Sunday, December 10, 2023

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

 

Rating: 4.6

Best selling author Athena Liu and her friend June are laughing and enjoying eating pancakes at Athena's apartment when the unthinkable happens. Athena chokes on a pancake and dies. June is appalled but still able to think to steal her unpublished manuscript. This deals with diversity, racism, cultural appropriation, the cut-throat world of publishing and the harshness of social media.


The writing was fabulous! It made me realize the pressure on writer's and the toxicity of social media. I loved how the protagonist was not a nice person and yet I felt sympathy for her. I wasn't thrilled with the ending but, the more I have ruminated on it, the more it felt fitting (and I can't come up with a better ending than Kuang). I will definitely be exploring more by this author. So creative!

2 comments:

  1. I have this on my TBR. I read Babel recently for book club. While Babel wasn’t completely right for me, there were parts that I really enjoyed. She is undeniably a brilliant writer. Hard to believe she is so young. I look forward to reading this.
    Jeana
    Xoxo

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    1. I haven't read Babel but want to. We are doing a bookclub discussion on Yellowface next week and I can't wait! It is crazy that she is so young - hopefully publishes a lot more.

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