THE PLOT: ‘Yellowface,’ by R.F. Kuang is a contemporary satirical novel about racism, cultural appropriation and cancel culture in the publishing industry. Athena Liu and June Hayward are “friends” and rivals after meeting on a prestigious writing course. But while Athena secures a big publishing deal, June’s debut novel flounders. When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript about the Chinese Labour Corps and passes it off as her own under a racially ambiguous name. Despite initial runaway success, a mounting social media campaign threatens June’s stolen work and she goes to incredible lengths to keep her secret.

SUMMARY: I absolutely adored this book. It’s incredibly intelligent and insightful; a self-critical look at the writing community and publishing industry. It makes you want to wince with its satirical exaggeration of what happens when white authors appropriate work from authors of colour, yet it has an emotional truth and the scenario presented to us in the novel feels all too realistic. This novel has been a #bookstagram darling and now I understand why it’s a book bloggers’ book. For those of us who can reflect on our role within the writing ecosystem, I think it highlights the positives and negatives of Twitter takedowns, Goodreads reviews and demanding authors mirror our exact individual values. Beyond the themes, you can see that R.F. Kuang has superior craft. The plot is tight, with satisfying ups and downs, the characters are all deliciously unlikeable, and the pace is snappy. Overall, it’s five stars for a great concept and even better execution.

GOOD BITS:  The razor-sharp wit of this book lies in how unlikeable the characters are. Obviously, June is an awful person but you find yourself rooting for her slightly because Athena is terrible too. We’ve all had a friend who we think is prettier than is, cleverer than us, more successful than us. Especially among women, this trope of friendship rivalry is something distinctive in our early twenties (hello, Caroline Calloway). That’s why this dynamic is so relatable and like a car crash you can’t look away from this book. The intense first-person narration is so immersive, you become obsessed with June’s pursuit of literary success, which is ultimately less about creating art and more about being better than Athena.

NOT SO GOOD BITS:  I honestly don’t have any criticisms because this novel does what it says on the tin and I believe it executes the concept flawlessly. I’ve seen some criticisms of R.F. Kuang for writing too closely to her own experience but I think it’s brilliant that she’s written what she knows and comparisons of her own writing journey to Athena’s are too literal. Also, the plot escalates into melodrama but that feels totally believable when you’re in June’s psyche. Overall, I think a lot of the criticisms of this book miss some of its subtlety.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘The List’ by Yomi Adegoke and ‘Bunny’ by Mona Awad. Beyond the obvious themes about publishing, this is a book for those interested in the complexities of female friendship, the pursuit of “success” in a capitalist society, and the insidiousness of social media and parasocial relationships.

Thank you to Ruth (@busbysbooks) for lending me her copy! You can buy this book on my bookshop.org page to support aminasbookshelf and independent bookshops.