Yellowface

100% could see June Hayward on r/AITA asking if she’s the asshole for stealing her dead friend’s manuscript and since it’s Reddit everyone would say Every Sucks Here (ESH).

I think that’s what makes this book compelling for me. June is so terrible and unredeemable, but the supporting cast isn’t saints either. Athena Liu, the titular dead friend, also does not-so-nice things with people’s stories. At its core, Yellowface asks the important question of who gets to write about suffering. R.F. Kuang tackles that question from different angles, primarily from race but also from personal privacy and class. And all of this is taking place within a publishing industry that is notoriously cutthroat and indifferent. I attended Kuang’s tour and from that, I can clearly see Kuang’s experiences in both June and Athena.

Yellowface is also a great critique of the unholy terror that is the Twitter beast. Yes, June is horrible (rolled my eyes multiple times reading her woe-is-me rants), but Yellowface is a good reminder that horrible people are still people at the end of the day and how quickly things can spiral out of control on the internet. I do have to say June spiraling upon her theft gave me a rush of schadenfreude I haven’t felt in a long time though.

I also love Kuang’s attempt to answer if stories of marginalized people can be told by those outside the community. She’s pretty clear on her stance, one that you may not agree with. All in all, I think Yellowface is a love letter to writing and the craft dressed in satire. “Writing is creating something out of nothing…” and “…a writer needs to be heard.” In a sense, it is a mourning of how the industry has tainted the stories and artistry of writers.

Great book, loved the Babel Easter egg, loved the dash of thriller at the end, and June still sucks. Girl really said f*ck around and find out.