becca_w_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cursing, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use, Hate crime, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol and Blood
mromie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
DC heavy book with references that made me quite nostalgic. Thought-provoking and made one consider questions on the meaningful/less-ness of cancel culture, the ultimate harsh reality of people just trying to make it in the world and ripping others to shreds just to achieve it. No saints here, that’s for sure
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
naturally's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.0
absolute page turner! this was my first time reading the work of r.f. kuang; now i'm excited to dig deeper into her bibliography.
for the most part, kuang really nailed the satirical aspect of this novel, so much so that i couldn't help but chuckle. especially, the portrayal of book twitter.
i felt that the analysis of class was lacking though. june's obsession with and hatred of athena could have been made more nuanced by differences in socio economic backgrounds. however, i respect that perhaps that isn't the story kuang wanted to tell.
i've noticed other reviewers calling out the fact that the last front, the historical novel june stole from athena, wouldn't typically be selected for book boxes. whilst i agree, i interpreted this fictional marketing choice as kuang criticising how the publishing industry chooses to promote books about people of color's oppression, wherein stories about human atrocities are packaged as fun, foreign cute, little experiences for white readers to dabble in. real example: the barbed wire decorations at the american dirt party.
for the most part, kuang really nailed the satirical aspect of this novel, so much so that i couldn't help but chuckle. especially, the portrayal of book twitter.
i felt that the analysis of class was lacking though. june's obsession with and hatred of athena could have been made more nuanced by differences in socio economic backgrounds. however, i respect that perhaps that isn't the story kuang wanted to tell.
i've noticed other reviewers calling out the fact that the last front, the historical novel june stole from athena, wouldn't typically be selected for book boxes. whilst i agree, i interpreted this fictional marketing choice as kuang criticising how the publishing industry chooses to promote books about people of color's oppression, wherein stories about human atrocities are packaged as fun, foreign cute, little experiences for white readers to dabble in. real example: the barbed wire decorations at the american dirt party.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault
Minor: Misogyny
eldaaurora97's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent
"It all boils down to self-interest. Manipulating the story; gaining the upper hand. Doing whatever it takes. If publishing is rigged, you might as well make sure it's rigged in your favor. I get it. I've done it, too; it's just playing the game. It's how you survive in this industry" (308) Such motives justifies June Hayward's action in "Yellowface", which R.F. Kuang uses to talk about "a horror story about loneliness in the publishing industry." At the start of the book, June envies Athena Liu, who becomes a famous author and has a Netflix deal ready to go. But when Athena dies in a freak accident, June takes Athena's recently-finished manuscript, edits it, and ends up publishing it as "The Last Front". While she gets the success she desperately craves, it also opens up another can of worms, about how June approached the subject (as well as her alter-ego, Juniper Song), who gets to tell what stories, and overall racism in the publishing industry. I skimmed through an excerpt of this book one day, but it would only be several months later when I decided to read "Yellowface" in its entirety. And I sped through the entire book in three days; it was so fast-paced, and provocative, you wanted to know what would happen next. Sometimes, I would look over the pages to wonder what would happen next, as it was so intriguing to see how June's storyline unravels. We know June/Juniper does a bad thing in changing Athena's story; how would she meet her downfall. It all initiates with a little spark of jealousy, in which June nurses after her debut fails. On the contrast, Athena debut, "about a Chinese American girl who can summon the ghosts of all the deceased women in her family", becomes a bestseller, and she goes from strength to strength. "But it needs work," June declares when going through "The Last Front", "It's far from a first draft--it's not even a proper 'draft', really, it's more like an amalgamation of startlingly beautiful sentences, bluntly stated themes...But she's laid out enough breadcrumbs that I can f0llow the trail." And that leads to a creative spark, in which she finishes the book her way. And it gets accepted for publication. And then, we see the bits of racism involved, both in the writing process and how June views the publishing industry. When working with Daniella, June goes, "Honestly, I'm relieved. Finally someone's calling Athena out on her bullshit, on her deliberately confusing sentence structures and cultural allusions".(41) She also "softens some of the white characters...Athena's original text is almost embarrassingly biased; the French and British soldiers are cartoonish racist" (43) This is where Candice Lee's role becomes important--while I feel bad for June, she really did annoy Candice and suggest that her role is insignificant to the grand scheme of things. This really unfolds with the climax, which I didn't really expect. The petty and snide remarks make June/Juniper an unreliable narrator, especially concerning her friendship with Athena. In life, they only saw each other because they operated in different circles, but in death, June sees them as close friends. She discusses about their little interactions with each other; when they go to a museum, she claims she saw "Athena steal before. She probably didn't even think of it as theft. The way she described it, this process wasn't exploitative, but something mythical and profound" (110). She connects their names together, whether in social media or in the stories, to make them closer than they really were. And it frequently justifies her decision to steal Athena's manuscript That being said, reading through "Yellowface", I kept thinking, "What could've June done differently?" Hurting in her desire to become a famous author, it leads to a pretty darkened point of view and building a façade she shouldn't have. We see her family being quite indifferent about her writing ambitions, her getting anxiety attacks when confronting online comments, and just a downwards spiral. In one scene, she revisits her childhood notebooks, only to decide that she had nothing worth pursuing in a novel. Was taking Athena's work the only way she could do it? And how could've she used her relative privilege to make things better? Interestingly, the ghost imagery imbues throughout the work, to represent those who had their voices stolen (ironically, Athena's Voice and Echo deals with that subject, the premise which I find intriguing). Starting when "The Last Front" is published, Athena haunts June's mind, if only to take her down. It ties back to Chinese ghost stories, where "The cultural constructions are clear: so many Chinese ghosts are hungry, angry, voiceless women. In taking Athena's legacy, I've added one to their ranks" (287) So I also saw "Yellowface" as a ghost story, of sorts. "Yellowface" is a high-speed, intense look at trying to make it in the publishing industry, with a distinctive narrator to boot. It also deals with the racism in the industry, from tokenism to "staying in one's lane" to everything else in between, from which we could also think to make the publishing industry more diverse, in a sincere way.auradelle's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Racism
jessiekind_'s review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Racism
ashley_mrose530's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was initially going to give this a relatively low rating and I almost DNF'd it, but I decided to keep reading because I liked the commentary and learning about the publishing industry, as someone who wants to publish my own novel one day. That was the only thing that kept me reading because I really didn't like June. She was a horrible person and didn't have any redeeming qualities at all to make me want to learn about her story. But as I kept reading, I realized that's pretty much the point Kuang was trying to make.
This whole book is a commentary on the publishing industry and social media in general and how narratives can be spun in many different directions and how all narratives can become good and increase the all-mighty dollar. And I think Kuang did a fantastic job showing that. Even though our main character stole someone's writing and was very racist, among other things, she was still considered a good person, given the benefit of the doubt, and people still bought her books and gave her all of their money. This is something we see happen time and time again in all aspects of living. Public perception is very subjective, impressionable, and forgetful especially when it comes to rich white people.
And these lessons weren't meant for June to learn, but for the readers. Yes, June is very unlikeable and I might even go so far as to say I hated her, but that was part of the point of the story and I think it's a really intersectional and important story and lesson to learn. I definitely would recommend this book to everyone to read at least once.
This whole book is a commentary on the publishing industry and social media in general and how narratives can be spun in many different directions and how all narratives can become good and increase the all-mighty dollar. And I think Kuang did a fantastic job showing that. Even though our main character stole someone's writing and was very racist, among other things, she was still considered a good person, given the benefit of the doubt, and people still bought her books and gave her all of their money. This is something we see happen time and time again in all aspects of living. Public perception is very subjective, impressionable, and forgetful especially when it comes to rich white people.
And these lessons weren't meant for June to learn, but for the readers. Yes, June is very unlikeable and I might even go so far as to say I hated her, but that was part of the point of the story and I think it's a really intersectional and important story and lesson to learn. I definitely would recommend this book to everyone to read at least once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Racism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
corytak's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Rape, and Sexual assault
seventhswan's review against another edition
I can deal with sexual violence in stories if it's That Kind Of Book (Animal and Boy Parts are some of my favourite books and both have far more graphic sexual assault scenes than this) but here it was just... there, out of nowhere, for no reason, which is somehow Worse. And I didn't like the rest of the book enough to push past it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
imlfox's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault