Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Yellowface

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

40 reviews

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

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dark fast-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

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sadiaa's review against another edition

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3.5

Enjoyed the deep conversations on authors (specifically white) writing on a culture different from their own and trying to show themselves as an expert on the topic. The topic of plagiarism and theft of work was an interesting topic to touch on.

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qrschulte's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious 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

5.0

A scathing indictment of the publishing industry, full of the least likable characters I’ve ever read. My favorite part was the examination of jealousy in the first chapter. Very validating due to my pregnancy loss journey.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-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

2.75

Title: Yellowface
Author: R.F. Kuang
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: May 25, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Icky • Juicy • Insightful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Athena Liu is a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories by basic white girls anyway?

But now Athena is dead. And June has her unfinished manuscript...

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd added Yellowface to my list of possible 2023 releases to explore after attending an online event with the author. The premise had me apprehensive, yet the author did a fantastic job selling me, so when it became available as a 'quick read' through my library I scooped it up.

The fact satirical stories are not my thing is something I knew going in, and yet I picked it up anyways. Another thing I don't care for are stories centered around social media and cancel culture, both of which are central here. So it's clear this novel was not meant for me.

With that said, Kuang's writing is incredible. She delivers a no holds barred account of the ins and outs of the publishing industry - a bold move that paid off. While not for me, I understand all of the love it is receiving. What this book does really well is give readers lots to think about, making it a fantastic book club selection, sure to spark interesting and engaging discussion.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for something fast-paced
• fans of the unlikeable narrator
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic."

"Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller."

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zoevjester's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.0

So, this was a tense and brilliantly written novel - Kuang states in the acknowledgements that it's centred around loneliness in a competitive industry, but I think there is more to it than that too - there is a lot of rage at the beginning, and no subtly regarding the pain of being a person of colour in the publishing industry.
Reading this after reading Babel is a thrilling experience because of the author pointing a finger at all the readers who slammed the book for disturbing them with the racism that's written and shown. Seeing the dialogue in the book that's lifted from the reviews the author received? Absolutely delightful.
However, the second half of the book shifts into the characters being the focus - and this is when my stomach soured as I read on.
June is an incredibly well-written character. She is a thief and a liar and we are in her head for the majority of the story so we see her thoughts and mannerism. She's a horrible human being, adamant and persistent and her sin is Envy - over her friend, Athena Liu.
Athena, for all of appearing in only one chapter before her death, she is prominent throughout the whole story. We see her life through the perspective of June, and of other characters, and they all comment on her whole life.
It would have been nice, I think, if the final chapter of Athena's life was written from her POV, so we get an unfiltered perspective of her and who she is, but not doing so I guess adds the mystery of who she truly was.
However, I dropped this to 4 instead of 5 stars. The second half of the story contains some topics that needed content warnings. I wouldn't have read this if I'd known these topics were written about.
But, I'm curious about the quote, 'An Act of Translation is an Act of Betrayal'. It's the opener for Babel: An Arcane History, and also written in this book too. I'd love to know what this quote means for the author.

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense

4.25

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hedsek's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book, to be honest. On the one hand, it was a really easy read and the buildup of tension was very well done. I also love reading an unlikeable and unreliable narrator, and the ways in which Kuang described the mental gymnastics of someone being racist but thinking they couldn't possibly be racist were spot on. But on the other hand, reading this after having read Babel, it fell a bit flat in some ways. Athena seems quite a self-insert of the author, and as a previous review mentioned, having criticism that Kuang faced repeated at Athena through the mouths of people we obviously shouldn't take seriously feels a bit strange (which felt at the beginning but couldn't really put into words before finding that review). In terms of writing, too, there was a lot less to like than in Babel and I feel like Kuang would have been able to do more in that department. However, this is also a completely different type of book, and it kind of works as well. I also thought the ending was really abrupt and not very satisfying. But overall, I still enjoyed reading this book a lot and it's been a while since I've read anything this fast so it did keep me engaged well.

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