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.
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 intensity of the controversy June must weather as her lies start to unravel.
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.
