A review by siwx_x
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
June, Athena and Candice are all monsters created by the uncaring capitalistic system of the publishing industry. Sadly, I do relate to and empathise with many of their insecurities. Having worked in corporate for half of my life and having been compared to peers constantly while growing up, I can understand why their thoughts are full of hatred and self loathing, and their only way out of that pain is to stifle the happiness of others.
These girls are like mosquitoes; sucking dry those who experienced pain and injustice to nourish their own agendas. They are horrible people, but why is it that way? Is it the fault of the companies- who ignore all ethics to make the next big hit, is it the fault of the system, who puts writers against each other, is it the fault of the audience, who will eat whatever drama is dished out in front of them? Or does the fault lie within themselves? Everybody is chasing relevance, but nobody should ever stoop that low. Seems like a very hypocritical concept to me. I guess canonically we are not supposed to justify the actions of the characters, but to me I feel that it is more complicated than morally right or morally wrong. How can you blame the ghost for existing when you are the one who killed the person it once was?
Would I say there was any character development? No. However I still loooooved this book. The writing style is engaging- I have described it to many of my friends as reading a really long twitter thread, which, ironically, is what RF Kuang is criticising. The pacing is fast and condensed, it really is a gigantic shit storm and i'm all for it.
The external plots of this book is used to facilitate the exploration of June's train of thoughts: going into the book, June is plainly unlikeable- greedy, jealous, and a racist thief. At the end of the book, she is still just that, but we now know why she is the way she is. June is vengeful, she makes wrong decisions again and again after squashing any bit of guilt she feels because she is addicted to the validation and fame, she is addicted to feeling better than Athena. She has to be. And when she finally got to the top, she is brought back down to rock bottom by Candice- and the oh so bitter cycle will continue. It will continue and the audience will love it.
Very entertaining, very fucked up and so relevant to today's time. We love a delusional villain with a victim complex !
These girls are like mosquitoes; sucking dry those who experienced pain and injustice to nourish their own agendas. They are horrible people, but why is it that way? Is it the fault of the companies- who ignore all ethics to make the next big hit, is it the fault of the system, who puts writers against each other, is it the fault of the audience, who will eat whatever drama is dished out in front of them? Or does the fault lie within themselves? Everybody is chasing relevance, but nobody should ever stoop that low. Seems like a very hypocritical concept to me. I guess canonically we are not supposed to justify the actions of the characters, but to me I feel that it is more complicated than morally right or morally wrong. How can you blame the ghost for existing when you are the one who killed the person it once was?
Would I say there was any character development? No. However I still loooooved this book. The writing style is engaging- I have described it to many of my friends as reading a really long twitter thread, which, ironically, is what RF Kuang is criticising. The pacing is fast and condensed, it really is a gigantic shit storm and i'm all for it.
The external plots of this book is used to facilitate the exploration of June's train of thoughts: going into the book, June is plainly unlikeable- greedy, jealous, and a racist thief. At the end of the book, she is still just that, but we now know why she is the way she is. June is vengeful, she makes wrong decisions again and again after squashing any bit of guilt she feels because she is addicted to the validation and fame, she is addicted to feeling better than Athena. She has to be. And when she finally got to the top, she is brought back down to rock bottom by Candice- and the oh so bitter cycle will continue. It will continue and the audience will love it.
Very entertaining, very fucked up and so relevant to today's time. We love a delusional villain with a victim complex !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism and Rape
Minor: War