how her violent mind contorts to continue to colonize and claim legitimacy. Definitely cringe. Hoping this at least discourages more white people posing as people of color and stealing people's work.

I appreciated the insight that this video shares about the author and book: https://just-tech.ssrc.org/articles/an-ethical-internet/ it’s a great spoiler-review and overview, which made this all make sense as the author, though an Asian woman actually displays a lot of privileged and problematic behaviors and thinking that she articulates though her characters. Sigh...
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