Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

52 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-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

3.5

Oh boy, this book was a rollercoaster, but the ending knocked the rating down.

Yellowface is a contemporary literary novel about diversity in publishing. In this novel, June Hayward, a failing white author, witnesses the death of her former classmate and a successful Chinese-American author Athena Liu. On an impulse decision, she steals Athena’s manuscript and decides to present it as her own. 

The novel explores the publishing industry, calcel culture, plagiarism, racism and diversity in literature. The main character, June, or Juniper Song, as her publishers market her, is so oblivious to her racial biases and the fact that what she’s doing is wrong that it beggars belief. But the thing is that every single character in this book is more or less unlikeable. And all of them are fleshed out almost as caricatures of the people they are representing. On the plus side, all the characters get the same harsh treatment, but it renders them so unlikeable that it was painful to get through this work.

This book displayed the worst side of people, especially on social media, and I feel that there were interesting discussions to be had there. However, I felt that Yellowface almost condoned the lynch mentality and cyberbullying that is so pervasive in our current climate. Yes, the main character is shitty, and yes, what she did was wrong, but does it REALLY justify sending death threats to her through social media? 

The main character showed a glimmer of awareness in the last third of this book, but the ending ruined that. I suppose this book was meant to criticise the publishing industry, but the ending shifts the tone into something resembling a crime novel and feels a bit like a cop-out. This book could have been an excellent discussion about racism, stereotypes and cancel culture, but in the end, it ended up lacking nuance. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

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

wordswoods's review against another edition

challenging dark lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, and Cultural appropriation

rushh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Stalking, Alcohol, and War

lotoblanco's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

zoea08's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

slaywithsteph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Tw: Graphically detailed asphyxiation

emilyjean917201999's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Classism

abbysingh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Violence, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Colonisation, and War

bubski_mcboo's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Watching the protagonist dig herself into a deeper hole at every turn was hard to follow, but I did so with morbid and rapt attention. Perhaps it's because I see a version of myself in her that I slapped down at eighteen and have kept firmly in check for over a decade. Is there a shitty Juniper Song in me? Is she in all white women? What a dark thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and War