Yellow Face: The instant 1 Sunday Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from author R.F. Kuang

8 reviews for Yellow Face: The instant 1 Sunday Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from author R.F. Kuang

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Rebecca – August 15, 2023

   ✒️ Book Review ✒️Yellowface written by R. F. Kuang is a satire and literary fiction. It’s very differet from all the other works she has put forth so far. Firstly, Yellowface the term refers to the practice of imitating an East Asian person with help of make up as a part of a performance. And this act is often regarded as sensitive and offensive.Our main character, June, is a writer. But her debut novel flopped pretty badly. Her writing career is full of hiccups and she is frustrated about it. On the other hand, one of her college mate, Athena, who is also a fellow writer, and June’s contemporary, is soaring high in the publishing industry. She is a Chinese American and her story mainly deals with the representation of the struggles faced by her countrymen at different points of time.One night Athena dies. How? I am not gonna tell you that. But June was present with Athena when Athena drew her last breaths. Out of curiosity or frustration over her own stale career she decides to steal Athena’s unpublished manuscript. Athena is very inexplicit about her works. She doesn’t let anyone know about what she is working on before finishing the first draft.From here on the action begins. It basically criticizes the publishing industry, talks about racism, reverse racism, and who is allowed to tell and story and what are the limitations. None of the characters are likeable, everyone is trying to reach the final line. And that just makes it more realistic. June is an unreliable narrator. She keeps on persuading the readers and herself that she didn’t steal Athena’s work rather she gave it “life”. Because she researched a lot, and wrote original paragraphs and dialogues for the book. Now the manuscript that June stole was about Chinise Labourers in World War One and their struggles. June is a white woman. And obviously, the topic is very far from her line of interest. This sparked a lot of controversy after the publication of the book. Some praised June but some commented on how June is trying to make money selling the traumas of an Asian country.Yellowface exposes the overall book community, including book bloggers, book tweets and Goodreads Reviews. There is heavy trolling on this one. Once again check the trigger warnings. R. F. Kuang has tried to convey that social media has allowed everyone to state their opinions and sometimes certain opinions can hurt the sentiments of the other party. But because it’s an online platform, people often forget to be sensitive or rational. It’s like once you close the laptop, everything is normal. But We need to remind ourselves that even there is an actual person sitting on the other end with actually human emotions. And we can only see the tip of a iceberg. R. F. Kuang has also displayed how a narrative can be spun in two different ways. How normalised reverse racism has been in today’s world. She asks the question is okay to send death threats to Karens? She forces the readers to take their own stance and formulate their own opinions. You can’t help but see your own moral compass swaying.June did a wrong thing. Very wrong. Yes, but the things that she had to go through were not exactly justified either. I don’t support her actions but the writing made it difficult to not sympathize with her at certain points of time. There is one segment about jealousy. I never use any highlighter or any such thing on my books. But this time I just had to. It goes like this….The book also feels personal to me because I got to know a lot about how publishing industry works. I want to activate work in a publishing house someday. So it was fun to learn certain technical words. And writing in general makes my heart sing. So when June described how much writing means to her, I can’t help but nod along with her.The ending however, to my opinion could have been a little different. It just left me unsatisfied in a way. I am rating this 4 stars because of that.Language was pretty easy, I finished it in one and a half days.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Shreemanti Chakrabarty – September 18, 2023

   “Yellow Face” by R.F. Kuang is a book that has left me with a whirlwind of thoughts. Even though I finished it days ago, its intricacies and questions about morality and human behavior still linger in the back of my mind. Trying to put these thoughts into words is a bit like navigating a maze of ideas.At its core, the premise of the book seems simple: June Hayward, an author, steals the last unpolished draft of her late friend Athena Liu’s work, while she witnessed Athena’s death. But this novel is so much more than a mere theft. 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. Through its pages, it peels back the curtain on the often-hidden world of the literary industry, revealing just how intricate and convoluted it can be.June’s character is a fascinating study in moral ambiguity. She’s a character so vile and morally questionable that it’s hard to root for her. Her attempts to justify her actions and her tendency to cast herself as a victim are both infuriating and captivating. It’s precisely this moral murkiness that keeps the reader engaged—what more could you want from a protagonist who’s unreliable and morally dubious?This book also takes a critical look at important issues within the publishing community. It shines a light on the dynamics of competition and power struggles among authors and publishers. Additionally, it explores the industry’s perspectives on diversity and inclusion, exposing how minority groups are often marginalized.The portrayal of the influence of social media in the story is well-executed and thought-provoking. It made me reevaluate my own involvement in the book community, and 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.Admittedly, some moments in the book are incredibly thrilling, while others may make you want to skim through. Striking the right balance between these moments could have elevated the reading experience.In the end, “Yellow Face” proved to be a mind-bending piece of literature that left me eagerly anticipating more from R.F. Kuang. This book is a testament to the author’s storytelling prowess and her ability to unravel complex human emotions and situations. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for readers next.

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   hema – October 30, 2023

   The plot , characters are fully developed. Story is original and tells a lot about publishing industry. The last few chapters felt contrived. The conversations and thoughts engages you.

4. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Shaljami – August 17, 2023

   I have to start by saying this is a MUST READ for all aspiring authors. Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu are the rising stars from Yale. They step into the publishing industry in the same year, while Athena becomes a runaway success story, June’s novel slips into darkness. They are not best of friends but June invariably finds herself hanging out with Athena. One night, at Athena’s place, June experiences a freak accident that leads to Athena’s death.In a moment of weakness, June decides to steal Athena’s manuscript – an experimental masterpiece about the unsung contributions of Chinese labourers during the World War 1.As a result, Athena’s fame starts to shadow June until it becomes suffocating.With its compelling narration in first person voice, the story touches on themes like diversity, racism, cultural appropriation, jealousy, friendship, insecurities to name a few. At the beginning I found myself laughing at many bits. Slowly that tone changes into a darker one.Kuang’s style of writing is smooth, clean and compelling. Soon it dives head first into the publishing industry and its works. A ruthless, frightening business with agents, editors and publishers has been laid out honestly and was surely a lesson to take back from. The brutal jealousy amidst aspiring authors was honestly an awakening for me.Finally, without revealing the story, I just wanted to touch upon the element/role of social media in it. The influence and evils of this medium that infests an author’s life. It drives so deep into a person’s life that it disrupts one’s sanity almost. Only somewhere in the middle this social media battle gets so real that I felt it slacken slightly. Overall a gripping and unique tale that I would recommend to all.

5. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   shalini – September 29, 2023

   I felt the story line was not very strong. Like just another story sort of and the literature the language used and written it’s kind of day to day language very casual . Maybe the genZ would like it but I was kind of disappointed by my purchase expected more when I read others reviews.Definitely not worth the price . Also book size could have been smaller.

6. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   Parasmeeta – September 8, 2023

   Considering that I had always heard rave reviews on Kuang’s work, I was really excited for Yellowface. It was all over Instagram.I won’t say that I was disappointed with her writing, it was good. But after I was done with the book, the story didn’t quite stay with me for long. It didn’t much for me. Although I am looking forward to reading more of her writing, I won’t be reading this one again for sure.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Akansha Choudhary – August 4, 2023

   R. F. Kuang has is an amazing story teller. I have read her books and I love them. This one is a little different than her other books so I was not sure if I’ll love it as much as I love the others or not. I did. It’s a shorter read compared to her other novels and fast paced.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Coleslaw of the smelly kind – October 18, 2023

   Keeps you hooked from the word go. But this not just be seen as a novel, it works well only when seen from the lens of being a satirical take on publishing, authors, fans, reviewers, social media, trends, culture, cultural appropriation etc.