A review by staghunters
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging informative reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Solid read! A very nice switch-up on unreliable narrators by putting it in first person and, though this is a guess, that narrator being someone a number of readers that pick this book up may find quite unsympathetic. Kuang is very great at using June's words against her; confirming assumptions that reader might already have had of her while still not acknowledging the escalation she is putting into motion. A lot of stuff is implied between the lines, or simply by total absence. I don't think the latter can be considered a flaw on Kuang's part. I thought it very telling that the
increase of alt-right people in June's audience was brought up by her agent and then barely acknowledged beyond sale profits
to be very telling of June's character.
The last couple of chapters make this an appealing book to re-read, and I might do that at a later time. Very meta, but in the way that makes sense.
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