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A review by bibliorey
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
5.0
The somewhat elaborated review that is written later in the day:
I have always wanted to pick up R.F. Kuang's book back when The Poppy War trilogy were the absolute hype of the community. But for someone who has been in and out of the fantasy realm, I was intimidated so to speak by the sheer size of the books that I have yet to pick them up even now; as goes to Babel. So when Yellowface came out, it felt like the perfect R.F. Kuang book for me to pick up as the genre and the synopsis truly fit the reading mood that I was (and forever will be) in. It was in my eyesight everywhere I go. Twitter, Instagram, even my daily commute in the train heading to campus. I had waited to get a copy of my own—prolonging the delay in picking it up—until my best friend Nana kindly lent me her copy which she too have yet to read. Thus, here I am today bringing you the probably-not-even-awaited-by-anyone thoughts of Yellowface as the myriad of reviews have circulated well enough around the community, mostly praising Kuang's ability in storytelling and to that I wholeheartedly agree.
Yellowface is a satirical book made to invoke discussions regarding the publishing industry and the book community in general and reading it has almost felt like a personal attack as I slowly find bits and pieces of my own self in the book—unashamedly in a sense—as we're all morally grey in our own way somehow. None of the characters in this book were as kind as they might have portrayed themselves to be. R.F. Kuang stripped the publishing industry down to its rawest and barest state and it's no wonder that most authors these days prefer independent publishing over settling with a well-known corporate-y publishing companies. Not that any major companies ever truly have a clean slate anyway. This book also poke fun at us Goodreads reviewers and book influencers which I genuinely had fun laughing at because "Hey, it's me!" and the way that the main character absolutely shitting on them and their critical reviews of her book—which at times I'd like to imagine it to be some of the authors I'm reading to sometimes, and as a writer myself (unpublished), I too WILL read reviews on my work without a doubt no matter how much people tell me not to and overall,—the bitch in me understood Juniper Song Hayward in a way. (Especially when she questions herself whether she was using too much em dash as you can too see, I use shit ton of em dash in my writings)
Nothing about this book nor the characters are exemplary to the world. EVER. But then again it's also important for stories like this to exist to remind people that the real world is not pretty, even in fiction. Sure, fiction itself is made for us readers to escape into when reality gets hard. But does that mean we should ignore the world's problems? Absolutely not. In this case, racism has never been a one-time, one-era, issue. It's constant and though some may not realise it or choose to turn a blind eye over it simply because they're privileged enough, it exists and it affects people in real time. This book also tackles representation in the industry. When Juniper, a white woman, stole and published a Chinese-American author's story about a Chinese history, titled The Last Front, my mind immediately went to Kathryn Stockett's The Help. Something about the two books that echoes the same issue and justification that the line is just now blurred for me (I was surprised to see it mentioned in Yellowface too, I guess the author already expected what we would be thinking of or reminded to somehow).
While Juniper is an absolute menace of a character that I simply wish I could reach out into the book, be in the story, slap her across her face and come back, Athena Liu is no saint either. With June's unreliable narration of the story, you will come to wonder whether any of her recollection of the events that has happened in her life was the truth or the latter. Athena, the power hungry control freak who is genuinely talented at what she does, and Juniper, a silent killer (not literally, or is she?) green with envy towards what Athena had or "what should've been hers." The star and the average. Both wronged one and the other. Jealousy is powerful, isn't it? However, the way that June tried to justify her actions echoes the memory of the people I once knew all too well—though I am no saint either, and like Athena, I knew myself enough to admit I am a "power hungry control freak of a bitch". She really was deeply convinced that she is the victim in a crime she herself had committed. Her delusions were simply out of this world! There's a limit, a boundary, to the victim complex; more so when the facts and the truths are out in the open for the world to judge for themselves. Truth shall always prevail.
As I said previously, this is my first ever R.F. Kuang work that I have read and devoured and I am immensely entranced by the way she captivated the readers' attention all throughout the story. Though I can agree with some of the others that the plot of the story seems flat, as a first time reader I can say that I am thoroughly amazed with her skills in telling the story and building up the suspense at each of the chapter's end. You might have probably seen my Instagram story updates—or you might not but not that it is of any significance anyway—where I repeatedly wrote at the end of some of the chapters, expressing how thrilling the story builds up at the end of the chapters that if it were to be a show, it would be an extremely thrilling cliffhanger for each episode. I have no knowledge if the story has been picked up for a film or a show but if it is, they better stick to the storyline the author wrote or I feel like the magic of it all will cease to exist. (Insane how this issue were too spoken of in the book, it just felt like I'm reading into my own life!)
With the author being an academia herself, I too am completely enthralled by the vocabulary used and the detailed information that is in the book. It did not at all felt like I was reading an academic book or excerpts of an academic research or paper but it was there. So stark and yet so hidden at the same time like an easter egg. Which in a sense explains this inner need in me to throw up a bunch of words that might turn into a full-on discussion had I been in the presence of my reader friends as well as there were just too many points in this book at which can incite a deep discussion into the act of reading, languages or simply of the nitty gritty of the industry as a whole. Such fruitful discussions and conversations have always excite me and from what I heard and saw, her backlist have the same effects to readers too—intended possibly—that I cannot wait to get my hands on them soon and have that very discussion with some of my friends who I knew enjoyed her books and writings immensely.
This review of mine has gone on longer than I intended it to but Yellowface is definitely the kind of book you need to experience at least once in your lifetime, more so if you work in the publishing industry or you are simply a part of it; even as a reader. R.F. Kuang, you have enchanted me as you did others inevitably and I cannot wait to be further enchanted by your spellbinding works!
Twitter ⭐︎ Instagram ⭐︎ TikTok
✧
Thoughts written immediately upon finishing:
This is my first R.F. Kuang book and TRUST it wouldn't be my last. She really hits every creek and corners of the book community and industry with a bang! It's exactly 2:12 AM as I finished this masterpiece and I need a moment to just recollect myself from all the thrill this book gave me and will write a somewhat comprehensive review of my thoughts on Yellowface later in the morning but the hype is real and well-deserved.
I have always wanted to pick up R.F. Kuang's book back when The Poppy War trilogy were the absolute hype of the community. But for someone who has been in and out of the fantasy realm, I was intimidated so to speak by the sheer size of the books that I have yet to pick them up even now; as goes to Babel. So when Yellowface came out, it felt like the perfect R.F. Kuang book for me to pick up as the genre and the synopsis truly fit the reading mood that I was (and forever will be) in. It was in my eyesight everywhere I go. Twitter, Instagram, even my daily commute in the train heading to campus. I had waited to get a copy of my own—prolonging the delay in picking it up—until my best friend Nana kindly lent me her copy which she too have yet to read. Thus, here I am today bringing you the probably-not-even-awaited-by-anyone thoughts of Yellowface as the myriad of reviews have circulated well enough around the community, mostly praising Kuang's ability in storytelling and to that I wholeheartedly agree.
Yellowface is a satirical book made to invoke discussions regarding the publishing industry and the book community in general and reading it has almost felt like a personal attack as I slowly find bits and pieces of my own self in the book—unashamedly in a sense—as we're all morally grey in our own way somehow. None of the characters in this book were as kind as they might have portrayed themselves to be. R.F. Kuang stripped the publishing industry down to its rawest and barest state and it's no wonder that most authors these days prefer independent publishing over settling with a well-known corporate-y publishing companies. Not that any major companies ever truly have a clean slate anyway. This book also poke fun at us Goodreads reviewers and book influencers which I genuinely had fun laughing at because "Hey, it's me!" and the way that the main character absolutely shitting on them and their critical reviews of her book—which at times I'd like to imagine it to be some of the authors I'm reading to sometimes, and as a writer myself (unpublished), I too WILL read reviews on my work without a doubt no matter how much people tell me not to and overall,—the bitch in me understood Juniper Song Hayward in a way. (Especially when she questions herself whether she was using too much em dash as you can too see, I use shit ton of em dash in my writings)
Nothing about this book nor the characters are exemplary to the world. EVER. But then again it's also important for stories like this to exist to remind people that the real world is not pretty, even in fiction. Sure, fiction itself is made for us readers to escape into when reality gets hard. But does that mean we should ignore the world's problems? Absolutely not. In this case, racism has never been a one-time, one-era, issue. It's constant and though some may not realise it or choose to turn a blind eye over it simply because they're privileged enough, it exists and it affects people in real time. This book also tackles representation in the industry. When Juniper, a white woman, stole and published a Chinese-American author's story about a Chinese history, titled The Last Front, my mind immediately went to Kathryn Stockett's The Help. Something about the two books that echoes the same issue and justification that the line is just now blurred for me (I was surprised to see it mentioned in Yellowface too, I guess the author already expected what we would be thinking of or reminded to somehow).
While Juniper is an absolute menace of a character that I simply wish I could reach out into the book, be in the story, slap her across her face and come back, Athena Liu is no saint either. With June's unreliable narration of the story, you will come to wonder whether any of her recollection of the events that has happened in her life was the truth or the latter. Athena, the power hungry control freak who is genuinely talented at what she does, and Juniper, a silent killer (not literally, or is she?) green with envy towards what Athena had or "what should've been hers." The star and the average. Both wronged one and the other. Jealousy is powerful, isn't it? However, the way that June tried to justify her actions echoes the memory of the people I once knew all too well—though I am no saint either, and like Athena, I knew myself enough to admit I am a "power hungry control freak of a bitch". She really was deeply convinced that she is the victim in a crime she herself had committed. Her delusions were simply out of this world! There's a limit, a boundary, to the victim complex; more so when the facts and the truths are out in the open for the world to judge for themselves. Truth shall always prevail.
As I said previously, this is my first ever R.F. Kuang work that I have read and devoured and I am immensely entranced by the way she captivated the readers' attention all throughout the story. Though I can agree with some of the others that the plot of the story seems flat, as a first time reader I can say that I am thoroughly amazed with her skills in telling the story and building up the suspense at each of the chapter's end. You might have probably seen my Instagram story updates—or you might not but not that it is of any significance anyway—where I repeatedly wrote at the end of some of the chapters, expressing how thrilling the story builds up at the end of the chapters that if it were to be a show, it would be an extremely thrilling cliffhanger for each episode. I have no knowledge if the story has been picked up for a film or a show but if it is, they better stick to the storyline the author wrote or I feel like the magic of it all will cease to exist. (Insane how this issue were too spoken of in the book, it just felt like I'm reading into my own life!)
With the author being an academia herself, I too am completely enthralled by the vocabulary used and the detailed information that is in the book. It did not at all felt like I was reading an academic book or excerpts of an academic research or paper but it was there. So stark and yet so hidden at the same time like an easter egg. Which in a sense explains this inner need in me to throw up a bunch of words that might turn into a full-on discussion had I been in the presence of my reader friends as well as there were just too many points in this book at which can incite a deep discussion into the act of reading, languages or simply of the nitty gritty of the industry as a whole. Such fruitful discussions and conversations have always excite me and from what I heard and saw, her backlist have the same effects to readers too—intended possibly—that I cannot wait to get my hands on them soon and have that very discussion with some of my friends who I knew enjoyed her books and writings immensely.
This review of mine has gone on longer than I intended it to but Yellowface is definitely the kind of book you need to experience at least once in your lifetime, more so if you work in the publishing industry or you are simply a part of it; even as a reader. R.F. Kuang, you have enchanted me as you did others inevitably and I cannot wait to be further enchanted by your spellbinding works!
Twitter ⭐︎ Instagram ⭐︎ TikTok
✧
Thoughts written immediately upon finishing:
This is my first R.F. Kuang book and TRUST it wouldn't be my last. She really hits every creek and corners of the book community and industry with a bang! It's exactly 2:12 AM as I finished this masterpiece and I need a moment to just recollect myself from all the thrill this book gave me and will write a somewhat comprehensive review of my thoughts on Yellowface later in the morning but the hype is real and well-deserved.