Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (2023)

Dallas Plotline Page
May 24, 2024
3 min read

Who would have guessed I would read back-to-back unlikable protagonists haunted by the sins of their past and descents into moral depravity?! I did not expect to make a comparison between The Picture of Dorian Gray and Yellowface, but the similarities are surprisingly there. If you want to read a contemporary tale about a horrible person doing awful things, read below for my review of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang!

The Gist

Literary failure June Hayward witnesses the freak death of her pseudo-friend, literary darling Athena Liu. When June decides to take Athena's unpublished manuscript and pass it off as her own, she reaches new levels of fame and success. However, public opinion is split in a white author publishing an Asian-centered story, and June thinks she is being haunted by Athena's vengeful spirit.

The Take

Let's be clear: there are no heroes in this story. Our main character June watches her friend Athena choke to death on pancakes and still has the mental capacity to grab a secret manuscript from Athena's apartment as her body is being carted away. June's inner narrative continuously justifies her actions, even as she is receiving backlash for being a white woman writing Chinese-focused stories (which she stole) and manipulating her way to literary success. It was fascinating to see inside June's head as she navigates this long con, but I was celebrating her every setback and cheering everyone who criticized her, much like Lolita's Humbert Humbert.

Yellowface is also a scathing portrayal of the publishing industry. June's publishers are the ones who recommend rebranding herself as racially ambiguous in order to drive up sales, which sparks a lot of racial controversy during the press tour. Kuang deftly adds smaller and larger instances where the publishers, publicists, and booksellers portray a self-serving drive in their actions. June frequently compares her recent success to her previous failure, wherein she was ignored or passed over for the "diversity story" of other authors; conversely, non-white authors criticize the tokenization of diverse stories in order to make money. This is a great critique of the lazy, money-focused attempts many publishers make in order to stay relevant and profitable.

This feels like a story about themes more so than anything character or plot focused, because it is also a criticism of being covetous of others. June, Athena, fellow authors and publishing employees all exhibit the toxic nature of wanting what others have, and all are guilty of lying, stealing, and manipulating people in order to achieve it. June is the most glaring example of this behavior, but she too has been a victim of having her story stolen for someone else's gain. She is surrounded by a team of people who want "her" ideas to sell to the masses and they don't look too deeply into her falsities so long as the money is pouring in.

Some of the plot turns felt predictable or overstuffed, but every character felt intentional in the story. From publishing assistant Candice to Athena's pretentious ex Geoff, every person in June's life feels present for a specific purpose. It can be frustrating when you have an overwhelming amount of characters to remember when they don't serve the story, but Kuang avoided that pitfall by making every person impactful to June's journey.

I did not like June or anyone she encountered, which for some can detract from their reading experience. However, this book is not meant to have a hero, because Kuang is showing us that there are no heroes or winners in the publishing industry; it is filled with people focused on profits and fame, with a few people stumbling through efforts to provide diverse voices to moderate, if limited, success. It is a smart exploration of the current limits of representation and portrayal of a few of the worst types of people taking advantage of these opportunities. Prepare to dislike every one but respect R.F. Kuang.

Rating: 7/10

Memorable Moments

Four words for you: pancake related accidental death.
Every time June got called out for her lies and nonsense.
Great, unhinged final scene.

Try It If...

You want to read unlikable characters.
You want a new take on the horrors of the publishing industry.
You like being inside the mind of the protagonist.

Avoid It If...

You need a hero in your stories.
You need to avoid train wreck protagonists.
The publishing industry is not interesting to you.