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A review by serenityofbooks
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
4.0
I’ve been seeing Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang everywhere for the last 6 months so when it was recently voted the Goodreads Choice Fiction Book of 2023, I decided it was the final push I needed to read and I’m so happy I did!
ABOUT THE BOOK
“Anthea Lui is a literary darling and June Hayward is a literally nobody.
When Anthea dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.
But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.”
WOW! What a deliciously entertaining and addictive read this was! Rebecca F. Kuang has done a masterful job of raising some important questions about who has the right to tell what stories and cultural trauma and diversity in the books. In my opinion, she has tackled these topics in a very clever but accessible way where I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough. I loved that none of the characters were likeable with June being top of the list – what an awful human being! All I kept thinking while reading was “I really hope the publishing industry isn’t really like this, is it?!?” Unfortunately, the only part of Yellowface I didn’t enjoy was the ending which I felt was outlandish and almost comical (even compared to some of the other scenes!) and wished it had of been wrapped up in a more satisfying way.
Overall, I think this is well worth the hype and can see why it has been so popular amongst readers. For such an easy-to-read book, it’s surprised me with how much nuance and depth it has on important thought-provoking topics. I’ll certainly be thinking about this one for a long time to come!
ABOUT THE BOOK
“Anthea Lui is a literary darling and June Hayward is a literally nobody.
When Anthea dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.
But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.”
WOW! What a deliciously entertaining and addictive read this was! Rebecca F. Kuang has done a masterful job of raising some important questions about who has the right to tell what stories and cultural trauma and diversity in the books. In my opinion, she has tackled these topics in a very clever but accessible way where I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough. I loved that none of the characters were likeable with June being top of the list – what an awful human being! All I kept thinking while reading was “I really hope the publishing industry isn’t really like this, is it?!?” Unfortunately, the only part of Yellowface I didn’t enjoy was the ending which I felt was outlandish and almost comical (even compared to some of the other scenes!) and wished it had of been wrapped up in a more satisfying way.
Overall, I think this is well worth the hype and can see why it has been so popular amongst readers. For such an easy-to-read book, it’s surprised me with how much nuance and depth it has on important thought-provoking topics. I’ll certainly be thinking about this one for a long time to come!