Hardcover, 351 pages
Czech language
Published 2024 by Host.
Čeho všeho jsou spisovatelé schopni, aby si zajistili úspěch?
Spisovatelky June Hayward a Athena Liu měly společně zazářit jako dvě vycházející hvězdy — chodily do jednoho ročníku na Yaleově univerzitě, dokonce i knižní prvotina jim vyšla ve stejném roce. Jenže zatímco Asioameričanka Athena se stala nadžánrovou favoritkou literární scény, Junina kniha se nedočkala ani brožovaného vydání. Asi to je tím, že o tuctových běloškách nikoho číst nebaví.
A tak když se June stane svědkyní bizarní nehody, která vyústí v Atheninu smrt, bez rozmýšlení ukradne její čerstvě dopsané mistrovské dílo: experimentální román o přehlíženém podílu čínských dělníků na válečném úsilí Francie a Velké Británie během první světové války.
June však nedokáže uniknout Atheninu stínu a na povrch začnou vyplouvat důkazy, které by mohly s jejím (neprávem přisvojeným) úspěchem jednou provždy zatočit.
Kuang's villain is so good that at points I started to wonder if this was a horror novel. The character's continued ability to justify her actions is really well done.
I didn't like the ending until I did. Overall, I flew through this. It's really entertaining.
This has been on my "To Read" list since Ellie Game's arresting cover caught my eye. I skimmed the blurb and wanted to read it even though it didn't feel like my "usual sort of thing".
Nažluto jsem objevila po dočtení Babylonu, taktéž od Rebeccy Kuang, ze kterého jsem byla nadšená. Tato kniha není oproti předchozím autorčiným dílům fantasy, a tak jsem byla zvědavá, jak se s tím popere.
A můj verdikt zní, že se s tím poprala vcelku dobře. Za mě je teda Nažluto slabší než Babylon a moje hodnocení dost v průběhu četby kolísalo, ale celkově hodnotím velmi kladně.
Nažluto je o spisovatelce, která vezme rukopis své mrtvé kamarádky (taky spisovatelky, ale mnohem úspěšnější), upraví ho a vydá ho pod svým jménem. Celá knížka se potom zabývá vlastně tím, jak se s celým procesem a přijetím knihy popasuje.
Moc dobře se to četlo. Nikde to nezadrhávalo, nic nebylo navíc, jazyk byl čtivý. Nejslabší mi přišel začátek, a to jazykově, takže si nejsem jistá, jestli to není vlivem překladu (ich forma se mi tam zdála dost neobratná, ale s přibývajícími stránkami se to zlepšilo anebo …
Nažluto jsem objevila po dočtení Babylonu, taktéž od Rebeccy Kuang, ze kterého jsem byla nadšená. Tato kniha není oproti předchozím autorčiným dílům fantasy, a tak jsem byla zvědavá, jak se s tím popere.
A můj verdikt zní, že se s tím poprala vcelku dobře. Za mě je teda Nažluto slabší než Babylon a moje hodnocení dost v průběhu četby kolísalo, ale celkově hodnotím velmi kladně.
Nažluto je o spisovatelce, která vezme rukopis své mrtvé kamarádky (taky spisovatelky, ale mnohem úspěšnější), upraví ho a vydá ho pod svým jménem. Celá knížka se potom zabývá vlastně tím, jak se s celým procesem a přijetím knihy popasuje.
Moc dobře se to četlo. Nikde to nezadrhávalo, nic nebylo navíc, jazyk byl čtivý. Nejslabší mi přišel začátek, a to jazykově, takže si nejsem jistá, jestli to není vlivem překladu (ich forma se mi tam zdála dost neobratná, ale s přibývajícími stránkami se to zlepšilo anebo jsem si zvykla). Prostředek byl naopak fakt super, tomu bych dala klidně 5/5, bylo to napínavé, vlastně i uvěřitelné, do poslední chvíle jsem nevěděla, kam autorka směřuje a jak to skončí. No a to se dostáváme ke konci, který byl za mě zase horší, ale tentokrát příběhově. Konec mě prostě zklamal. Přišlo mi, že to tak trochu shodí celý ten děj, ale možná je to jen mnou, nevím.
Zajímavé na této knize je, že hlavní postava není úplně nejvíc sympatická. Ve všech příručkách a návodech byste přitom našli, že hlavní postava prostě musí být super, aby o ní chtěl čtenář číst. Mně ale Juniper zajímala právě proto, že byla taková reálná. Ve spoustě jejích insecurities se poznávám. A jak příběh plynul, vlastně jsem ji pak i měla ráda.
I like the premise, the plot, the narrator and the discussion about cultural appropriation. The writing flows nicely. The pop culture references and the tweets were fun at the start too, but eventually it got too repetitive for my taste. I get that the main character was spiraling, but it felt tedious towards the end. At times, the villain-ness of the main character felt too heavy-handed, verging on rage-bait (or was it just too close to home?). And the ending didn't do the book justice.
Yellow Face is a reflection of our society today and of its contradictions. Kuang takes a thought-provoking critical look at the entire literary industry and the effects of racism, privilege, and cultural appropriation. Its gripping plot makes the book a compelling read that you can hardly put down.
I had to keep reminding myself that NO, I did NOT want June to win and come out on top, that she is a despicable selfish person that deserves every horrible thing that she gets.
R.F. Kuang does a really great job at pointing out the toxic things that (some) publishing companies will do to try to make it look like they're all for diversity and for leaving you to really have to stew and think about how far was too far with what Claire does. It was a very uncomfortable read, but in a good way.
Overall, I found this to be a good read, but it did feel like it was just a little too long and the ending threw me for a bit of a loop, and not in a good way. Definitely not mad that I read it, though! Still fully worth the 4 stars to …
I had to keep reminding myself that NO, I did NOT want June to win and come out on top, that she is a despicable selfish person that deserves every horrible thing that she gets.
R.F. Kuang does a really great job at pointing out the toxic things that (some) publishing companies will do to try to make it look like they're all for diversity and for leaving you to really have to stew and think about how far was too far with what Claire does. It was a very uncomfortable read, but in a good way.
Overall, I found this to be a good read, but it did feel like it was just a little too long and the ending threw me for a bit of a loop, and not in a good way. Definitely not mad that I read it, though! Still fully worth the 4 stars to me!
This is a change of pace from the author's other work and it feels somewhat self-referential, but through which character? The story had me hooked, even though the protagonist, if you can call her that, is not exactly sympathetic, and I feel like I've met that person, but after a while, I feel like I could be that person, and everyone in publishing sucks, anyway. Which is the general message I'm getting (in a more clever and entertaining format than all my complaints about the one computer book I published).
No idea how to review this. It was like being unable to look away from a car crash.
I loved Kuang's fantasy work, so I was pleased when this was a gripping read. Not sure on the content / messaging as a satire. This book covers many topics and I feel uneducated on so much of it.
Interesting insight into being an author and into publishing especially in today's world of social media and "cancel culture"
This got more shocking with every page and in the end I couldn't put it down. There is so many other turns this could have taken as well. The reader can really step inside the protagonists head and see how she is justifying her actions to herself. We also see that basically evey character is flawed and acts for their own benefit. This was also an interesting insight into the publishing industry and how authors and books are picked and Bestsellers are made.
June Hayward’s literary career is not exactly successful, certainly compared to her old college friend Athena Liu who invites June to celebrate the Netflix adaptation of one of her bestsellers. But when Athena accidentally dies, June is left with the only draft of Athena’s new book, about Chinese labourers in the First World War.
You follow along with her series of questionable to outright bad choices as she argues to herself that Athena would want her to finish the book. That it does credit to Athena’s memory to edit in a more sympathetic viewpoint for the white characters in the tale. Then it’s just a case of a fresh start under a new pen name using her middle name Song which just happens to sound Asian.
The book, through June’s POV and monologue, follows plagiarism, cultural appropriation, tokenism and racism in the publishing industry, Twitter lynch mobs, and an every …
This book is about a writer who borrows notes on a book idea from her dead friend, writes a bestseller based on that, and then spirals into madness when social media figures out that the work is 'plagiarised'.
I'm not sure she did anything wrong.
It's another book about the evils of social media, more than anything. It's well written, and I sped through it.
This was a wild ride from start to finish. Every character is fabulously written to be spectacularly awful. Any last lingering daydreams I had of being a professional author went out the window with this one.
This was a wild ride from start to finish. Every character is fabulously written to be spectacularly awful. Any last lingering daydreams I had of being a professional author went out the window with this one.
Twitter scandals are like snowballs; the more people that see it, the more who feel it necessary to weigh in with their own opinions and agendas, creating an explosion of discourse branching off the instigating conversation.
This sure was a wild ride! I can’t quite remember the last time I read a story with a protagonist so thoroughly unlikable and, for the most part, had fun following it. Although at some point, the way Juniper reacted to yet another instance of her tower of lies crumbling underneath her did have me skimming more than reading for about a chapter, because I was absolutely dying from… secondhand embarrassment, I guess? Like, how can someone be so unapologetic and righteous in their mundane villainy, OMG. So yeah, June came very close to being too insufferable, and yet I was kept engaged by the promise of her getting her due in the end …
Twitter scandals are like snowballs; the more people that see it, the more who feel it necessary to weigh in with their own opinions and agendas, creating an explosion of discourse branching off the instigating conversation.
Artistic writing. Even though you hate the protagonist from the first chapter, the author leaves it up to you to decide how much and how far you disagree with her actions. Engaging read in surprising ways
