Yellowface

Before reading this book I had a one sided beef with this author borne of the bitter disappointment I felt after reading the much hyped Poppy War trilogy. After reading this though... I'm still not a fan of those books, but I would now consider myself a fan of R.F. Quang. This book cleverly takes a lot of the meta narrative surrounding the author and her critics and wraps it into a fun, funny, page turning thriller that made me feel a little too seen as I read it. The protagonist is both relatable and hateable as you watch her bend over backwards to justify her own actions and find a way to give herself the validation that she so desperately craves while profiting off of someone else's work. It feels like a self deprecating shot across the bow to all the haters l, and as a former hater...I really enjoyed it. It's a mix of Macbeth and imposter comedies that feels sharp and well paced, especially for the first two thirds. I would recommend reading some of the authors other works before picking up this one, it's a small thing but having read her other books I think I had a lot more fun with this. Negatives for me were that the ending gets a little messy in terms of what to overall message the novel is trying to deliver, still solid but not as fun and fresh as the majority of the book.There were also a couple parts throughout that felt more driven by plot than character (refusing a sensitivity reader, making cultural changes to the novel without context etc.) Overall though, I still had a blast with it!