A review by purplemuskogee
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had wanted to read this book since it came out, and I am so pleased it did not disappoint. Rebecca F. Kuang is incredibly skilled at weaving many, many themes - cultural appropriation, representation, plagiarism, friendship, internet trolling, cancel culture, intellectual property, the publishing industry, theft... - without making the book feel too cluttered or trying too hard, which is sometimes a risk with books that feel very anchored to their era. This one is definitely anchored - the themes, the Twitter messages, the fear of being cancelled - but it felt light, compelling, engaging. I loved the characters being all unlikeable, including the victim of the story, beautiful and talented writer Athena, a vampire who steals everyone's traumatic experiences to turn them into her next bestseller; and I liked its commentary on cultural appropriation and intellectual property: when is inspiration plagiarism? (Probably when you have to steal a manuscript from a flat where your friend just died). Many authors of the past are incredibly problematic and it is brushed aside - we still love Virginia Woolf despite the antisemitism, we still read Poe despite the child marriage. Authors nowadays being online and reachable more easily means they are somewhat more accountable - it is also "easier" to ignore past authors' problematic stances when they were usually government policy, although I am not convinced that makes them excusable. 
I loved this novel, and I loved its themes and tone, and I am so glad I read it.
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