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A review by lovelymisanthrope
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
R.F. Kuang has become an automatic buy author for me, so as soon as I heard she was releasing a new title, I knew I had to purchase and read it immediately.
"Yellowface" follows a young woman named June Hayward. June attended Yale for writing, where she met Athena Liu. The two developed a sort of friendship, but as the years go by, June becomes more and more resentful of Athena's success, especially because writing is all June has ever wanted to do. After one evening out, June goes back to Athena's apartment with her to hang out more. The night takes a sinister turn when Athena dies, and June decides to take Athena's latest manuscript and publish it as her own under a new pen name: Juniper Song.
This book was absolutely phenomenal, and I recommend it to every reader who has even a fraction of an interest in publishing. The publishing world is so difficult to get into, especially for minorities. Athena's Asian character reaching such success at an early age is hardly the norm. June is a white woman, who takes an Asian woman's story about Chinese history, changes her name to sound more ethnically ambivalent, and still tries to justify her blatant plagiarism as what "Athena would have wanted." I do not think June is an inherently evil person, but she is clearly in the wrong and is blinded by jealousy that she does not understand. She thinks it has been easier for Athena to get published because she is a minority and publishers what to be able to market themselves as diverse and empathetic to racism. There may be some level of truth to this, but Athena's life was not easier because she was Asian.
R.F. Kuang writes THE best morally grey characters. June is obviously in the wrong, and she makes the wrong choice again and again, but as a reader, I still felt for her. It is difficult to see someone successful when you feel like you are drowning, but it is all the more difficult when they are reaching success in a field that means so much to you. June should not have plagiarized, and she should not have tried to change her name to sound more Asian to help with sales, but I am sure that level of success was intoxicating for her, and she got herself in too deep to get out.
I really love seeing a character slowly lose their mind, which is exactly what happens to June. She saw Athena die, but she starts to see Athena everywhere after the book comes out. Did Athena fake her death, or is June losing her mind? Can June live up to this fame she has created for herself, or is this the only book she will have published?
The ending takes a bit of a cliche thriller trope turn. I did not love it, but I loved the rest of the book so much, I did not care. However, I can appreciate for those who read a lot of thrillers, how this may come across as something that is overdone.
I 100% will read anything R.F. Kuang writes in the future; I am ADDICTED!
"Yellowface" follows a young woman named June Hayward. June attended Yale for writing, where she met Athena Liu. The two developed a sort of friendship, but as the years go by, June becomes more and more resentful of Athena's success, especially because writing is all June has ever wanted to do. After one evening out, June goes back to Athena's apartment with her to hang out more. The night takes a sinister turn when Athena dies, and June decides to take Athena's latest manuscript and publish it as her own under a new pen name: Juniper Song.
This book was absolutely phenomenal, and I recommend it to every reader who has even a fraction of an interest in publishing. The publishing world is so difficult to get into, especially for minorities. Athena's Asian character reaching such success at an early age is hardly the norm. June is a white woman, who takes an Asian woman's story about Chinese history, changes her name to sound more ethnically ambivalent, and still tries to justify her blatant plagiarism as what "Athena would have wanted." I do not think June is an inherently evil person, but she is clearly in the wrong and is blinded by jealousy that she does not understand. She thinks it has been easier for Athena to get published because she is a minority and publishers what to be able to market themselves as diverse and empathetic to racism. There may be some level of truth to this, but Athena's life was not easier because she was Asian.
R.F. Kuang writes THE best morally grey characters. June is obviously in the wrong, and she makes the wrong choice again and again, but as a reader, I still felt for her. It is difficult to see someone successful when you feel like you are drowning, but it is all the more difficult when they are reaching success in a field that means so much to you. June should not have plagiarized, and she should not have tried to change her name to sound more Asian to help with sales, but I am sure that level of success was intoxicating for her, and she got herself in too deep to get out.
I really love seeing a character slowly lose their mind, which is exactly what happens to June. She saw Athena die, but she starts to see Athena everywhere after the book comes out. Did Athena fake her death, or is June losing her mind? Can June live up to this fame she has created for herself, or is this the only book she will have published?
The ending takes a bit of a cliche thriller trope turn. I did not love it, but I loved the rest of the book so much, I did not care. However, I can appreciate for those who read a lot of thrillers, how this may come across as something that is overdone.
I 100% will read anything R.F. Kuang writes in the future; I am ADDICTED!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders