Yellowface

Description

Title: Yellowface
Author: R.F. Kuang
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Satire / Thriller
Published: 2023

Summary:
Yellowface is a darkly satirical novel that focuses on issues of cultural appropriation, racism, and the publishing world. The story revolves around June Hayward, a struggling, white writer who sees the sudden passing of her friend and literary superstar Athena Liu, a Chinese American author. June then steals Athena’s unpublished manuscript in a moment of desperation and passes it off as her own work.

The novel takes a gripping exploration of June’s internal justifications and the external consequences she faces as she gains literary fame using Athena’s work- this one being on Chinese history. Success catapults June to the forefront, but she cannot keep up the lie when she is also forced to deal with accusations of plagiarism as well as cultural theft. The book then turns to the cutthroat culture of the publishing industry and complex matters of identity, race, and privilege as her lie unwinds.

Themes:

Cultural Appropriation and Racism: This book severely critiques the ways in which the voices and cultures of marginalized people are exploited for money or personal benefit, not least in art and literature.
Privilege and Identity: The white privilege of the protagonist allows her to stake and win a narrative that is not hers, telling basically a chapter about systemic inequalities.
Satire of Literary Industry: With the publishing industry as the backdrop, Kuang uses this novel as satire for the manner in which that industry commodifies voices and exploits trends while being able to silence pertinent voices from marginalized writers.
Remorse and Guile: The novel closely follows June’s increasing paranoia and remorse about growing fraudulent success, which results in increased psychological tension.
Style :
R.F. Kuang is a bold and thought-provoking writer in Yellowface, blending psychological thriller elements with sharp social commentary. The narrative is fast-paced while retaining an impassioned first-person voice that disappears down the rabbit hole of the flawed psyche of the protagonist. The novel feels like it is teetering between satire and a deep critique of real-world issues in publishing and race relations.

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