Yellowface: A Quick Discussion

Rachel I have been growing so much from age 17 to 22 now, your videos have helped me so much in these formative years, especially about my feelings about trauma from grooming, as a man it was so hard to find validation and i thank you for opening my eyes just with your words and compassion. Im sorry if this is parasocial behavior, but i just want to put it out there that so many of my opinions and feelings about sooo many things as a teen and now, youve helped me realize im not alone with my views about atheism, etc.

I love positive videos from you, i need a break from negativity too a lot of the time + I am always looking for book recommendations and your positive opinion of a book is very valuable to me

I could have sworn this book came out years ago but turns out it's 2023? I wonder what it was I was thinking of.

I like the way you analyze books. It just makes my brain happy.

For the algorithm, and to add, I appreciate all of your book reviews❣ Thank you❣

What I liked a lot about yellowface is that it's easy to fall into moralisms when writing racism but in yellow face imo it's more realistic. The protag just doesn't get it that she was indeed bigoted in ways that were influencing how she perceived the world. If the main character realized those things she would realize they are bad and well stop doing it the way she was starting to get close to towards the end. In my opinion while the book is supposedly about the publishing industry I think it's more about communication. It's about what happens when you bash someone who does not have the tools to understand what they did, how that person would grow defensive from it because they understand they did something wrong and how that kinda leads into doom spirals. I really enjoyed the book. I prefered babel's larger overarching perspective instead of just the intercharacter conflict of yellow face but still a great read. I did not like the ending at all tho lmao

I think I need to read this book again. I listened to the audiobook on holiday and now I think I might have missed a fair bit of nuance

I loved the book because I know real authors who are the same as the main character. There are people in my country who took real Chinese novels, stole the premise, made the characters be white with white (or non-Chinese, made out of random sounds) names and still promote their books as "Asian fantasy" alongside the good Chinese novels. And I've spent a few years telling people how disrespectful it is and they are THE SAME AS JUNE. She is infuriating, but racists who refuse to admit they are racist are.

Love your mushroom shirt 🥰

the one thing i’ve heard as a criticism about this book is the treatment of class. as i understand, the author faced some comments regarding her privileged background and seemingly mixed in some of it with june’s racism. it’s not wrong per se, but it leaves a bad taste…

I saw Kuang speak at a book festival about Yellowface and it made me appreciate the crafting that went into writing it. It seems so simplistic and surface level at first, but it was interesting to hear what went into this story. Also, Kuang admits this was a lockdown project, so I think it gave her space to do something different from her previous works. While I enjoyed Yellowface, I read Babel afterwards and absolutely LOVED it. Babel is definitely my favourite of the two (I haven't gotten to the Poppy Wars yet).

I havent watched this yet, but i really enjoyed this book! I found it deeply uncomfortable, and June's character was so certain of herself, so certain she was a victim, and it's a book that's made me want to think more critically about every interaction in my day

Totally agreed that this one reminded me of A Novel Obsession!

I bought a copy because it was the pick for the next session of the book club I go to. I got 15 pages in and had to put it down because June is so irritating that I knew I'd never be able to finish it 🤦🏻‍♀️

I like more positive videos equally, especially if the books you talk about include some negativt in them- like book by this woman who was abused by her ex bf celebrity, or this one having a lot of racism in it. I love good books that show bad shit properly. I also hope you gonna get better and that certain people and problems just leave you alone ❤

I just got this book from library , can't wait to read !

I’m definitely gonna read this, the premise is super super interesting. Thanks for reviewing it! I love reading but I struggle to find books that intrigue me so I appreciate it

I absolutely loved the book when I read it, but then I started reading some about the meta-narrative behind the novel and how Juniper was a sort of authorial insert for Kuang in response to criticism she’s received in the past, and it didn’t sit as well with me. The book is, in a sense, written spitefully by Kuang toward actual, specific book reviewers for some pretty valid criticisms they had. The more I looked into it, the more I saw that most of the people who loved the book were white readers, and most of the biggest critics were from readers of Asian descent. I’m not at all saying that anyone should enjoy the book less for this, or even that anyone needs to look into the controversy behind the novel, but I found it enlightening.

Great review!! I always love your observations. What I also was thinking randomly while watching and (apparently) just have to say: I think you would look amazing with a short bob. You are so classicly pretty! Keep on making amazing stuff! You cheer up my day!

I know the negative stuff does better, but I really love watching you gush about stuff you really enjoy. That was what drew me into your channel in the first place! I loved your poetry reviews because of the way you talked about the poems you actually liked!

Thank you for bringing this books to my attention! I thoroughly enjoyed Babel last year and Yellowface has now gone on my 'to read' list. (I also hadn't come across the Poppy Wars, so thank you to the commenters who mentioned those as well.)

I liked this shorter format & it's great to see you talking about something that makes you smile. All good wishes to you.

Oh yes these quick videos about things you’re enjoying are so fun to watch!

As an indigenous 2s woman of turtle island I really want to read this! What a fun way to explore narrators and fun ways of exploring culture and the concept of cultural appropriation

I had so much fun reading this book because I Love Drama but also I texted a million screenshots of all of June’s shitty microaggessions to the friend who recc’d it to me bc I couldn’t scream out loud on the bus lmfao. I also found her published name choice hilarious bc I’m biracial Chinese and the surname I use for published work is Song, and so when I read “Juniper Song” I was like HEY STOP STEALING FROM ME SPECIFICALLY. I really like readswithcindy’s critique video though, it pointed out some stuff I didn’t notice in my mad reading blur of OH MY GOD SHE DID NOT.

I also think if you liked this you should check out I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto, it’s sort of similarly about an aspiring author who fixates on a woman she had a connection with and then Some Trauma Happened and I cannot say more without spoiling, but it had a similar hypnotic effect on me and has a similarly questionable (?) and layered protagonist.

I read both Babel and Yellowface earlier this year and devoured them both! Rebecca Kuang is truly a genius and I’m so impressed that she can master two very different genres/styles of writing. I’m now going to read her earlier novel The Poppy War which is apparently a different genre again. I’ll definitely read every book she publishes in the future, she has earned herself a lifelong fan in me. As a white woman myself I pretty much had exactly the same thoughts as you did about Yellowface; I loved to hate June but I also found myself sympathising with her and wishing she wasn’t being harassed. Kuang truly does write with such impressive nuance, June is an awful person but she doesn’t deserve to suffer in the way she does, I found myself feeling sorry for her and almost actually rooting for her to get away with her plagiarism at some parts of the book, which then made me question myself and my own morality, which I’m certain was Kuang’s intention. It reminded me of the character Humbert Humbert in Lolita, he is written as so charming, funny and seemingly honourable and upstanding that at times you find yourself rooting for him, and then you question yourself and feel disgusted with yourself for sympathising with him. That’s truly brilliant writing.
Thanks for another great video Rachel, I sincerely hope you’re doing well.

LOVE LOVE LOVE your bookish videos! You had a lot of insight on yellowface that i didn't have, I've read it too and i agree with a lot of your major points

Yay I love your book reviews ☺️🫶

This is such great timing, I just finished reading Yellowface

I really enjoyed it. It made me so fuckin uncomfortable.

I loved this book. It helped me to have a deeper understanding of micro aggressions.

I really appreciate your review of this! I absolutely loved Babel with all the nuance, linguistics, and complex characters, but had heard so many conflicting things about Yellowface. Kuang is brilliant. I’m definitely going to read this one. Thank you!

I'm not going to lie, I'm not the biggest R.F Kwang fan. I don't know if it's her writing style or what but I have a very difficult time enjoying her work which sucks because I want to so bad 😭

babel really is so good and feels incredibly relevant. I love the subtle but effective way that Kuang writes white women. true master of “show, don’t tell.” now I have to go read yellowface!! ty for this video ❤️

Why are you such an intereseting person that creates unique and or mind stimulating thoughts. love the red hair btw. my respects and greetings.

Yes to more videos about the things you love ❤❤

As a trauma survivor, there's a tendency towards splitting and self-victimization. Seeing you embrace the nuances of a character is very comforting, as it is a sign of healing. Wishing you all the best

I really like this format! Your reviews are so insightful. I liked, didn't love Yellowface, agree with most of your analysis, but would have liked a deeper, less caricature-ish exploration of the publishing/book marketing industry and thought the ending was rushed. But it was certainly very readable. I'm looking forward to picking up Babel.

Yellowface was the best book I read in 2023! I just recently wrote an analysis essay focusing on the theme of identity in he book for a literary seminar course I was taking.

The funny thing is that while I was reading the part about June working on Athena’s draft, I kept thinking damn, in another world, those two could’ve co-authored a bestseller. Or maybe June could’ve been an editor. I mean, she disagreed a lot with Athena’s vision and changed a lot of it because Athena couldn’t defend said vision - but it’s undeniable that June was inspired like hell to work on that draft, she absolutely loved the process. If only there was some humility in her, the willingness to educate herself, she could’ve done something genuinely awesome. I dunno, it felt like maybe her talents lied elsewhere but she was too blinded by jealousy to notice.

Thank you for the this positive review. I recently started another of Kuang's books and was wondering if this one is worth it, and now I'm sold. Also, if books addressed all issues all the time, some of the points would fall flat, so the critiques in your comment are not a deterrant for me

Yellowface left me with absolutely nothing 🤷🏾‍♀️

I expected a critique of the racism in the publishing industry. What I got was an R. F. Kuang self-insert in the character of Athena, and a representation of all her critics who are not as smart and talented as her in the character of June.

Athena is brilliant, June is jealous. Athena is rich, June is struggling. Athena is perfect, June is bitter. Athena is clever, June doesn't understand her writing. Athena is R. F. Kuang, June is anyone that doesn't like her. Honestly, I'm surprised June did not live in her mother's basement 🤦🏾‍♀️

June needs to steal the manuscript of talented Athena and PRETEND TO BE A PERSON OF COLOR to make it in the publishing industry... are you kidding me? This reads like right-wing propaganda. And the worst part is that this mentality is never challenged in the book. June pays the price of pretending to be Asian because her actions are immoral and (part of) the public holds her accountable. But she STILL achieves success through her farce, leaving the underlying message that... white people ARE discriminated against in publishing. And that Asian authors have better chances of making it. This is frankly ridiculous.

White authors are praised for the bare minimum, they make millions for basic stories (especially YA or romance or both) and get entire fandoms dedicated to their white darlings. Meanwhile incredibly talented authors of color barely scrape by and get little recognition.

Talent has very little to do with success when it comes to publishing. Privilege and luck (being born white and middle-class) determine your career much more than talent or craft.

Talent abounds worldwide. Opportunity does not.

As a child I really wanted to become a book translator (English is not my first language). All it took me was doing a summer intership at a YA publisher to realize it wasn't for me. The stories all sounded the same. The characters all behaved the same. It was like reading the Hunger Games or HP a thousands times over. Think of Red Queen, Shadowhunters or A Court of Thorns and Roses: it was THAT level of copycat, uncreative writing where you can tell the sole goal of the author is to just ride a trend and make money.

(The author of Red Queen herself said she met someone at her prestigious university who offered to help her get published when SHE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A MANUSCRIPT, she just told him "I want to write the next big thing!" and 6 month later he personally sent her newly finished manuscript to top agents in NYC, she didn't even have to query; the authors of SH and Acotar are fanfiction meangirls - CC is a straight up cyberbully, scammer and plagiarist - that got the attention of the right people that helped them get a foot in the industry; iirc Holly Black introduced CC to her own publishing team)

This story would have been a lot more impactful if talented Athena had to change her manuscript and erase Chinese history and experiences in order to make it into a white-dominated, racist field. What if she'd had to erase her own culture to create something more "palatable" to a racist audience? What if erasing that part of herself was the only way to make it? Despite all of her talent and dedication?

Meanwhile June who just writes random basic stories gets millions thrown at her.

I loved "Yellowface" ! It was so well written :)

I also loved this book because of how icky june made me feel with her actions, yet still sympathizing with her in certain moments.
LOVED babel, have you read the poppy war trilogy too? It’s pretty bloody/graphic but so so good

Hi all, today I'm doing a super quick review of Rebecca Kuang's novel 'Yellowface'. I'm aware that not everyone likes every aspect of the book and there are some valid criticisms like how it doesn't address class issues or how it doesn't address nepotism in the publishing industry but honestly I need a break from negative stuff. If you've seen my latest video on my second channel, you'll know I'm struggling a lot at the moment plus with some stuff in my personal life that happened this week, I don't really have it in my to be overly critical right now so please just let me focus on the positive in something for once.

If you want negative, I've got another video out soon about the Legally Blonde book in which I compare things I like and dislike about the book and film.