A review by perpeitually
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Reading Yellowface is an entirely new experience. That is because I’ve been having this book for 5 months before finally deciding to read it. I've heard many great things about Rebecca F. Kuang regarding her works on The Poppy War Trilogy and Babel, so I put high expectations on this. Should I have expected something great from her? I shouldn't have. Did I regret giving this book a try? Absolutely not. 

As I said before, the idea and main plot of this book are genius. Many say that Rebecca F. Kuang's works reflect things around her, and "Yellowface's" plot is surely something that’s close to her because it's talking about book publishing and all the drama involved in it. Rebecca F. Kuang, I must admit, can really create an unhinged character that can set everyone's hair on fire. I couldn't describe how mad I was reading this book. Seeing Juniper Song Hayward's point of view for the entire book really tested all the patience in me. As the NY Times said about this book: "Everything about R.F. Kuang's novel 'Yellowface' feels engineered to make readers uncomfortable." 

This brilliant novel should at least get 5 stars, but for some reason, I won't give it 5 stars. Rather, I'll explain to you three reasons why this book is genius: 

  1. The satire. As we all know, although the Chinese community has become larger and larger over time due to the mobility of people around the world, and despite how big China is as a state/country right now, this hasn't really reduced the amount of sinophobia that exists in the world, especially in the book publishing sector. The satire in this book is brilliant because Rebecca F. Kuang is not only addressing racism but also the bigotry and Asian-fetishizing that have been happening this past 10 years. 
  2. Tension. This book either makes you hate Juniper or pity her. The moment you find yourself pitying her and wishing her not to get caught, that’s the moment you should start booking a session with a therapist. (no judgement, but I just did). 
  3. History lesson. This world is fucked up but we are kind of beyond the most fucked up eras: World War 1 and World War 2. This book also brings along a topic and history lesson that not everyone might know. As an IR student, I should thank RFK for her (not so) free lesson. 

Reading this book has a similar feeling to riding a roller-coaster. It gave me a wonderfully furious feeling, but at the same time left me with no excitement toward the end of the ride. A solid 3.5 stars for me.