3 controversial opinions out of 5

"How does someone go from being a real person, someone you actually knew, to a set of marketing and publicity points, consumed and lauded by fans who think they know them, but don't really, but understand this also, and celebrate them regardless?"

Writing a review about a book that talks heavily about book reviews is ultimate metacore. And while RF Kuang's subject matter did resonate with me, I'm not overly satisfied with her delivery. Before I get into the why, here's the who, what, where.

"We owe nothing to the dead."

Juniper Hayward is about to make it big. She just wrote a fantastic historical fiction novel on Chinese laborers in WWI, and it's gonna be the next best thing (unlike her flop of a first release). There's just one small detail: she didn't write it. Oh, and she's white.

After the sudden death of her 'friend' and bestselling author Athena Liu, June discovers an unpublished manuscript... one that she's ready to pass off as her own in order to get the fame and fortune she's always envied Athena for having.

Will she be found out? Will the ghosts of her wrongdoings haunt her forever or will her success wash away her guilty conscience?

"I hadn't realized how much this terrified me: being unknown, being forgotten.
'And then when I die, I won't have left a mark on the world. It'll be like I was never here at all.'"

I think this book tried so hard to social comment that it got lost in the weeds. It forgot about the excitement of storytelling, which RF Kuang ironically highlights the importance of a handful of times. I would definitely not call this a thriller, as some book sites have been categorizing it, although it had the potential to be. In the end it reads more like a collection of ranting opinions, some hilarious, but others overused.

It touches on a rainbow of hot topic issues: own voice writing, plagiarism, cancel culture, self righteousness, the illusion of public personas... And when you attempt to cover them all in under 300 pages, none end up feeling particularly important.

"I've written myself into a corner. The first two-thirds of the book were a breeze to compose, but what do I do with the ending? Where do I leave my protagonist, now that there's [...] no clear resolution?"

I also found that towards the end it was difficult to distinguish between what was fiction and what Kuang may have been actually living while writing this book and using to fill the pages, a blurring of genres that I didn't enjoy.

If you want characters you can anchor yourself to, this may not be the book for you. Even the protagonist feels detached in a he-said-she-said sort of narrative that makes for an impersonal recounting. The book does have some fun insides into the publishing world, if you enjoy that.

Wow. I used meta twice— Ok, now three times— in one review. Time to end this. #writersgonnawrite

Big thanks to Harper Collins Canada for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

June Hayward and Athena Liu meet as undergraduate students at Yale—both dream of becoming authors one day and even debuting in the same year. But when Athena becomes an up-and-coming literary star, June can't help feeling jealous when her book's sales are underwhelming. After celebrating another win for Athena, June witnesses a tragic accident that kills her frenemy. She seizes the moment and steals Athena's recently completed novel following Chinese laborers during WWI. It's the perfect heist since nobody knew she was working on it.

June furiously edits Athena's manuscript and sends it to her editor, passing off the work as her own. When her publisher rebrands June as Juniper Song, the con is on. June believes anyone can tell any story, and she's got the sales to prove it. But when someone claims her bestselling novel is the work of the late Athena Liu, June goes on high alert to hold on to "her" hard work.

Yellowface had my attention from the beginning. I knew June would be insufferable, but the woman goes far to be the worst type of author. I was equally compelled and horrified to watch June dig herself into deeper and deeper holes. June's insistence that SHE is the best person to write a fiction book about Chinese history is laughable. But that's what casual racism does to people. The book perfectly explores racism, xenophobia, and discrimination in the publishing industry. June is so woefully unaware of her biases that she can't help exacerbating the problem. Instead, she plays the role of a white woman who is somehow always the victim.

This book was meta in the best possible way. I was endlessly entertained as someone who has watched tons of author drama on Twitter. R. F. Kuang is a genius, no question about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

R.F. Kuang has done it again, unleashing another absolute banger! This book was so tense and cringey (on purpose) that I found myself pacing and fidgeting with discomfort at the main character's choices. I love a book so visceral I feel the discomfort from the page in my body--that's powerful writing! The form for this book is truly fascinating--it's perhaps the only book I've ever read that really only has one character, with no real relationships to speak of. We get to know almost no one else--an extended metaphor for the protagonist's inability to connect with anyone and her narcissism. And what's most impressive is how Kuang propelled us forward without relying on other characters to serve as foil or push the plot. It was un-put-down-able all by following the main character down her one-way road of increasingly catastrophic choices.

This book is incisive in its commentary on entitlement--on the entitlement this white character feels to success, to being able to tell any story regardless of her proximity to it, to other people's stories altogether. It takes a riveting look at identity and at whiteness's resistance to any boundaries.

And while the book is making several macro statements, it's also just extremely compellingly told. Another unmissable Kuang book!

wow! this book knocked my socks off. Satire targeting publishing and racists, cultural appropriation and mean people. I loved it. Could not put it down. Not for everyone but very good.

“Hear me out.
It’s not so awful as it sounds.”

Yes, it was technically wrong for June Hayward Juniper Song to steal the unfinished manuscript of her wildly successful writer friend Athena Liu on the night of her death. She’s not denying that! But that doesn’t mean it isn’t hers. Sure, Athena came up with the concept, did the research, laid down the preliminary draft, and just so happens to be a part of the Chinese community, but Juniper is the one who perfected the story into a masterpiece! It’s almost as if Athena’s death was the universe’s way of passing the work on to its rightful heir.

“The whole project is beautiful, in a way. A never-before-seen kind of literary collaboration. And so what if it was stolen? So what if I lifted it wholesale?”

Of course, some people are going to play the cultural appropriation card, and some people are going to criticize her for being a white girl writing an Asian story but the truth of the matter is that Juniper is just delivering on exactly what the publishing industry, and her readers, demand!

"It matters what audiences want to see, and no one cares about the inner musings of a plain, straight white girl from Philly. They want the new and exotic, the diverse, and if I want to stay afloat, that's what I have to give them."

It’s almost as if all her actions are justified…Almost.

Sometimes, death-by-pancake leads to intellectual theft. Sometimes that leads to a massive book deal, a film adaptation, awards, fame, and fortune. Sometimes conspiracy theories turn into the unstoppable force of social media outrage, cancel culture, and ghost sightings, which necessitates elaborate coverups and perhaps a little editing of the truth here and there…

"It boils down to self-interest. Manipulating the story; gaining the upper hand. Doing whatever it takes. If publishing is rigged, you might as well make sure it's rigged in your favour."

Ok for real though, this book had me in my FULL rage. I’ve never met such an unreliable narrator who is so self-deluded that she believes herself to be the only reliable narrator in a reality she knows she must actively manipulate. Juniper Song, Bestselling Author of The Last Front has to be one of the most unlikeable MC’s I’ve ever encountered.

It’s the self-centering, the self-victimization, and the Oppressed White Woman Tears for me. It’s the casual and confident micro-aggressions that happen not only in her writing choices (softening the language & white characters, editing history, making space for white savior stories), but in her interpersonal relationships and in her own internal narrative as well. Constantly! This woman hates Chinese food, gets annoyed at Chinese elders who can’t speak English, tells young writers that their identity is their selling point for their art, and so much more! So bad that even the Fox News Freedom Rally dudebros jump on the bandwagon of support for her book.

Juniper Song is the type of person who begs you to feel sorry for her, but you simply cannot feel sorry for her because she is so deeply twisted on every level. The whole time I’m screaming GIRL STOP but she just won’t!!!

"Okay, yes, I know how bad this looks. Like Taylor Swift, I had no intention of becoming a white supremacist Barbie."

OH JUNE…

I loved and hated this book at the same time. R. F. Kuang writing from the perspective of an entitled white woman thief of art and of culture, was such a fascinating experience. It was one of those things you simply could not stop watching even though you knew the train was headed straight for a broken bridge and into a firey river right from the start.

So good, I read it twice before its release date. Yellowface is a must-read new release and if you don’t plan on it, know that I will be chasing after you until you do!

“The truth is fluid. There is always another way to spin the story, another wrench to throw into the narrative.”

You're either going to get this or you won't. I got it and I loved it.
Juniper "Song" is a failing writer when she watches her much more successful acquaintance Athena die. She impulsively grabs her manuscript after the fact, not expecting to be inspired by it...and certainly not expecting to publish it as her own. Everything that comes after is nothing short of a panic attack.
The big reveal at the end fell a little flat for me, but that doesn't make this any less masterful. In fact, there would be no other way for this story to end because every detail, from beginning to end, is purposeful.
I found this to be full of important questions we should be asking of ourselves as readers, writers, and humans.

Yellowface by RF Kuang is a literary thriller that feels like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion and then fast forwarded to how quickly things go awry, from the perspective of June Hayward (writing as Juniper Song). It's a thrilling page turner that leaves you hanging at the edge of your seat, waiting to see just how badly things would go, but also anxiously covering your eyes for the impending peril.

I also wondered if RF Kuang felt a bit chaotic being an Asian woman writing from the perspective of a white woman 👀 the irony was not lost on me and I was here for it.

June's perspective is so interesting to read because she isn't just a one-dimensional 'bad guy'. A lot of the things she says are definitely out of line, but she's also not wrong. Yellowface takes a long hard look at racism and the publishing industry and brings up questions on diversity and cultural appropiation.

I've struggled writing a review for this book because when you read it and reach the end, there's this experience where you feel like you've been hit by truck that then evolves to a constant state of !!!. And then the best thing you can do is fumble around with words to tell people to read it.

I can definitely see this book upsetting others but personally for me it was one heck of a wild ride and I'm in awe of RF Kuang's craft.

Thank you Harper Colllins for the ARC! All opinions my own.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I do think the subject matter is an important one though. It was well written, I just found myself bored. I think I was just hoping for more. I will be purchasing this for my library.

Giving this a 4.5/5 rounded up.
I am going to preface my review by saying that this is the first RF Kuang book I've read, as many other reviewers make comparisons to her other works and that is not relevant in this case.
I think this book succeeded in what it was trying to do, make comments on the publishing industry. I can say that I didn't like how any person behaved in this novel, yet somehow I still cared about them and their stories which is an amazing feat.
I didn't exactly love the ending, as it seemed just a bit absurd that this is how it would go especially based on other commentary from the book. She is also a bit in your face with some of the satire that she uses throughout the novel. But that doesn't detract from what I think is an amazing novel overall.

I have no idea if it is possible to review this book properly. All I can say is, it's a must read and you'll get what I mean once you've read it.

When I turned the last page, I sat there for a good minute. My brain was like "ugh, of course" and "white people don't know when to stop" and "why do they always want to twist everything so they're the victim."

This book can be so frustrating to read, especially since it is written from the perspective of a white woman who steals her "friend's" manuscript and convinces herself she hasn't done anything wrong. But at the same time, it captures the real life experiences of POC and diaspora writers so well, it was almost haunting in its accuracy.

One thing about this book, your experience reading it vastly changes if you've spent any amount of time on book Twitter or bookstagram. Because many of us have seen "book drama" happen live, when "book drama" starts to happen in Yellowface, it's so reminiscent of things you've seen or heard, it's almost funny. And if you're a POC on book twitter or bookstagram you get to see how one tweet can set everything off. All your friends and their friends are suddenly hating on someone, only to find out that they should be hating someone else, and then finding out none of us know the entire story, and everyone was slightly in the wrong, but also not really, and you're left more confused than anything else. And yet...this is such a niche book world we live in, that in the grand scheme of things it does not actually impact sales all that much and "drama" can actually hype up a book even more.

Getting to see the ins and outs of the publishing industry was also very interesting. And honestly, as someone who wanted to publish when I was younger, and then grew up and realized just surviving life was more than enough work, I'm now a bit hesitant to enter the publishing world. It's scary seeing how focused publishing can get on POC trauma stories, and how they like to lump AOC into one big group. And as someone with no publishing experience, this wasn't surprising to me because I've heard these stories again and again. Yet, as Rebecca said during her signing in Toronto on May 14th, the book focuses on bad experiences in publishing, yet it was her good experience in publishing that allowed her to publish this book.

Yellow is the first of R. F. Kuang’s books that I’ve read, and I was pleasantly surprised with it when I picked it up.

The entire book is a reflection on the publishing industry touching on so many aspects (including so much I didn’t know) of a book launch, marketing, social media and more.

About half way through the book, the plot was completely bonkers, I loved it, it was impossible to put down and I finished it so quickly.

“I know what you’re thinking. Thief. Plagiarizer. And perhaps, because all bad things must be racially motivated, Racist.

Hear me out.

It’s not so awful as it sounds.”

Readers, it is exactly as bad as it sounds. Juniper Song Hayward is bad person, but don’t worry, she has forgiven herself.

Yellowface is told to the reader by June. We are her confessor. She tells us all of her resentments, fears, manipulations, and triumphs. Most of all, she tells us her rationalizations.

Athena Liu and June Hayward are the same age and attended Yale and many of the same writers workshops together. After college, their careers diverged with Athena becoming a breakout literary star and June becoming a failed writer and a standardized test tutor. They get together periodically, though June isn’t sure why, except that Athena doesn’t seem to have any friends and June likes to torture herself with jealousy. On the night they get together to celebrate Athena’s Netflix deal (see above, June torturing herself), Athena dies in a drunken choking accident and June steals her completed manuscript.

Yellowface is a satire, a psychological thriller, and a ghost story that ends as a horror story. It’s What Lies Beneath with the cheating husband as our narrator. As unpleasant as June is, the book is hard to put down. I have learned that I will read about awful people and horrible things if R. F. Kuang writes them. I probably missed a lot of the pointed publishing commentary, but I did not miss the white woman fragility of it all.

CW: on page choking death, emotional manipulation, psychological terror, bodily harm, white supremacy in action.

I received this as an advance reader copy from William Morrow and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This book is biting, pageturning, and eerie. While I've been aware of R.F. Kuang for years (you can't exist in a bookish space and not be), I haven't read her previous books since SFF isn't really my thing. You can tell from reading Yellowface, however, that the author has a lot of experience within and things to say about publishing as an industry, writing as a career, and those of us who read and talk about books online. It's thought provoking and satisfying, and the fact that it's already garnering plenty of opposing reviews will probably invite even more readers to want to engage with it.

4.5
While this book (a contemporary literary thriller) is outside of my preferred genres, it rose immediately to the top of my most anticipated reads of 2023 list because R. F. Kuang is one of my favorite writers and this book did not disappoint! I finished it in one day (practically in one sitting) because I just could not put it down!

June has a complicated relationship with fellow author Athena. While June has struggled to find a place in the literary world, Athena is a rising star and June is extremely jealous since she believes that Athena has a leg up because she's a minority. Of course, June is horrified when Athena chokes to death in front of her, but that doesn't stop her from stealing Athena's newly finished manuscript, which is of course brilliant, and publishing it as her own.

This is a sharp critique of racism and white privilege in publishing as well as an exploration of just what lengths people will go to for the fame they believe they deserve. Kuang's prose is just as flawless as ever and, paired with a fast-paced plot, makes for a very binge-able book. If you're not as interested in the publishing industry and as involved in online book spaces as I am, this novel might not be as fascinating to you, however I would recommend this to just about anyone!

After the success of Babel, I know so many readers are both thrilled and nervous to see that Kuang is releasing another book so soon. Here are three succinct thoughts on what’s sure to be a buzzy book of the summer: 1) This is a page turner—I flew through it in two days. 2) This is not a perfect book—it’s occasionally repetitive and rambling, and it can definitely be described as on-the-nose. 3) This is a must-read for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes of the publishing world—Kuang skewers the industry in this satire, and she isn’t afraid to name names. The story follows June Haywood, a struggling writer whose college frenemy, Athena Liu, has become a literary darling. After June witnesses Athena’s tragic accidental death, she takes Athena’s latest manuscript, tweaks it, and claims it as her own. The rest of the novel follows June’s literary rise, the constant threat of the truth coming out, and her frustrating ability to stay on top—for awhile at least. Told in June’s perspective, this book often feels dark, uncomfortable, and just plain icky (if you need a character to root for in order to enjoy a book, this won’t be for you!). Kuang certainly made a lot of brilliant choices throughout this novel—not including long excerpts of her characters’ writing, for one!—but the book as a whole might not rise to the label of brilliant. I’m going to be mulling this one over for awhile, and I’m looking forward to discussing it with the FictionMatters Book Clubbers as our Buzzy Book of the Month for July.

What can I say...

When best selling author Athena Liu, dies in a freak accident in front of her "friend", ( writer but struggling) June Hayward, June grabs Althena's just finished manuscript about Chinese labor camps in WW1 and makes it her own. She rebrands herself as Juniper Song, retakes her author photos and has a big hit on her hands. Until she gets taken down by twitter.

It says a lot about the skill of the author, R.F. Kuang that she makes you WANT to keep reading about a character you find so unlikeable.

And I will say that I couldn't not stand June. The self delusion, the whining, Oh.My.God.

The book does an excellent job talking about and making you think about cancel culture, appropriation, microaggressions, and the tokenization of diversity and entitlement in white America.
It's a lot.

June was a train wreck that we had to keep watching over and over and over again. I literally couldn't tear myself away.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

R.F Kuang is such an intelligent and engaging writer. Yellowface is an absolute stunner with amazing satire! I was so into the story and her writing that I couldn't put it down. Kuang is an auto-buy author for me, whatever she writes, i love!

How does one comprehensively review this masterpiece? R.F. Kuang is an absolute icon and this book was incredible. The writing was stunning as expected, but I wasn't sure what a non-fantasy book from her would look like, but it was everything I could've imagined and more. June was awful!!! I don't think I've ever actively voted against a character quite like I did in this, she was truly the worst. Racist, ignorant, and completely unaware of everything she is. I cannot recommend this book enough, I will be yelling about it until her next book comes out!

Loved how fast paced this book was. The very first sentence drew me in, and I couldn't stop! June's characterization was incredible; as much as I hated her and her actions, I always wanted to know what she would do next. The peak behind the curtain into the publishing world and how best sellers get made was incredibly interesting. Highly recommend for anyone who loves dark humor.

(Review of audiobook)

A deliciously cynical look at the world of publishing, cultural appropriation, and social media.

After Athena Liu, superstar young author, dies in a freak accident in front of her friend, struggling writer June Hayward, June has the foresight to grab Athena’s work in progress. June takes this manuscript, about the Chinese Labor Corps in World War I, and puts her own spin on it. Suddenly the publishing world is on fire with interest for The Last Front and after disingenuously repacking Junie as “Juniper Song” (her full first name and her middle name) and re-taking her author pictures, Eden publishing house has a big hit on its hands and June has all she ever wanted. But then @AthenaLiu’sGhost takes to Twitter to tell the world the real origin of the novel and the Internet dogpiles in.

June narrates this novel (marvelously presented by audiobook narrator Helen Laser) and is a wonderful mix of self-delusion, self-justification, and whiny brat but the author manages to make her somewhat sympathetic as well as land home the points she wants to make. Junie’s ‘crimes’ are three-fold: she stole somebody else’s manuscript and passed it off as her own work, she’s a white woman writing about a culture that she is not part of (and the implication is that she substantially revises the role and attitudes of the white people in the novel), and that she doesn’t just want to be a writer she wants to be a famous and much-discussed author.

Perhaps inspired by the furore over American Dirt, there is some real fury in Yellowface directed at not just the despicable/hapless June but also at the publishing industry and its lip service to diversity, both in terms of authors and employees. The limited opportunities for authors of color and the pigeon-holing of them to write only trauma stories is compounded by the low representation of people of color working in publishing.

A large chunk of the novel is devoted to the Internet’s takedown of June and it does get a little tiresome as posters harangue her for her various misdeeds real or imagined. Unfortunately June can’t look away so neither can we and we have to live through it all with her. Even as she exorcizes one ghost and writes a second novel which is nearly all her own work, June is being dragged down by real and virtual critics and then, just to really screw with her, Athena pops up again.

This is a satire that cuts deep - highly recommended.

Thanks to Harper Audio and Netgalley for the review copy.