Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
I initially picked up Yellowface by R.F. Kuang because I saw a bunch of other people mention it on Bookstagram. That’s kind of interesting considering that the entire story of Yellowface is about how an author breaks into the literary scene by stealing someone else’s work. And as the book picks up press and their moment in the publishing spotlight grows bigger, social media begins to work against them.
About the Book
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable. (from Amazon.com)
My Thoughts on Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Initial Thoughts
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang was so, so good!
R.F. Kuang is an author who has published other books (Babel, The Poppy War) but this is my first time reading one of her works.
The Book
I was amazed by the detail in this book. It was probably a difficult book to write at times because of the subject matter, and she just did such a good job of covering absolutely everything that could happen in a situation like this one.
I felt for June in the beginning. She seemed sympathetic, although she was a little bit of a mean girl. I understand that it’s important to have friends in the industry, but I didn’t like the way she treated Athena right off the bat. Sour grapes, they call it. She seemed very jealous of Athena’s writing and publishing successes.
But I understand that everyone gets jealous at times. I’m guilty of it myself. As I continued to read, I tried to stay focused on the story and not being judgmental of any of the characters.
A Difficult Story
But man. The situations displayed in this novel are bad and there are really no excuses for June’s behavior. I found that I couldn’t stay impartial anymore. But the story is nuanced and so I found myself still finding good things and bad things in all of the characters.
I really appreciated that we found out more about Athena’s backstory through this book. It helped to add depth to the story and make us do some more critical reading.
The cultural appropriation is not good, and when all was said and done, I’m not sure if June learned her lesson.
In Closing
I really enjoyed the depiction of the publishing industry in this novel. The business of how books are made is very interesting. It was cool to see behind the scenes.
It was also a unique experience to see what it is like for someone to be “cancelled”. As June dug herself in deeper and deeper, it got scarier as the public reacted to her actions (rightfully so).
All in all I felt like this was a fantastic story. I didn’t fully know what it was about before I started, but I found myself amazed as the story progressed. I think it is an excellent reminder of what can happen when a person is so self centered to make everything about them.
xo Marian
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