Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

16 reviews

aurora4847's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Violence, Islamophobia, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Deportation

theglossreview's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

You will not be able to put this book down! “Yellowface” compels you to read or listen to it in a single sitting. First of all, I want to send an acknowledgment and huge THANK YOU to the German translators and the German audiobook narrator. They did an outstanding job, making every term inclusive of all genders. The linguistic and social background to that is that the noun that denotes groups of people (the readers = die Leser, the critics = die Kritiker, etc.) used to be in the male form, which implied that everyone in the group was male or that every gender other than “male” was erased. “Yellowface” is the first audiobook I heard in which groups were named in an inclusive way: Die Leser:innen, die Kritiker:innen, etc. = readers, critics, etc. of all genders. This happens on the meta-level and isn’t addressed specifically in the book. I can’t verify whether this aspect is present or absent in the English version. 

Yet, the topic of diversity and inclusion is a central theme of the book. Specifically, the author handles the topics of racism, cultural appropriation and the representation of the Asian-American diaspora masterfully. The main character’s insidious biases, micro-aggressions and transgressions are revealed slowly throughout the story. The main character, June Hayward, is wholly, completely unlikeable. In fact, there isn’t a single lovable and morally upstanding character in “Yellowface”, which SOMEHOW STILL WORKS. Wouldn’t you expect a story about greed and immorality to be FILLED with greedy, morally grey characters? 

Another topic that was handled well was mental health, especially in connection with social media addiction. June Hayward was made neither more or less likeable by the state of her mental health. It is portrayed well - neither as an excuse for her actions or a sympathy card, nor as a flaw or defect. What was strange was how unaware June seemed of the impact of the mental health issues on her everyday life. I think that she could have been more self-aware and asked for help sooner and with more confidence. Instead, the lack of help doesn’t even seem to bother her that much. When 2020 comes around in the timeline of the book, the lockdown isn’t even mentioned. Juniper Song Hayward is so lonely, isolated and chronically online that the lockdown made no difference in her everyday life. And even though that’s terrible, June is such an unlikeable person that I can’t even have sympathy with her for that. Her “friendship” with Athena Liu made me recoil. I’m telling you, that is a whole new brand and intensity of hatred. 

“Yellowface” offers a lot of wisdom for everyone to take away from it. One of the lessons I have learned that, if you are going to become a published author, DON’T DO IT LIKE THAT. June is an example of what NOT to do. Once, her mother tells her that writing isn’t everything. She thinks: “But writing IS everything to me.” That obsessive tunnel vision is a problem. We all love books very much, but if books are EVERYTHING to you, you have doomed yourself to a state of dependency and despair. There must be more that one single thing in your life that is important to you. 

“Yellowface” is incredibly layered. It keeps breaking the fourth wall, seeping into our world. The cynical portrait of the American publishing industry makes me wonder about R. F. Kuang’s experience in the publishing industry. The constant mention of Goodreads makes me wonder if authors really do read their Goodreads reviews — like the review I am writing right now. It sends a shiver down my spine… It’s almost as if I’m trapped in the story.

The writing is fresh and modern. The present tense and first person narration are intriguing. The book contains elements of horror and suspense, and I wish it would’ve leaned more strongly into those at the end. There were three points in the book where the story could have come to a clearer and sooner end. The main problem was that a few heavy topics were not dealt with the appropriate sensitivity and depth. In that case, they should have been left out entirely. For this reason, the book loses half a star. My final rating is 4.25 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

It reminds me of the first season of “You” (the typewriter, the sacrifice, the struggles at university and in the publishing industry, the price of becoming a New York Times bestselling author). A recommended read is “The Carls” by Hank Green.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, and Stalking

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

leechachatotheright's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I will say that this book was very thought provoking, a social commentary on racism, diversity, etc. I gave it a 3 as it was a good read in its writing itself and does tackle an interesting perspective but, I don't think I'd recommend this to a friend to read. The first two thirds of the book was very inticing, but the ending felt like

"This, really? Is that all? You haven't learned anything."

and honestly, that may be the point of it. I find the narrative very different from anything I've read before, but maybe that's also why it felt flat at the end. I don't mind endings not having the whole

character learns from their mistakes trope, if anything, it is kind of refreshing to see this perspective.

But alas, the ending did feel a bit inconclusive to me, though I understand the intention of it. I don't know if I'll read it again, but I'll definitely say it was a unique read and I didn't put the book down until I was finished. I basically wanted more from the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and War

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

laurajordensharris's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

mariacastrofonseca's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

shobhana's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

jenniferbowman's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Stalking, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Um, this book??? IS SO CRAZY. This story takes “delulu girly” to the most insane level. GIRLY!! IS!! DELULU!!

Although my review may be full of basic bookish rambling about the perpetual spiral of the so-called delulu in regards to the main character who is a writer, the writing in this book by the witty R. F. Kuang is so sharp, timely, and addictive that you certainly feel like you’re delulu too. (Okay I’ll stop using that word now.)

So this novel is basically a ridiculously well-written reddit thread of “AITA for stealing the manuscript of my dead Asian friend and passing it off as my own since I’m a woman, but I’m also very much a cishet white woman?” 

GIRLLLLL. Kuang crafted such a punchy, visceral novel about race, loneliness, envy, and the pros and cons of the publishing industry. I was glued to every page, almost like watching a train wreck. It’s like, chapter after chapter, our white MC (June) goes deeper and deeper into her web of lies and you’re like “there’s no way she gets away with this” in a non-Scooby Doo villain kind of way, and then SHE DOES!! She just keeps at it!! The secondhand embarrassment and utter frustration was so real, especially in the way that could absolutely happen in real life, which is messed up but also shows the reality of diversity in today’s society—not always as advanced or progressive as we perceive it to be when it’s not directly related to us. This narrative was such an interesting piece on how far someone will go to save their reputation, when said reputation is a fabricated construct in and of itself. Fascinating.

Parts did remind me of “American Fiction”, which is another great example of the assumptions made about POC writers, just in a sort-of opposite form. In any case, I highly recommend both. 

TL;DR June Hayward is kind-of the Hannah Horvath of this story, but somehow even worse. If you liked HBO’s “Girls” for the writing and not for the characters, this book is for you.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

sierrabowers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I thought this book was okay. The narrator was not likable at all and I think that was the point. The main character was unspeakable in her racism, bigotry, and entitlement. It opened my eyes to a lot and I think the main idea that the author was trying to get across was crystal clear. I think after a while, I was just so tired of the main character that the book wasn’t enjoyable anymore, but I think it highlights real life. Some people are like her, and it is monstrous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail