A review by koreanlinda
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ah... I feel shitty after reading this book. I don't mean that I regret reading it. I'm glad I did, but the content of the book is so disturbing that it churns my stomach. In the form of a fictional thriller, the story delves into White supremacy and Anti-Asian racism in the US (so well that it disgusts me). They are strewn throughout the book, but their essence is captured in the narrator's following words:

Athena had fucking everything. It wasn't fair...Athena had it made. You people--I mean, diverse people--you're all they want--" 

I have been victim to people like Candice and Diana and Adele: people who think that, just because they're "oppressed" and "marginalied," they can do or say whatever they want. That the world should put them on a pedestal and shower them with opportunities. That reverse racism is okay. That they can bully, harass, and humiliate people like me, just because I'm white, just because that counts as punching up, because in this day and age, women like me are the last acceptable target. Racism is bad, but you can still send death threats to Karens.

Ah... I feel a strong urge to leave this country again. Knowing that such beliefs about BIPOC and immigrants are not limited to the narrator of this book depresses me. 77,297,721 votes in the 2024 US Presidential election are proof and those votes are not even all the people who want to take America "back" from us. 

I strongly recommend this book to people who love thrillers and who want to learn about Asian American experiences. It is ironic that this book was written by a young Asian woman author from a prestigious educational background and became a bestseller. Although R. F. Kuang writes in Acknowledgement that she felt well supported in her experience of publishing this book, everything shared about the US publishing industry in this book greatly discouraged me (an Asian American writer) from ever attempting to enter it. Ah... I will need time to recover from Yellowface.

Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in December 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda 
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