Yellowface

I really enjoyed it!

I bought Yellowface back in 2023 after hearing R.F. Kuang talk about it on the radio.

I somewhat went in blind because I forgot what it was about and the first couple chapters shocked me and really pulled me in.

4.5

I found myself turning the pages quickly on this one, completely drawn in and needing to know the ending. To be clear, this is the first of any of her novels- certainly, upon reading some of these Goodreads reviews- I'm intrigued further and have no background for some of these reviews, so I won't be commenting on that.

But, what I can say, is this is a compelling novel that focuses on an unreliable narrator whose thoughts are at once completely unhinged,racist, and unrelatable, yet also grounded in a way where you can follow every thread of her twisted logic while regarding it with complete distaste. It feels unforgettable and novel. Everyone in this book has complexity and insecurities, there is no good and unmarked soul here- everyone reeks of desperation and loneliness.

Absolutely gripping story telling. You can't help but hate June yet need to know what ridiculous thing she's going to do next - and how she'll try to justify it.

Romaanin aloitus on kieltämättä mukaansatempaava: “Athena Liu kuoli silmieni edessä, kun vietimme iloista iltaa hänen tuoreen Netflix-sopimuksensa kunniaksi”. Athena on kuollessaan alle kolmekymppinen kirjallinen supermenestys, joka on saanut jo kaiken. Netflix-sopimuksestaan Athena ei ehdi kuitenkaan nauttia pitkään ennen valitettavaa, tapaturmaista kuolemaansa. Athenan kanssa iltaa viettämässä on June Hayward, ei ehkä varsinaisesti Athenan ystävä, sillä Athenalla ei juuri kavereita ole, mutta June on vanha opiskelukaveri.    Vähän ennen kuolemaansa Athena oli esitellyt Junelle uuden romaaninsa käsikirjoitusta. Athena kirjoittaa romaaninsa vanhanaikaisesti kirjoituskoneella, joten käsikirjoituksesta on olemassa yksi ainoa paperinen versio, eikä muita kopioita. June näkee tässä kiehtovan tilaisuuden: kun Athena poistuu asunnostaan hengettömänä, käsikirjoitus lähtee myös Junen käsilaukussa.    Junen piti vain tutustua käsikirjoitukseen, mutta se on upea. Kiinalaisista ensimmäisen maailmansodan vapaaehtoisista kertovassa tekstissä on lupausta. Samalla se on selvästi keskeneräinen, eikä julkaisukelpoinen sellaisenaan. Niinpä June alkaa parantelemaan sitä, tekemään omia lisäyksiään ja kas – hänellä on julkaisukelpoinen käsikirjoitus, jota hän tarjoaa agentilleen omanaan. Agentti ihastuu, löytää kustantajan ja pian Junella kustannussopimus.    Vitivalkoinen nainen kirjoittamassa historiallista romaania kiinalaisista ei kuitenkaan ole kaikista myyvin juttu. Junen esikoisromaani ei muutenkaan menestynyt, joten Junen on aika luoda nahkansa. Hänestä tulee Juniper Song. Song kuulostaa kenties kiinalaiselta, mutta Junen etunimet ovat ihan oikeasti Juniper Song – kiitos hippiäidin – joten eihän tässä suuresta harhaanjohtamisesta ole kyse missään tapauksessa.    Yellowface vie lukijat Junen kanssa melkoiseen pyöritykseen. Kuten arvata saattaa, Junen salaisuus ei pysy täysin pinnan alla, vaan Athenan haamu alkaa kummitella. Syytöksiä keltapesusta, kulttuurisesta omimisesta, plagioinnista ja huijauksesta alkaa lennellä kirjamaailmassa. Somessahan törkyä riittää – mutta milloin syytökset nousevat sellaiselle tasolle, että ne on pakko ottaa vakavasti? Ja toisaalta, oliko Athenakaan mikään puhdas pulmunen? Loka lentää joka suuntaan, eikä maineenhallinta ole aina helppoa.    Jo Babelilla vakuuttanut R. F. Kuang on tehnyt hienoa työtä, samoin Helene Bützow suomentajana. Yellowface on hauska, karmiva, ajankohtainen ja terävä. Se pöyhii kirjallisen kulttuurin ja sosiaalisen median tunkkaisempia kulmia hauskalla ja purevalla tavalla. Kenellä on oikeus kirjoittaa kulttuurisesti herkistä aiheista, miten sosiaalinen media kasvattaa asiat kohtuuttomiin mittasuhteisiin salamannopeasti, miten hullua on kilpailu kirjamaailmassa. Suomen pienessä lammikossa uiskentelevien kirjailijoiden näkökulmasta tämä Yhdysvaltojen kirjamaailma viisi- ja kuusinumeroisine ennakoineen kuulostaa tietysti melkoiselta fantasiamaailmalta. 

They used to say psychopaths made up about one percent of the general population; that figure will need to be revised in light of the 2024 election. Have you ever wanted to spend time inside the head of one? Kuang takes you there. It's not easy. Not for the reader—I had to reach out to A. at the end of chapter two to ask for advice—and, ouch, almost certainly not for the poor author. My heart felt for Kuang, having to write first-person from the PoV of a narcissistic, self-absorbed, neurotic banal twisted monster. In the acknowledgments Kuang recognizes and thanks her support network (and I do too) but still, that has to leave scars. I wish her healing.

I'm glad to have kept reading. Also sad, because despite a smattering of overthetopness there really are people like that out there, as well as soulcrushing cutthroat environments that ... well, don't exactly create those monsters but they foster monstrous traits. And sadder yet as I remember Sapolsky's Behave and of course Tavris/Aronson's Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) and accept that there is nothing we can do to fix such broken people. Kuang's pacing and prose are captivating, and her depiction of the psycho is fascinating in the proverbial slow-motion train wreck sense.

TTFN. I now need to scrub my brain with bleach.

This masterpiece did exactly what it was supposed to do. And this work of art— revolutionary work should be more appropriated and supported. 
I love this book with all my heart. Even though at times when I wanted to stop reading bcuz it was so irritating— yet it was incredibly well written with utterly dislikable characters and insanely fast paced. 

To come

About a white writer stealing a story from Chinese American author and passing it off as her own, while making her penname be racially ambiguous hence the title “yellowface”.

The main character doesn't think of herself as a racist but is very obviously one (a lot of little microaggressions throughout the whole book like being surprised when an Asian character speaks good English). So you start off by obviously hating her, but the way it's done feels quite heavy handed. And as she gets sucked more into her lie towards the end you can't help but feel some sympathy for her but at the same time you don't want her to succeed so it feels pretty conflicting.

The ending also acts more as a set up for a second novel but I can't help but wish it was resolved a bit more satisfyingly.

First half is an absolute banger, falls off a bit in the second half but consistently a joy to read.

I do not believe I was the targeted audience for Yellowface.

There are many positive aspects within this story that I enjoyed. However, this book felt... lackluster. Even that word doesn't describe what I'm feeling.

Anyway...

I was bored and annoyed. Which that could be because every week since December of 2021... me entering the book community I have seen these exact Twitter conflicts play out. Sheshh, I've even seen them play out on TikTok.

So, why do we need a book about it? Like... enough with the chaos.

The author has talent and a way with words but this did not showcase that talent.

Also, I can't stand this redemption arc situation. Nah... I get both girls did wrong in the book but what the FMC did was ten times worse.

But... that's just my opinion and everyone has one.

This was an entertaining listen. Jealousy, cultural appropriation and capitalism in a (thriller) satire set in the literary world. There are a few of similarities with [b:Identitti 55754513 Identitti Mithu M. Sanyal https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603283779l/55754513.SY75.jpg 86952806], just this time we're in the head of the self-justifying and ruthless instigator.

Really good. Strong start, and a steady build up in the middle, with a good ending that had me reflecting. Well written exploring race, prejudice without being too extreme. 

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Went back and forth a lot about whether I liked June or not, whether I wanted her to get away with what she did or get caught. Fun read for sure.

the writing keeps you engaged. The further you come to the ending the more you keep page turning as to know what comes next.
I must say I found some pieces a bit general and expected.
The book ends in a way I expect a follow-up book (because I am curious as to how this story would continue), but I do think it is perfectly fine on its own as well.
Overall this was a very pleasant book to read.

It also captures beautifully how we should all be able to write about something when time, sweat, blood and tears have been invested in it. And how quickly we actually can fall back on subconscious racism and reverse racism without being aware of it being wrong or right.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of R.F. Kuang.

Rating Description:

1.0 - DNF/Despise

1.5 - Almost DNFed and wish I had

2.0 - Almost DNFed but had redeeming qualities/just boring

2.5 - Alright with lots of notes

3.0 - Alright with notes but I'm not raving about it

3.5 - Technically good but I'm not raving about it

4.0 - Technically good, and/or I enjoyed it a lot

4.5 - Loved it, I wanted to highlight lines in the book but still with notes

5.0 - Loved it, I wanted to highlight lines in the book, and notes are very positive

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I read this book because it was the pick for the local library’s book club.

Writing style, pacing and all that jazz was fine. But given how I’ve heard so much good things about this author, I was expecting to be wowed. Needless to say, I was not. But that might be because this was not necessarily the genre she’s known for.

When I first started reading this, my first thought was that this was a very well done RPF and self-insert at the same time. It’s almost as if the author imagined what her haters think about her and what they would do if she actually died, and wrote that.

The premise of the story was interesting to me. Mostly because I didn’t really think that someone would think that they can pull off something like this in this day and age or that someone could really think that being a minority would help their writing career. But then again, we just had an author (Kim Crisci) try to do this very thing by saying her name is Kim Chi. Also, let’s not forget the whole Cait Corrain debacle.

From my understanding there were 2 big plot points.

1. The flaws of the publishing world.

2. Are writers allowed to write stories that they themselves have not experienced?

Now while the path the author took was ok but I can’t help but feel that it would have been stronger if instead of the fake author being white, and going mad with the pitfalls of being an imposter, that author should have been another minority.

1. All those scenes, where the fake author was being eaten away with guilt, could have remained.

2. It highlights the publishing world’s tendency to limit their roster of minority authors.

3. It also still hits the point that the fake author, despite being a minority themself, was still far removed from the what happened in the book through experience or even heritage.

Now I rate this as 4 stars because it is still a far better book than the Green Creek series books. But I doubt I’d want to read this again. I don’t even want to own a copy.

4/5 • This is a thriller on the publishing industry. It's a risky book to write so I admire Rebecca for doing it. Writing a Goodreads review for this one feels weird, considering the topic of book reviews is discussed in the book, even making up an important plot point.

This novel feels like a r/HobbyDrama post, turned into a fully-fledged 300 page novel. I mean that as a compliment though. Anyone who's ever stumbled upon the aforementioned subreddit, knows it's a rabbit hole. You'll be immediately hooked by tales of messy drama in niche fields you've never heard about. Yellowface feels like an first-person account from the woman at the heart of a drama within literary fiction, and she's delightfully problematic.

The story reminds me of the Cassandra Clare plagiarism debacle, or JK Rowling descent into transphobia. Only this is a fictional story of bestseller Juniper Song, and her plagiarism from her dead Asian best friend. Then her descent into racism, narcissism and perfectionism.

I enjoyed this novel more than I expected. I've just realised I've not read enough books by the villains, or the unreliable narrators. Juniper Song, our main character, is a narcissistic bitch , that's the point though. It's interesting to explore the psyche of such a person. It also brings attention to the difficulties of racism in publishing, along with the unintended effects of diverse voices in fiction. Rebecca's writing works well, the pacing of this one is perfect, managing to include many twists, that had me quite literally gripped, wanting answers.

I really enjoyed this one. I feel the book had a great pace in general and had a hold on me at times. I am unsure about the last couple of chapters as well as the ending, but I felt for Junie regardless, while at the same time I could see the fault in her way of thinking.

A solid read exploring almost all the topics I love to think about the most; cancel culture, performative activism, racism, creative professions, no ethical consumption/creation under capitalism etc. etc. 

I think the only reason I haven't rated it a full 4 stars is just I was not especially horrified, appalled or challenged by the content of the book. It's a good start, and a solid read. I would be curious to see R.F. Kuang continue to explore similar themes in future works. Perhaps if I was newer to these subjets it would probably be more compelling. However, I already know capitalism be capitalising and white women be white women-ing. 

Reading this book, I felt the morbid fascination of witnessing a bad car accident. Constantly horrified, I could not look away. A brilliantly executed and surgical evisceration of the tempting rationalizations we employ to avoid noticing our privilege, combined with a compelling overview of the many ways that the publishing industry tokenizes and essentializes marginalized voices (though the lesson applies more broadly), all while avoiding preachiness. This book just lays it all out for you to see and attempt to digest.

This book is about a writer who borrows notes on a book idea from her dead friend, writes a bestseller based on that, and then spirals into madness when social media figures out that the work is ‘plagiarised'.

I'm not sure she did anything wrong.

It's another book about the evils of social media, more than anything. It's well written, and I sped through it.

It's weird to think a book is really good when you absolutely hate the main character. I was a little disappointed with the ending, but otherwise, Kuang did a fantastic job of writing a despicable character.

I had high expectations for this book, since it has been critically acclaimed and has received quite a few awards, incl. "Goodreads award". The main plot explores a lot of interesting topics, all revolving in one way or another around the "publishing industry", you can even make an argument that "the industry" is a b*tch (just kidding), a main antagonist in the book.

I would recommend this book for people with an interest in the following topics: writer's habitus + the inner working of one's mind, racism not just in a general, but in a broader circle of writing and publishing environment (with a few jabs at the capitalistic society and consumers included as bonus).

In my honest opinion, the book tried to cover too much and didn't succeed in allocating the time to cover each topic efficiently. Thus, in some chapters the pace is dragging due to the constant mental struggles of the main protagonist (June), the potentially interesting side-characters and environment don't get enough time and feel sacrificial to the more of "Oh no I am almost discovered as a fraud" or "Oh no somebody said this on the internet!". Don't get me wrong, I do understand that the dynamic between the June and the "internet mob'' and "publishing colleagues" is described very close to heart for anybody working in the 21st century, the only problem is that it gets WAY too much attention, making some parts feel like a repletion in a bad "Groundhog Day" way.

The plot structure with cliffhangers at the end of some chapters is kind of barebones plain at best. As put by Rebecca F. Kuang it in Chapter 2 through the words of June reading "The Last Front" manuscript: "it's more like an amalgamation of startlingly beautiful sentences, bluntly stated themes. But she's laid out enough breadcrumbs that I can follow the trail. I see where it's all going.'' You do get the feeling that the book was written the same way as if some parts were highlighted while others put in the backseat.

I don't think I will remember any of the side-characters, they are all very forgettable (some are one-sided) and we don't get enough time with any of them, they are just "there" for the sake of plot. What we do get is the enormous amount of time with the main protagonist June Hayward which we simply do not need, circling back to the point I made earlier.

Sometimes you do feel empathy for her, other times I just wrote "why?" or "what?" on the margins, because her thoughts and decisions were too unrealistic (Remark: I can be wrong here since she could be an "unreliable narrator") or quite emotionally immature, but I do like her smart and witty remarks with a neat sense of humor.

TO SUM UP: This is a book with a weak plot and a "meh" twist at the end, the best part of the book was some of the insights and observations made alongside the story by June + a few in the dialogues in the ending chapters. I would argue that maybe I am not the target audience for this book, but oh well, what's done is done.

P.S. I put a 3/5 because I see no point in re-reading it and I enjoy the writing style, so this is an average book which left more to be desired in the end.

FR/EN review

R.F. Kuang nous offre avec "Yellowface" un roman captivant qui plonge dans les complexités des amitiés et de l'identité. Dès les premières pages, j'ai été happée par l'intrigue et la profondeur des personnages. Kuang parvient à explorer des thèmes délicats avec une sensibilité et une intelligence remarquables, rendant chaque page à la fois stimulante et émotive.

L'un des aspects les plus frappants de ce livre est la manière dont l'auteur aborde les dynamiques d'amitié et les tensions raciales. Les personnages sont dépeints avec une telle authenticité que leurs luttes et leurs triomphes résonnent profondément. Le récit, tout en étant riche en émotions, ne tombe jamais dans la simplification, offrant au lecteur une réflexion nuancée sur ce que signifie l'appartenance et la représentation dans notre société contemporaine.

"Yellowface" est plus qu'une simple histoire ; c'est une immersion dans les complexités des relations humaines et des questions identitaires. R.F. Kuang démontre une maîtrise narrative qui non seulement divertit, mais aussi incite à la réflexion. Un livre que je recommande vivement pour celles et ceux qui cherchent une lecture à la fois captivante et intellectuellement stimulante.

R.F. Kuang presents a captivating novel with "Yellowface" that delves into the complexities of friendships and identity. From the very first pages, I was engrossed by the plot and the depth of the characters. Kuang manages to explore delicate themes with remarkable sensitivity and intelligence, making each page both stimulating and emotional.

One of the most striking aspects of this book is how the author addresses the dynamics of friendship and racial tensions. The characters are depicted with such authenticity that their struggles and triumphs resonate deeply. The narrative, while rich in emotion, never falls into simplification, offering readers a nuanced reflection on what belonging and representation mean in our contemporary society.

"Yellowface" is more than just a story; it’s an immersion into the complexities of human relationships and identity issues. R.F. Kuang demonstrates a narrative mastery that not only entertains but also provokes thought. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a read that is both captivating and intellectually stimulating.

Stop this was so good. I DNF'd Babel so I was hesitant to pick up something else by this author but I picked this up on a whim from my library's ebook collection and I could not get enough. 
From reading the synopsis I did not expect to get as much thriller vibes from this book as I did. 
I shudder to think of a life where I never read this book cause it was so freaking good!