Yellowface

A Novel

By: R. F. Kuang

Narrated by: Helen Laser

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

“Hard to put down, harder to forget.”—Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… 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, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who 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 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 grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently enjoyable.

©2023 R. F. Kuang (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

A delight from start to finish

I read this book in one sitting, it was so compelling and just flew by. The author is able to capture so many realistic expressions of the utterly toxic characters and the reader is also excellent in portraying them distinctly. Even the read aloud comments from social media have a wonderful animation to them that makes this read un-put-downable. Even though it is fiction, these people are every bit recognizable from daily life. Seeing this kind of nasty behavior so deftly conveyed in print is somehow reassuring. There is a serious challenge to people who operate like the deceitful and ultimately unrepentant narrator, but it never stops being funny.

Fantastic story and narration

I’m a huge fan of R.F. Kuang’s writing and this did not disappoint. I thought the narrator was perfect and really nailed the main character’s whole vibe.

Overhyped

This book started out great but after the first quarter it just went down hill. The characters were all one dimensional, mostly racist in one way or another, and completely unsympathetic.

By the time I was half way through I just wanted it to be over and was hoping the end would tie it all together. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

Such a disappointment after all the hype.

The power of the tweet…

A interesting perspective of today’s importance regarding social media, click bait, etc… and how it has warped and given voice simultaneously against the backdrop of the archaic publishing world.

It was pretty good

It was good until the end. The beginning was just ok, the middle picked up and the very end was so disappointing.

Brilliant on many levels

Near flawless writing, biting satirical humor and excellent voice performance. As you can see I enjoyed this book and recommend it to those who want an insider take on the contemporary publishing and academic world. It also examines in some depth the debates around Asian American authors and internet cancel culture. This is a document for our times.

Wow

Every line is an indictment on the narrator and they don’t even realize it. This is the making of a villain and exploration of prejudices in publishing and how they feed themselves.

Ehhhh…tedious.

This story dragged on. No one to root for, all characters were pretty awful. Good narration. Book had an interesting concept that ultimately went nowhere. Could have been told in 3 hours instead of triple that.

Little Suspense, lots of self-delusion

I had hoped for more plot development and substance to sustain a whole novel. The central theme of the persistence of racism is very important and it is driven home. Yet there isn’t enough heft to the pivotal event to sustain the novel. The reader lives in the character’s social-media-shaped thoughts for almost the entire book — important commentary on our culture but it is tedious and flat. You witness the white character’s immutable obliviousness right away and she remains ridiculously oblivious to the end. I liked it enough to finish it, but I longed for more real world plot and interactions to generate more material to thicken the narrative.

Riveting

I loved the amazing and lively narration. Will buy the hardcover too for gifts. Thank you for the thoughtful insights and commentary on racism , reverse racism, and the publishing process.