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which was a big thing that irked me with tpw. people would make criticisms of rfk's narrative choices and plot points and the response would be ‘well, rin is an unreliable narrator!’ yes, but there is such thing as framing and context which are important things to consider when trying to figure out what an author actually is saying, intentionally or not. but anyways.) and to be clear, this isn't a blanket response to everyone who disagrees with me (i've had interesting conversations with people who do)--just to some people who are determined to take the most uncharitable opinion possible of a frankly lukewarm review. Let’s be clear: June is not a character that you will feel empathy for. She will not be redeemed, rooted for, or endeared by the end; however, watching her downfall is oddly satisfying in a way that I cannot quite explain. The insight into the process of releasing a book with a Big Five publisher is compelling and intriguing, and it’s, sadly, easy to see how something like this story could transpire. The beauty of this tale is no one is safe from criticism; Kuang makes it clear that there are various forms of privilege that transpire across lines of race, class, gender, etc., and every single character really has something to answer for. Helio recalls a time before the accident, when he was living with Lula and enjoying their romantic comradeship. He is talking idly with his mistress when a telegram comes from Rio Piedras, the remote town in the country that he had left years ago for the large, impersonal city of Rio de Janeiro. The telegram reveals that his mother is dying. The other characters are additionally well written - with their portrayals remaining relatable throughout, thanks to Zephaniah's realistic youth dialogue. Fleshing out a very clear world these young characters live in, with the change in dialogue between speaking with their child counterparts and adults conveying an accurate fictional narrative, within a non-fictional setting.

Will you enjoy a single character? Categorically NO. But you will walk away with a greater understanding of the many failings of the publishing industry and how you might be unconsciously taking part in some of those failings. June was unhinged. The kind of unhinged that believes her own lies and thinks she is morally in the right. Girl took delulu to another level. There's a certain Discourse we're supposed to have from this book about Bad White Women, and how publishing serves to silence writers of colour. We also have to discuss who gets to tell certain stories. The problem is, we have spoken about this ad nauseum. So who is this book for? Outsiders who would like to know how it works? Adults who wanted a meta vivisection of this insular world but with Dark Themes?in line with the theme of the book, i’m going to completely steal another reviewer’s words that i can’t stop thinking about. 'the problem with kuang is that, despite a reputation for in-depth research, she refuses to interrogate beyond her scope.' go read it. and i’d like to add to that: a lot of her most avid readers don’t have the appetite for anything beyond that, either. and take it incredibly personally when at the end of the meal, you’re still hungry. Now, she is struggling to write a second book. “I need to write about things that white people don’t see on a daily basis.” This is perhaps the most enlightening line in Kuang’s book — exposing a character who wants all the cultural benefits of being a minority while retaining her privileges as a white person. Overall, this was an average book, definitely not the riveting book, have to read in one sitting book that the world has lost its mind over. Remarkably, I found myself attached to a book despite disliking the main character. At times, I wished I could physically enter the story and confront June Hayward/ Juniper Song, who committed the ultimate crime: stealing her late friend Athena Liu's unpublished book. The reasons behind this act of creative theft are complex and include jealousy, thirst for power, honoring her friend's work in the best way possible, and seeking personal gain. It is a tale that explores unfairness, harbored resentment, and a thirst for karmic justice.

Effortlessly create reels from trending templates, or let your creativity shine with a full suite of editing tools What astounded me most was how legitimately real her voice was. Hats off to Rebecca Kuang. She killed this. This book takes Babel and continues to flip the script. June Hayward, a white American woman struggling to become an author, is frenemies with Athena Liu, publishing darling. June continues to state time and time again that Athena is only famous because she is a minority. How many times have we heard this? She’s using the pen name Juniper Song to pretend to be Chinese American. She’s taken new author photos to look more tan and ethnic, but she’s as white as they come. June Hayward, you are a thief and a liar. You’ve stolen my legacy, and now you spit on my grave.” So even though I didn’t agree with all of Kuang’s satirical commentary in Yellowface (e.g., I think Asian Americans should be asked hard, critical questions about glorifying whiteness both in dating partners and in other areas of life), I respect that she seized a popular topic in the publishing industry and made a novel out of it. The exaggerated nature of satire doesn’t always lend itself to a deeper emotional connection with the characters or the story, though I don’t think a deep emotional connection is necessarily the point of this novel. Overall, while I don’t see this novel breaking into my top ten list at the end of this year, I found it an interesting read and one that may be fun to discuss.I reread this for my book club and am so glad we did a buddy read and live show. This is a book worthy of discussion. It has both blatant and nuanced themes of racism and xenophobia that might go over some reader's heads or might seem too in-your-face for others. A group discussion can help reader's recognize the realism of R.F. Kuang's literary approach and see that even if you don't relate to the content, you still have to understand that it's other people's reality. The first problem I had was with Martin and his two friends called Matthew and Mark, it took me until the accident to be able to differentiate between the two of them and at that point they became much small characters. While they seemed like they could have been more interesting it also seemed as though they were assigned one character trait and that was the whole basis of who they were. Little depth was given to them. I really enjoyed being inside June’s head, as morally ambiguous as it was. This worked particularly well on audio as the narrator nailed June. This is clever, smartly written satire, and the author was able to drive her point home in a non-preachy way with snark and humor. The plot, the flawed characters, and the writing - all superb! Read only if you enjoy satire and snark.

Do you know what it's like to pitch a book and be told they already have an Asian writer? That they can't put out two minority stories in the same season? That Athena Liu already exists, so you're redundant?’ Have you ever read a book that is so timely and effective in its message that you do not feel the slightest bit qualified to review it? That your thoughts on such a masterpiece are not even worthy of being put to paper, literally or figuratively, because they are trite, vapid, and banal in comparison to the quality of the text being discussed? That’s how I feel trying to put the proverbial pen to paper with my thoughts on Yellowface.Overall, this realistic and thrilling read left me feeling anxious and evoked a multitude of emotions including fear, hate, and sadness. It successfully accomplished its mission of shaking the reader to their core and provoking deep thoughts that linger for days. The essence of a masterpiece lies in its ability to challenge readers and evoke a range of feelings, and this book achieves just that. Kuang delivers extraordinarily accurate insights into the world of publishing and what it means to be a young author today. She extrapolates with extreme precision the granular agonies and anxieties of being online, exacting the creeping sense of terror as a phantom account of Athena begins trolling June online. The ensuing story is told in such an unreliable, insidious way that it creeps under your skin. What’s so scary is that it’s 100% believable. You can follow June’s descent into worse and worse offenses (though she started out pretty damn bad), while at every step the reader is trapped in her head as she justifies why she is the one in the right, the victim. June Hayward only has one other author friend: Athena Liu, a young, successful, Chinese American author who’s found all the success in literature that June can only dream of. Then one day, while celebrating Athena’s upcoming Netflix deal, she chokes to death right in front of her. June is left with her only friend’s corpse and the first draft of Athena’s latest manuscript, which no one but her knows about. No one is likable, including Athena, but I was glued to the story as I alternately laughed out loud and recoiled in disgust.