Book review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
This book touches some topics that are a lot bigger than most of the books I read. With that, I want to give a few disclaimers before my review:
1) I listened to the audiobook version, so I don’t have a physical copy to reference back to when typing out my review
2) I watched WithCindy’s review of this book prior to reading the book, and may be slightly influenced in my review based on hers
3) I am white, and while I can empathize with Asian issues, I can’t say I understand them fully or can relate to them.
That being said, I think this book does a PHENOMENAL job of making me understand the issues of minorities in the publishing industry further, and the passive nature of white people when it comes to this topic, and I’m incredibly happy I read this book.
This book follows Juniper, a white author who did not have the best luck with her first go at a debut in the book publishing industry, and her rise and downfall after stealing a book idea from her dead friend, Athena, a Chinese author writing mostly on topics of what her ancestors have dealt with in the past (more on that later.) The book that Juniper steals is about the Chinese laborers involved in World War I, and then goes on to change her name to appear more racially ambiguous to attempt to avoid backlash for being a white author telling the tragic story of these Chinese laborers, but ultimately not only gets called out on it, but eventually gets caught for stealing the book from Athena.
There were SO many things I loved about this book. First of all, every single microaggression Juniper commits made me physically cringe. Between making remarks about minorities being favored in the publishing industry and therefore she was the victim as a white girl, to taking a story about Chinese laborers and choosing to dehumanize them and empathize with the Christian missionaries attempting to convert them, to making comments to Asian americans about “censorship” when asked if she was really the right person to be telling the story; the book does an amazing job of making you realize all these microaggressions that many people, but especially white people, may choose to ignore because they’re not “violent” enough to truly be racism. While this book was meant to be “dark humor” it did not make me laugh a single time, but because I was too busy cringing at the very realistic comments and actions of its main character that I have seen so many people do, so I do think the point did still come across. And I did love that at the end, Juniper did not actually learn a lesson, and instead will continue to get revenge on the person who outed her for stealing the book, because that feels completely realistic to happen.
The book also touches some really interesting debate topics that either I have thought of in passing or never thought of at all. The first being- if someone does all the research, and is accurate to the history (Juniper is not completely,) should someone of a different race be the one to tell a story of the traumas of a different racial group? For myself, and I feel for the author as well, I think stories based on traumatic events for racial groups should be told by members of that group. The author even brings up the point that while Athena was Chinese, she certainly did not experience these traumas- but her family went through several of them and she can recount and tell those stories. But does that mean you can’t write characters that aren’t the racial group you belong in? Several parts of the book talk about reviews that Juniper’s stolen book saying that specific parts of the book are racially insensitive, but those were parts that Athena wrote, and leads Juniper and the reader to wonder if this book were written and published BY Athena, if those same critiques would still come up.
The book also does try to explain why Juniper might feel morally okay with stealing from Athena- in college, Athena took Juniper’s sexual assault story and wrote it as a short story without asking Juniper’s permission OR giving any sort of credit for it. She also interviews Korean war vets and published their stories. Is taking the stories of other people’s traumas and publishing them morally objectionable, or is it fine if you’re publishing it in the name of bringing awareness to the topic?
My ONE critique of this book is something outside of the book itself. Juniper is lower/middle class and feels a big part of Athena’s success is due to being upper class and getting a lot of opportunities that were only available because her or her family could afford the price tag. These things are being said by an unreliable narrator, as if to sweep those issues under the rug as Juniper just being jealous of Athena. However, I learned from WithCindy’s review that I linked earlier that these are very real critiques that the author R.F. Kuang has received and is using Juniper as a mouthpiece to show just how “minor” those critiques are without ever really addressing how money really does provide people with opportunities that others could not have. This is not to put down the author’s talent: This was my first book by her and I was blown away and look forward to reading some of her other work. But I’m sure there are tons of other authors, especially non-white ones, who are equally or even moreso talented whose books will never be read by the majority of the public because they might not have been able to go to college for writing, or they were not afforded the luxury to focus on writing as opposed to paying the bills. It just feels strange for the author to not really refute these claims but instead use the unreliable mouthpiece to downplay them.
Overall however, I felt like this book was incredible and I look forward to reading more of R.F. Kuang’s work (especially Babel!)
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