Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Book Review

 

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. Book Cover: Goodreads

The dark side of the publishing industry. A tale of jealousy, narcissism and negative mental health.

As someone who has worked in publishing it’s quite interesting to read such a detailed story from the author’s perspective. While obviously this story is fiction - I think some parts of it could ring true to authors around the world. This story was an engaging read that I found hard to put down.

Starting off with the story's main character June, she was an interesting narrator. Overall June was an unlikeable character and that’s fine - she was flawed and to be honest a pretty horrible person. She was jealous, narcissistic, selfish and to be honest, racist. But it was refreshing to read a main character who I wasn’t meant to love or even fully understand their actions. I think too often books focus on capturing the heart of the reader by using the main character, but that wasn't the case with this book. I wasn't really rooting for June to succeed because I don't think she deserved it. Yes her story was sad, but she became the villain in her twisted life.

I really did like Athena's character, obviously she wasn't perfect because no human is, but I found her enthralling like many of her fictional fans did as well. I think the dynamics between her and June were so interesting and one that maybe readers can relate to - that one 'friend' that isn't genuinely happy for your achievements. How a 'friendship' of convenience or just ease would look to outsiders - an interesting dynamic!

Overall a very interesting book very centered on what it’s like being an author and trying to navigate the world of publishing. I’ve seen both sides of the publishing machine and I can confirm June isn’t all wrong - it’s a beast that can and most likely will chew you up and spit you out.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Buy Yellowface here.