Author : R.F. Kuang
Book : Yellowface
/Fiction,Mystery/
Publication date : May 16, 2023
Blurb:
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 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.
My thoughts:
Yellowface is another wonderfully crafted book by R.F. Kuang lifting the backstage curtain of the harsh truth about book publishing.
Needless to say that, like her other books, the writing style is impeccable, easily immersing you in the story that she wants you to experience.
Brutally honest and no punches hold to serve as an eye-opener and brings writers, publishers, and readers all wrapped in one and how the social media plays a massive part if you're going to make it big or not.
The interesting part is Kuang successfully made an intriguing story with two main characters, Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu, that are toxic, snobby and, all in all, flawed and unapologetically keeping the tension, thus keeping you reading as a result.
This read is vastly different if you come from her previous book Babel, and I'm amazed by her versatility and ability to switch between historical fiction, fiction, and fantasy.
And is refreshing to reed such a relevant read for the times of hashtags, Twitter,TikTok…in general social media and the ruthless publishing industry.