That question is at the centre of RFK's latest comedic thriller about racism, xenophobia and cancel culture. One thing is for sure, that right does not lie with June Hayward.
Yellowface distinctly differs from Kuang's previous work. It's more contemporary and commercial, a page-turner, popcorn fiction. Though at the end of the day, like most of her work it centres on the Chinese voice. The only difference is, in this case, Kuang chooses to highlight white tears from the lens of a twenty-something flop white author.

I absolutely ate this book up. I couldn't stop reading it and had to tear myself away at 4 am. Kuang deploys her witty and biting commentary on the hell that is the publishing industry and the internet. She leaves no room for excuses. No rationalizing or absolution of the kind of shit the main character pulls. It is this ruthless depiction of her protagonist/villain that makes Yellowface such a success. Kuang is not here to show the white allies like June, she is here to show the ugly bitter truth and she gives zero fucks how it will be perceived by a white audience. I have to mention that this isn't new for her work. Kuang's books are known for making the reader uncomfortable, by shedding light on to issues that the Twitteratis love to dissect and cancel people for. ironically enough the day I got approved for the ARC, there was this entire discourse on twt by white European readers on how "attacked" and "persecuted" they feel by Babel: An Arcane History.

Kuang also deftly handles the subject of cancel culture and how character assassinations leave everyone damaged with only the keyboard warriors and critics and bloggers victorious with their increased reach and engagement. It gets very meta at times, and a lot of the critiques that Athena Liu's work gets are similar to what Kuang's own work used to get, even a lot of the milestones achieved by Athena's character are similar to how Kuang herself is such a prodigy in the writing community. Yellowface also tackles the horrors of publishing and how racist, unfair and elitist it can be. How a book is declared a "bestseller" not on the merits of its writing/storytelling but because the publishers said it will be. The closed-door meetings are where the success or failure of a book is determined given how many diversity points it gets. Ultimately, no one gives a fuck about Own Voices or the visibility of marginalised communities in the industry. It's all about how it can be packaged to become the next Tick Tock phenomenon.

I can not wait for this book to be out in the world, to wallow in white tears and tormented Karens. Excited to see how this is unironically dissected in the court of public opinion. Will definitely be preordering this. Yellowface comes out May 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, and HarperFiction for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.