Yellowface ~ Rebecca.F. Kuang 4/25

 Spoilers for Yellowface by R.F. Kuang possible; the title Yellowface mean "the practice of white actors changing their appearance with make-up in order to play East Asian characters in films, plays, etc."

The story revolves around June Hayward, also known as Juniper Song, who stumbles upon her friend Athena Liu's unpublished manuscript after her tragic death due to a pancake choking incident. June decides to publish the script under her name, leading to her debut novel's success.

Throughout the book, the author skillfully sheds light on the darker side of the publishing industry, white entitlement, the Chinese labor corps in WWII, modern-day racism, and plagiarism. The author's clever genius in bringing out the truth makes this a compelling read that can be finished in just 1-2 sittings.

Although the story is fast-paced and completely hooks you in, I couldn't help but feel a bit unsatisfied with the ending. June's character portrayal as someone who always thinks she's right but turns out to be a terrible person adds depth to the narrative. It delves into real-life situations, the complexities of morality, the impact of the internet on our lives, and the incredible power that a simple lie can wield. There is mention of Buadrillard, a philosopher who coined the term hyperreality. June is simply quoting him without any deep knowledge of the concept. It shows how June is shallow, she quotes him without reading him fully. 

The portrayal of the influence of social media in the story is well-executed and thought-provoking.  it felt like a reflection of the real-world issues we see on platforms like Twitter. It's as if R.F. Kuang was drawing from her own experiences and observations to craft this narrative.

The places Kuang describes when June shot to fame are simply unbelievable nuances you will enjoy. The book tours, the publishing numbers, June's envy of Athena and her success, are all gripping, right from the beginning. What an unputdownable book!

It is a gripping and interesting fiction that has a strong take on various things among writers, the publishing industry, Plagiarism, social media, Book clubs. 

 I could not help but think of the possibility that Kuang's own experiences writing her book Babel may have played a part in her writing of Yellowface. Like the experiences of the character Athena in Yellowface, Kuang's Babel was (rightfully) praised. I have not read Kuang's The Poppy Wars series, but I loved all the historical research that she put into Babel, a bit preachy, but it really is a tremendous undertaking. I have to respect any author who puts so much time and effort into a work of fiction. At the same time, I did feel some of the characters were stereotyped to prove the author's point. 

That idea also plays into the characters' experiences in Yellowface. I pondered whether this work was a way for Kuang to address issues she feels are important, or if it was a "Shake It Off" passive-aggressive statement. It may have been neither. Maybe she just wanted to write a good novel. She succeeded. In my opinion, it may have been a little of all three. 

The climax did not fit well in Yellowface. It still seemed sensationalized to me. I do not feel it fit with the character development throughout the novel. That is, only downfall to me.

"How I could resonate with many points mentioned in the book, especially "Writing is the closes thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands. Writing gives you power to shape your own world when the real one hurts too much. To stop writing, would kill a writer. "