4.5/5 stars

a dark & witty satire on white tears, and a big f*** you to the publishing industry. this was very different from her other novels but r f kuang doesn’t miss. sarcastic and utterly brilliant. read easily in one sitting, did not want to put it down.

I enjoyed this book and think that it was well written. I liked all of the details about life as an author and I think the author done a great job writing a story that makes people think. However was expecting a lot more from this book than I got and was surprised when it ended. It felt like certain parts dragged on and went on to much about online reviews and drama. Still a very informative and thoroughly enjoyable book, definitely think it’s an important story to read. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Yellowface is a change in direction from R.F. Kuangs usual books and I was definitely intrigued by the idea of the story. When June Hayward (struggling author) witnesses the death of her friend and successful author Athena Liu she just happens to take advantage of the moment by stealing Athena's most recent manuscript and passing it off as her own.

Yellowface discusses the ins and outs of the publishing industry, as well as delving into topics such as racism, and obviously plagiarism. I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it quite as much as I thought I was going to. It was well written and I enjoyed the humour within the book but I just didn't really like June (and maybe that's the idea?)

While this isn't going to be up there in my absoloute favourite books, it was a good read and I would definitely recommend this for people that enjoy a bit of satire.

Deeply disappointing, underwhelming and ultimately a chore to finish. The ending did absolutely less than nothing for me. The ride was bland. The commentary was surface-level. Lots of interesting points to be made about the publishing industry seem less important than how people on social media have rubbed Kuang the wrong way. I don't think it would feel that personal if the characterisation had been better. I found the characterisation also fell very flat in her previous work Babel. This surprised me then as it has in this book because it wasn't the case in her completed trilogy, The Poppy War.

There were many moments in this book that felt like a Seinfeld episode called The Chinese Woman, and I just felt second hand embarrassment reading that. For who specifically? I'm not sure. There were just over-whelminging moments reading this that felt cringe, and not AT the horrible main protagonist, but at the execution.

Finally, there were parts of this book that felt like this author was being very reactive to criticisms she’s received of her own work by members of her own ethno-cultural background and is taking this as an opportunity to react to those in a way that lacks self-reflection, depth and any interesting engagement with the said criticisms.

I was so looking forward to this book but it seems like after Babel ultimately being a miss for me and now this, I don’t think she’s an autobuy author for me anymore. What a damn shame.