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.
MY THOUGHTS
Yellowface had been on my list since last year, and this year, I decided it was finally time to dive into R.F. Kuang’s work. Since Yellowface is one of her shorter books, I thought it would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a poor choice, as I found the book extremely disappointing.
Marketed as a sharp, satirical novel tackling controversial topics like cultural appropriation, racism, and diversity, Yellowface certainly addressed these themes. However, I couldn’t get past the revolting and deeply unlikeable main character, June. While I understand she wasn’t meant to be likeable, I personally need to feel some kind of connection or sympathy for the characters I’m reading about, and with June, I felt neither. I simply despised her.
Despite its promise of humor, I didn’t find the book funny at all. I’m not even sure what its ultimate purpose was. While it does highlight important issues, these are conversations that are already happening—and for many readers, I suspect they’ll nod along in agreement while reading, only to forget about it shortly after finishing. The novel didn’t leave any lasting impact or profound impression on me.
I’ve heard great things about Kuang’s writing, which makes me wonder if she intentionally simplified her style for this book. It felt basic and unremarkable.
I didn’t enjoy a single aspect of Yellowface. That said, I’m still planning to explore Kuang’s other works, especially her fantasy novels, which I hope will resonate with me more. If you’re curious about Yellowface, I’d recommend borrowing it from the library as it’s definitely not worth the purchase.
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