Book Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

“Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller.”

R.F. Kuang, Yellowface

Review:

After reading Babel a while back, I had assumed Yellowface would follow a similar style. Though it hadn’t been a book I loved, I liked the writing enough to give this one a go when it was selected for a group read. I was so excited when I realized this book is more of a thriller. 

After the death of her friend and rival Athena Liu, June Hayward takes Athena’s first draft of her latest book. With some editing, June claims it as her own. How long can she get away with feigning a heritage that doesn’t belong to her? 

While I was taken in by the premise, I spent most of the book feeling uncomfortable. Yes, that is the purpose of the book, but I wasn’t prepared for it and wasn’t in the mood for this type of read. I’d hoped at least for some character growth. The voice of the narrator left me feeling I was on the outside of an inside joke. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The plot is so wild from start to finish that it works.
• Good pacing.

What I didn’t like:

• There was more secondhand embarrassment (even if June was uncaring/oblivious to it) than I like to subject myself to.
• Some things said in passing irked me. This is a book about the wrongness of appropriation and making blind assumptions about a certain group of people, meanwhile, the author does the same thing in the prose concerning political groups and religions. ‘If they believe this then it means this or if they support this person it means that.’ Understanding one another goes beyond culture and, more than appearance and background, it’s the thoughts of an individual that count for more than what they identify with. It’s disheartening that people choose to disregard this.
• I was hoping for June to have a moment of genuine character growth.

Afterthoughts:

I didn’t have any particular expectations going into this book aside from being relived this book wasn’t as daunting as I found Babel to be. I’m much more inclined toward literary/thrillers than fantasy/sci-fi. I knew there was hype, but I didn’t follow it. I feel as though that made the reading experience more genuine for me.

This is the March group read with The Global Book Nook on Discord!

Where to buy the book: