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sleepyreaderthings 's review for:
Yellowface
by R.F. Kuang
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What an absolutely bonkers story. Packed full of commentary on racism, plagiarism, and cancel culture, R.F. Kuang dives into the world of publishing and doesn’t hold back. In her author’s note, she mentions that this is largely “a horror story about loneliness in a fiercely competitive industry,” and while I can’t say I have any experience with publishing, I do know that I was stressed out of my mind while reading this. A horror story indeed.
Lots of questions about morality came up regarding June’s authorship of The Last Front. How she’s profiting off of Chinese history as a white woman and whether she was the right voice for their story. Thinking about where the line is when writing about such sensitive histories as someone who isn’t part of that community. And it’s obvious she crossed that line ten times over, even if she hadn’t stolen the book (and changed her pen name to Juniper Song, like wtf was that move.) The way that she and her editors stripped out so many fundamental pieces of Athena’s story infuriated me beyond belief. Taking about the uncomfortable bits defeats the purpose of the story. Like yeah, it was uncomfortable and cruel. That’s why the story is being told, to show that seriously fucked up shit happened and history threw that out and white washed it. But June wasn’t racist, no not at all. Her critics talking about the white savior themes? Crazy, all of them. She would never.
On the topic of morality as well, I had a lot of thoughts about Athena. Obviously we read through the eyes of June, so who knows how reliable she is, but the story about how Athena used her words in her short story was crazy. And with Geoff and their arguments. I’m sure that authors take inspiration from the world and from their interactions with people, but to write about June’s rape was so icky. But then for June to use that as justification for stealing Athena’s work? Idk, I just found it all very thought provoking, and it was honestly a read where you just had to sit in your anger and discomfort. Very on theme with all of Kuang’s books.
It was also really interesting to see the role that social media plays in the publishing industry. As someone who is obviously part of the book community, I have seen authors be cancelled before, and it was interesting to see Kuang’s take on it. The commentary on how far is too far? Do we see something and blindly believe it, or do we do our own research? Mob culture, death threats, bullying, and harassment all came for June. She was guilty of what she was being accused of, and some might say she got what was coming to her. It was honestly just interesting to see June’s perspective through it all.
I did not go into this expecting to struggle to put it down, but there was just something so hatable about June that I couldn’t look away. It was like watching a train wreck. Things just kept piling on top of each other, one after the other. I found myself looking at June and going “wtf is wrong with you” countless times because she was a horrendous person who kept making poor choices. And it makes me so mad that she was surrounded by people who encouraged her behavior and made her feel justified and righteous.
Lots of questions about morality came up regarding June’s authorship of The Last Front. How she’s profiting off of Chinese history as a white woman and whether she was the right voice for their story. Thinking about where the line is when writing about such sensitive histories as someone who isn’t part of that community. And it’s obvious she crossed that line ten times over, even if she hadn’t stolen the book (and changed her pen name to Juniper Song, like wtf was that move.) The way that she and her editors stripped out so many fundamental pieces of Athena’s story infuriated me beyond belief. Taking about the uncomfortable bits defeats the purpose of the story. Like yeah, it was uncomfortable and cruel. That’s why the story is being told, to show that seriously fucked up shit happened and history threw that out and white washed it. But June wasn’t racist, no not at all. Her critics talking about the white savior themes? Crazy, all of them. She would never.
On the topic of morality as well, I had a lot of thoughts about Athena. Obviously we read through the eyes of June, so who knows how reliable she is, but the story about how Athena used her words in her short story was crazy. And with Geoff and their arguments. I’m sure that authors take inspiration from the world and from their interactions with people, but to write about June’s rape was so icky. But then for June to use that as justification for stealing Athena’s work? Idk, I just found it all very thought provoking, and it was honestly a read where you just had to sit in your anger and discomfort. Very on theme with all of Kuang’s books.
It was also really interesting to see the role that social media plays in the publishing industry. As someone who is obviously part of the book community, I have seen authors be cancelled before, and it was interesting to see Kuang’s take on it. The commentary on how far is too far? Do we see something and blindly believe it, or do we do our own research? Mob culture, death threats, bullying, and harassment all came for June. She was guilty of what she was being accused of, and some might say she got what was coming to her. It was honestly just interesting to see June’s perspective through it all.
I did not go into this expecting to struggle to put it down, but there was just something so hatable about June that I couldn’t look away. It was like watching a train wreck. Things just kept piling on top of each other, one after the other. I found myself looking at June and going “wtf is wrong with you” countless times because she was a horrendous person who kept making poor choices. And it makes me so mad that she was surrounded by people who encouraged her behavior and made her feel justified and righteous.