A review by dawndeydusk
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

fast-paced

3.25

Others have expressed this more eloquently than I ever could, but I found this book read very much like a stream of consciousness. Normally, I appreciate that reflective style of writing, but this book wasn't really giving me anything new (not that everything has to be new, but at least something of a different angle). If anything, this novel showcases R. F. Kuang's range, because I read Babel earlier this year and adored it, but I feel lukewarm towards this one. I often struggle with books on more contemporary topics like social media because it all feels very observant but not particularly interesting to me. This is how I felt about my most recent read about fangirl culture, too. Social media can be bad, people can be trolls, etc. We know this. Another aspect I struggle with regarding this book is discerning who the target audience is. It's heavy-handed in its references to racism, the vitriol of the publishing industry, the credibility (or lack thereof) of storytelling, and so on, but it feels too blunt to be a memorable satire or a work to learn from. The narrator is meant to be insufferable and unreliable, sure, but overall the work felt lonely, and it's not just because of the narrator's isolation. Despite its conversational, reflective tone, I wasn't particularly invested in the trajectory. And of course, reading the first line of the Acknowledgements addresses the "horror" of the loneliness of the brutal publishing industry. It's not my place nor my business to be critiquing this work, and I hope at the very least this was a cathartic project or a welcome change of pace (admittedly, I haven't read The Poppy War). I'm still glad to have read this, but Babel will always be dearest to my heart.