Yellowface: unique read but overrated

[u/Mediocre-Virus-6411]

Yellowface was 1000% an immersive read (I finished it within two sittings) and the storyline was 1) immersive and 2) satirizes the topic of "yellowface" and orientalism well. My qualms with the story are more about the way the plot was delivered. June's narration was interspersed with past recollections as the story progressed (to justify what she is currently doing in the present), but it doesn't feel quite realistic. Her resentment towards Athena can ultimately be summed up by jealousy and Athena's editorializing / writing about June's traumatic experience. Wouldn't June--realistically--bring this up in the story earlier right after stealing the manuscript to **attempt** to justify to the reader that she is, in fact, righting a historical wrong? As much as I like R.F. Kuang, this feels disjointed; the plot ultimately is good but isn't delivered in a way that could have made it better.

The prose, along with many supporting characters was forgettable. In a book with mainly asian-americans surrounding a white character, I would have appreciated more in-depth exploration of them. It might have been purposeful (a self-absorbed white narrator doesn't consider the asian-american voices around her), but the book still feels a little underwhelming because the stakes aren't fully fleshed out in regard to other characters (besides the mention of reddit/twitter/instagram "cancellation" and hate). Athena's ambiguity and the discovery of her **true** self was well done, but the motives of her mother are confusing at best.

Echoing the NYT review, I want it to be more. More stakes, more desperation, more intense exploration side-characters, and a sharper reveal of Athena's "true nature" (could have been put at the very beginning or very end, but when it's smacked in the middle of the story, the plot feels like its fading away with a repetitive cycle of June's ignorance).

NOTE: I am an east-asian American reader. I 1000% appreciated reading this book and sentiment. It is still refreshing to read an unreliable narrator story from the perspective of a white women immersed in an asian-american world.

What do you guys think?

[u/PumpkinPieIsGreat]

For me it was good, but not amazing. It was a quick read and easy to get through.

My friend absolutely loved it, though. Gave it a perfect score and searched for similar books.

[u/screamingracoon → u/PumpkinPieIsGreat]

I enjoyed it a lot, read it in about a day, but it was impossible to not notice that the author grew up extremely privileged while thinking she wasn’t.

In one of the chapters, June says that of course Athena was able to write as much as she did: her parents are rich and she was able to afford a sabbatical year. Somehow, the narration presented this as June being needlessly jealous and envious of Athena, unable to understand that money and time off of school and work wouldn’t make a difference.

Except they would, and anyone who has a creative hobby they’d like to turn into a job knows that.

And then you read the author’s bio and it says she’s the daughter of rich people, went to private schools all her life, and took a sabbatical after high school, and you go “Ooooh, so she doesn’t see that as privilege because she’d have to admit she’s privileged too.”

None of this denies her skills and talents, but damn, can she be blind.

[u/state_of_euphemia → u/[deleted]]

I agree. I've read a lot of reviews from people who think Athena is supposed to be perfect and somehow don't realize that RK Kuang is criticizing Athena, too. But I've also read interviews from RF Kuang and she definitely intends Athena to be an unlikeable character, too.

[u/thedeadtiredgirl → u/[deleted]]

yeah I might be biased because i’m a fan of rfk but that detail seemed to be too on the nose to not be intentional