Yellowface

Yellowface opens with a white woman, June, watching an Asian woman, Athena, die.

No no, not like that. June and Athena are FRIENDS. Sure, it is true that June seems fueled by a visceral contempt for Athena. But that's just rooted in June's own insecurities due to her lack of success compared to Athena! Jealousy is a natural part of the human condition, one which we all may struggle with from time to time. It's not like June has acted on it in a way that causes harm. It's not like June stole Athena's manuscript before the body was cold. It's not like that.

As a white woman, it did not surprise me — in the worst way — to see June keep regrouping scandal after scandal to recenter herself as a victim. Everyday my own kind betray me.

June spends all of her energy focusing on herself: internally reiterating that she is worthy, that these are her ideas, that she has earned this. I liked how she was both desperate, yet also self-righteous and emphatic. She is on a perpetual quest to feel vindicated, but she switches between needing to convince herself and needing to convince the world.

I kind of liked the ambiguous ending. I liked us not knowing if June is able to spin things one last time. I liked us not knowing if her depiction of Athena's death was wholly accurate. I liked not having closure with Athena's mom, after June denied Mrs. Liu closure. I liked how meta and frantic it got.

I sped through this. I've sat on it for a few days, and I'm still not sure whether I liked it. Some may argue that the depiction of racism is cartoonish, but I think sometimes that's just what racism is: on its face (pun intended, and I am proud) absurd.

As the book progresses, June veers into Unreliable Narrator territory. I have some vague concerns about presenting racism as mental illness, as if that's not already stigmatized enough. But what if the point is that racism is based in misguided fear that can manifest as paranoia? I don't know!

A little [b:The Other Black Girl|55711688|The Other Black Girl|Zakiya Dalila Harris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605823245l/55711688.SY75.jpg|76204922], a little [b:Tell-Tale Heart|899492|The Tell-Tale Heart|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534247939l/899492.SX50.jpg|19034527], a little [b:My Year of Rest and Relaxation|44279110|My Year of Rest and Relaxation|Ottessa Moshfegh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597676656l/44279110.SY75.jpg|55508660], a little Fisher v. University of Texas. This may have been a weird place to start reading Kuang, but I'd definitely do it again.