Yellowface

It's easy to begin this novel and finish it in one sitting. A page-turner in every sense of the word with a message that will resonate with writers from marginalised backgrounds.

One white author steals the work of her dead Asian friend and passes it off as hers. This book is shocking, twisty, unputdownable. 

This is a brilliant book, no matter how you cut it, but when you are a writer, it hits extra hard.

It is perfect for aspiring writers to learn what is going to happen when they debut. It is a painful read sometimes, but it is brave and honest. The best books are about truth, and this book shouts it out loud.

I loved it! 

This book was utterly compelling in every way, and I know it’s on many people’s “best books of 2023” lists.

It was kind of like watching a slow-motion train wreck, but instead of a train, it was an author’s career (and consequently, her personal life) crumbling before your eyes. The commentary on the publishing industry was painfully accurate, and the characterization of the unlikable narrator was true perfection.

Best to go into this one without knowing too much. It’s a wild ride!

This book is a clever look at the dark underbelly of the book publishing industry, the destructiveness of social media, and the high cost of unbridled ambition. And who better to escort us through this bleak landscape than a plagiarist who has stolen her dead friend’s book manuscript and passed it off as her own?

The narrator, June Hayward (AKA “Juniper Song,” to sound more Asian), isn’t just unreliable; she’s loathsome. Her shifting justifications for her theft and her lies are desperate, cynical, and unconvincing. In short, she is the ideal person to take us on a tour of the… show more.

I love books about the ins and outs of publishing, and this thriller is a timely, razor-sharp satire with twists and turns that I never saw coming.

It offers a cultural dialogue while also being an immensely readable thriller about the need for validation. You won’t forget it for a long time after reading it. 

I have long had unhealthy fascinations with hoaxers and with social media drama. And as an author, I’m drawn to stories about writers navigating the treacherous publishing world.

It’s as if Yellowface was written to suck me in, and it did. I blew through it in one night; this novel about a white author passing off a dead Asian author’s manuscript as hers is as addictive as it is compelling.

Kuang has said she wrote it to approximate the feeling of a panic attack. Mission accomplished; my nerves jangled for hours after I finished the book.

Yellowface is a satirical masterpiece that hits like a truth bomb imploding in an author’s literary dreams.

It’s the stuff of nightmares and heated debates and will have readers taking stock of their own perceptions and opinions of themselves and others. This read like a much-needed kick in the backside that did not fall short.

I read this novel in an afternoon, unable to tear myself away from this book once I’d started.

R.F. Kuang’s timely novel pulls no punches, revealing the dark side of friendship, professional jealousy, and the pressures of publishing while simultaneously examining cultural appropriation amid the frenzy of social media.

Yellowface is unlike any novel I’ve encountered, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

This novel is a hilarious indictment of publishing and social media. Kuang takes on the voice of unsuccessful white writer June who steals, develops, and publishes her dead Asian friend’s unfinished manuscript.

What I loved about Yellowface is how it plays with the reader’s allegiances, at times making June a sympathetic and insecure underdog and at other times using the confessional voice to reveal her brazenness, resentment and white fragility.

I loved Yellowface by R.F. Kuang because of the fascinating and distinct storyline and the dark humor. The book is the definition of a “page-turner,” and it was impossible to put down.

Yellowface dives into the ugly underside of the publishing industry and offers a satirical look at the depths people might go to in order to achieve success. While the characters can be difficult to root for, the plot is so intriguing that I was compelled by the story, even while distressed by the main characters’ actions.

Overall, the clever, surprising narrative and sharp writing made this my second… show more.