Yellowface

by R. F. Kuang

Hardcover, 350 pages

English language

Published Sept. 24, 2023 by HarperCollins Publishers Limited.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-853277-2
Goodreads:: 59357120

(40 reviews)

What's the harm in a pseudonym? New York Times bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn't write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American--in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R. F. Kuang.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So …

So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface takes on questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation not only in the publishing industry but the persistent erasure of Asian-American voices and history by Western white society. R. F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

3 editions

KnitAFett reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

I've never enjoyed a horrible main character before!

4 stars

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.

technicat reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Clever and morbidly fun

4 stars

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).

matthewmincher reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Spiral with June

4 stars

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"

velvet_shrimp reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

What a wild ride

4 stars

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.

teamdave reviewed Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Review of 'Yellowface' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

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.

Aimee Gunther reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

The reader plays the judge and jury as the author weaves thoughts and themes of diversity quotas, reverse racism, and white woman tears #bookstodon

4 stars

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

Daniel Andrlik reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

A Nailbiter

4 stars

Writing an actual review for this one because I found my thinking changing on it as time has passed since completion.

There's a lot going on in this book. It tackles themes of cultural appropriation, tokenism, and privilege in world of book publishing, while at the same time critiquing notions that people can only write a story from their lived perspective. If you think those lines are complex to navigate and somewhat fluid, you'd be right, and Kuang herself seems to have trouble drawing it over the course of the book.

It's a very tense read and moves quickly. Written from June's first-person perspective– certainly an unreliable narrator –it is often an uncomfortable read, which is as it should be when racism is a topic. But June's detractors don't come off particularly great either. The book seems less researched than her other works, but makes up for it in the …

Writing an actual review for this one because I found my thinking changing on it as time has passed since completion.

It's a good book, attempting to tackle real issues, but not Kuang's best. When I finished it, I would have put it at a five stars, but as I've mulling it around in my brain, I think it's probably more like four stars. There's something that feels off, like an unexpected flat note in what is otherwise a tense piece of music. Maybe it's the nature of the topic, but it feels like Kuang wasn't sure which of her points she wanted to drive home, and so attempted to make all of them unevenly. Ultimately, few of the characters seem to learn anything from their experiences.

And as mentioned above, these topics are difficult, so maybe Kuang's goal is simply to illustrate the mess as opposed to providing any answers. But given some of the early build-up, that comes off as disappointing.

avtron reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Review of Yellowface (R. F. Kuang)

5 stars

Nothing if not captivating

AnotherRebecca reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Not for me

2 stars

Started this and was so annoyed by the main character that I did not finish. I really enjoyed Babel, I may try this again at some point. Leaving it in the tbr pile for now.

benwerd reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Review of 'Yellowface' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This tale from a deeply unreliable, envy-driven narrator is more of a sharp satire of liberal racism than its publishing industry setting. It's at its least compelling when discussing Twitter drama, but there's ample snark just underneath each turn of phrase, and more than enough ratcheting tension to have kept me turning the pages.

kim karma reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Review of 'Yellowface' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Everyone raving about this and I am very meh on it. Struggled to finish.

ManyRoads reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Dizzying...

3 stars

I did not think it was possible for one tale to have so many twists and turns that it became a spiral, one that was out of control. Sadly, that is what this story does. The writing is wonderful, the literature aspects are strong. But, I am completely dizzy. The "me too", "culture wars" aspects of this tale are simply too much for me.

John McChesney-Young reviewed Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Review of Yellowface

5 stars

My main problem with the book was that I don't think I've ever read a first-person book in which I've found the main character so unlikable, which made it a little hard to read. But it was a compelling story that was hard to put down.