A review by abidavisf
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Yellowface is a triumph. It is shocking in its portrayal of sheer delusion and betrayal, in its obvious racism and sickening naïveté. June is the epitome of the white saviour character, so desperate to believe that she is doing the right thing by publishing Athena’s work under her name, by giving the Asian community a ‘voice’. Her perception of Asian culture throughout the book is sickening. She is shocked when a Chinese man speaks excellent English. She is disgusted by the smell of Chinese food. She infers that a Korean character must have knowledge on Chinese culture and history because they’re both Asian, right? She never sees a problem with her thought process. Small moments may be planted when it appears June may be learning but, just as quickly as they come, they are taken away by another shocking statement, another gross assumption.

June is, no doubt, the anti-hero but there are instances throughout the book that give you pause, moments where the reader begins to understand why she may have done what she did.
Athena stole from her so she can steal right back.
The plot is mysterious and unpredictable. Few characters are completely innocent. Regardless of her own beliefs, June’s theft is unjustified but she was able to get away with it because of her privilege. She will never understand that, but the reader surely does.

June’s point of view is continuously at war with itself, plagued with delusion and regret. Sometimes, she did the right thing and gave something to the world. She is a hero. Other times, she drives herself to madness with guilt and she tries to devise plans to make the situation right. Each time you believe that she has seen the error of her ways she finds a way to make herself the victim again. Yellowface is infuriating and disturbing and so tragically beautiful.

It is a brutal look at the publishing industry, and media in general. The world speaks about the importance of diversity, yet minimises the number of diverse creatives who are ‘allowed’ to be seen (“we already have an Asian author this season”). Yellowface brings light to the truth that we already know but hate to admit and rarely discuss, at least to a point of change.

I am in awe of Yellowface. I am angry. I’m not sure I can fully verbalise exactly what this books means to me yet, but I’ll definitely be re-reading so I reserve the right to edit this review. Stay tuned!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings