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readingwithmyeyes 's review for:
Yellowface
by R.F. Kuang
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang is a groundbreaking contemporary fiction about a stolen story from a dead Asian writer by a white one. The novel is so much more than its logline about a stolen novel as it is an in-depth look at the good and bad of the publishing industry and analyzes what intellectual property is and whether it can be stolen. The book asks: If I have a conversation with someone and use it verbatim in my story is that theft? Can a person tell a story of a different ethnicity other than their own? If you get a prompt sentence or paragraph that you include in the writing is it theft? Can an ethnic writer branch out and not lose their audience? Kuang asks these questions throughout the novel while answering some of the questions by telling a story from a white woman's point of view, breaking away a little bit from what she is known for writing heavily ethnic stories. The writing is smart and shows an insider glance at the publishing industry that I have not read before. The book takes an unlikeable character who makes horrible choices and yet humanizes their desperation. Kuang says in the Acknowledgments that this is her attempt at a horror novel about loneliness in a harsh industry, I feel this fits especially what happens at the end. Despite it being a horror story the story is a love letter to writing at its heart and full of deep quotes about writing. Here's my favorite: "Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands. Writing gives you power to shape your own world when the real one hurts too much." The book takes an educational approach to diversity and shows both the positives and the negatives of it. The pacing for this book was perfect, I was pretty riveted in every twist and turn of the story. The ending I found satisfying, it could have gone in a million different ways. This is my first novel from R. F. Kuang and it will not be my last as immediately added the Poppy War trilogy and Babel to my TBR list. Yellowface is a book I've been seeing on a lot of Best Books of 2023 and it did not disappoint. Yellowface was published on May 25, 2023, by William Morrow.
Plot Summary: Athena Liu is a powerhouse writer who tops the bestseller list, June Hayward is her friend (sort of) and also a writer who has found modest success. June is jealous of her career but also likes living through her friend's success when a freak accident happens in Athena's apartment June cannot save her she takes a just-finished manuscript The Front Line. Athena was old school and worked on a typewriter and would not tell anybody what she was working on until she finished. June has a killer first draft that no one knows about from a leading top-selling author. June reads it and knows it's good the novel is a historical fiction about Chinese laborers who fought and died in World War I. June's rationalization is it is good, not great and she can make it better as she contributes writing and fledging out characters tightening up the story. Her agent is overjoyed with the book and a big step up from her previous novel. She finds a publisher that thinks it could be a hit, but with it being about Chinese laborers the publisher needs June Hayward to be more exotic and she is now Juniper Song. The novel is a success but soon the backlash and accusations begin.
What I Liked: The writing is fantastic and so clever. The pacing was good throughout with very few slow moments. The story was full of insider information about the publishing industry and what happens to a bestselling author. The way race and ethnicity were handled was so educational in its approach that I came out learning and looking at things from a different perspective. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins the controversial novel gets acknowledged and compared. I liked the horror angle the paranoid June gets to in the end. I loved the perspective and the insight of the author's background and how it was used. The passages on writing are very inspirational. I liked how June is a horrible person/character but through Kuang's writing, you feel empathy for her.
What I Disliked: I had issues with the aftermath of the climax, I felt it was a lose-lose situation but there was a clear winner in the end. I felt both characters had blackmail material on each other and for me, the only solution would have been working together like the ending of the musical Chicago. I just felt there were still loose ends.
Recommendation: Yellowface is a great novel that is going to be in my top 3 books that were published this year, and could take number one. This book is fantastic. I loved so many passages about writing and what goes into it. The book looks at diversity in interesting ways. I recommend all my followers to read this book!
Rating: I rated Yellowface by R. F. Kuang 5 out of 5 stars.
Plot Summary: Athena Liu is a powerhouse writer who tops the bestseller list, June Hayward is her friend (sort of) and also a writer who has found modest success. June is jealous of her career but also likes living through her friend's success when a freak accident happens in Athena's apartment June cannot save her she takes a just-finished manuscript The Front Line. Athena was old school and worked on a typewriter and would not tell anybody what she was working on until she finished. June has a killer first draft that no one knows about from a leading top-selling author. June reads it and knows it's good the novel is a historical fiction about Chinese laborers who fought and died in World War I. June's rationalization is it is good, not great and she can make it better as she contributes writing and fledging out characters tightening up the story. Her agent is overjoyed with the book and a big step up from her previous novel. She finds a publisher that thinks it could be a hit, but with it being about Chinese laborers the publisher needs June Hayward to be more exotic and she is now Juniper Song. The novel is a success but soon the backlash and accusations begin.
What I Liked: The writing is fantastic and so clever. The pacing was good throughout with very few slow moments. The story was full of insider information about the publishing industry and what happens to a bestselling author. The way race and ethnicity were handled was so educational in its approach that I came out learning and looking at things from a different perspective. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins the controversial novel gets acknowledged and compared. I liked the horror angle the paranoid June gets to in the end. I loved the perspective and the insight of the author's background and how it was used. The passages on writing are very inspirational. I liked how June is a horrible person/character but through Kuang's writing, you feel empathy for her.
What I Disliked: I had issues with the aftermath of the climax, I felt it was a lose-lose situation but there was a clear winner in the end. I felt both characters had blackmail material on each other and for me, the only solution would have been working together like the ending of the musical Chicago. I just felt there were still loose ends.
Recommendation: Yellowface is a great novel that is going to be in my top 3 books that were published this year, and could take number one. This book is fantastic. I loved so many passages about writing and what goes into it. The book looks at diversity in interesting ways. I recommend all my followers to read this book!
Rating: I rated Yellowface by R. F. Kuang 5 out of 5 stars.